Scientific Research and Communication (MSc) (2022 Entry)
Do you want to become an expert in communicating scientific concepts? Whether you are preparing for a career in scientific writing, education or communication, this course is the one for you.
You will choose from over 50 modules and tailor the course to your specific scientific skills and interests. You will enhance your communication and English Language skills, learning to convey advanced technical scientific concepts for journals, classrooms, or the media.
You will also undertake a bespoke research project, gaining research experience using our state-of-the-art facilities in an interdisciplinary environment. You will gain advanced knowledge in your chosen fields and learn to communicate with a range of audiences, preparing you for a career in research, scientific writing, science education or science communication.
You can find out more about the Department of Chemistry by joining our Webinars.
Dr Nikola Chmel is the head of the MSc in Scientific Research and Communication. Please contact chem-pgt at warwick dot ac dot uk with any Chemistry specific department questions, where course directors Dr Nikola Chmel and Dr Remzi Becer are available to discuss any queries.
2:i undergraduate degree (or equivalent) in a science subject.
English Language requirements header
- Band A
- IELTS overall score of 6.5, minimum component scores not below 6.0.
International requirements header
Additional requirements header
There are no additional entry requirements for this course.
Writing focused scientific articles and reports
This module is intended to allow you to develop and demonstrate your capacity to communicate scientific concepts through writing short, focused scientific articles. It will facilitate engagement with a variety of audiences and the use of a range of strategies to describe scientific procedures, summarise and disseminate findings, write reviews, and formulate effective instructions. It also aims to develop critical thinking and peer review skills.
Writing extended scientific articles and reports
This module provides a genre-based focus on academic scientific papers. Through a focus on models of professional writing, it explores particular features of science papers such as how to reference to the literature, where and when to outline the methodology, and how to present results and conclusions. An integral part of this approach is for participants to bring along samples of their own writing (e.g. lab reports or research articles). Students will be asked to provide critiques and action plans, as well as to engage in peer reviews.
Research Skills
Communicating Science to different audiences
This module aims to help you to communicate your research findings accurately and concisely to different audiences. The main focus is on how to communicate in print, radio and TV to non-scientific audiences, but the skills will translate across to your research reports and presentations. It is based on a 3-day non-residential course (but including 1 evening) at Warwick and BBC Coventry and Warwickshire which will consist of a variety of seminars by experts in the field.
22-week Research Project
Optional modules
Any Level 7 (Master’s) modules from the Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine with permission of the course leader.
The first 23 weeks are lecture-based, providing you with a diverse range of skills in analytical sciences to complete a successful 22-week research project.
Class size header
Class sizes will range between 5 to 40 students, dependent on module: some of which are shared across programmes.
Contact hours header
Depending on your module choices, you can expect to attend around 10-25 hours of lectures and workshops per week. Some modules might also include additional supervised practical sessions (e.g. laboratory work). For each one-hour lecture, you should expect to put in additional time for private study.
Assessment header
Each scientific module is usually between 50% and 80% examined and 20 -50% assessed; the scientific writing modules are 100% assessed; the research project is 100% assessed.
Reading lists
Most departments have reading lists available through Warwick Library. If you would like to view reading lists for the current cohort of students you can visit our Warwick Library web page.
Your timetable
Your personalised timetable will be complete when you are registered for all modules, compulsory and optional, and you have been allocated to your lectures, seminars and other small group classes. Your compulsory modules will be registered for you and you will be able to choose your optional modules when you join us.