Enrolments are now open for the Master of Science in Society (MScSoc) 2020 intake.
The MScSoc prepares students to face complex contemporary challenges at the interface of science and society. The programme is taught by academics who work across history of science, the environmental humanities, the anthropology of science and medicine, mātauranga Māori and science communication, and are at the forefront of research in their fields. As a result, our courses teach students to experiment with interdisciplinary approaches to gain fresh and critical perspectives on diverse issues such as climate change, algorithmic inequalities, genetic medicine, and freshwater politics. You can find out more about our staff and their various areas of research and supervision here.
The MScSoc is structured across three trimesters. T1 begins with a fieldtrip including a wānanga component, where students get to know one another and Science in Society staff. This trimester is coursework focussed. Students can choose between courses on science communication, contemporary issues in science and society, key readings in science and society, and science and the humanities. One of these courses can be substituted for an elective of students’ choosing.
In T2, students complete a research essay where they get to do a deep dive into a science in society topic of their choosing with one-on-one supervision. This trimester also involves the popular Science Communication Project, where students conceptualise and carry out a piece of science communication about an issue they are passionate about. In 2019, our science communication class wrote web articles and blog posts, illustrated children’s books, organised flash tattoo events, Cafe Scientifique evenings, and more.
T3 gives students the choice of completing a supervised placement or a research project. Placements provide on-the-job experience, allowing students to apply the skills they’ve been honing throughout the year in a truly applied context. Our Centre has strong relationships across the science sector and we have organised placements for students in organisations such as the Ministry for the Environment, Zealandia, the Science Media Centre, the Robinson Institute and the Office of the Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor. The research project gives students the opportunity to deploy empirical, archival and other research methods in the context of a project of their choice.
For more information please contact Rebecca Priestley on Rebecca.Priestley@vuw.ac.nz