UO Week of Research

We spend billions annually on science, and our 21st-century way of life depends on its insights and new technologies. But the public is increasingly distrustful or dismissive of some spheres of scientific knowledge.
The Center for Science Communication Research (SCR) is changing that. Through research excellence, evidence-based education, and meaningful engagement with the public, SCR is leading and teaching about cutting-edge science communication research that addresses complex problems and improves evidence-based decision making.

Media have a role in connecting the value of science to informed decision making, and this fall, the School of Journalism and Communication, through SCR, is launching a hands-on science communication minor to provide a first-of-its-kind minor. The minor will prepare undergraduate students for careers that allow them to communicate their science, to conduct science communication research, and to innovate science-based creative inquiry through media production.

During the session, SCR Associate Director Mark Blaine will be joined by several undergraduate students, whose experiences informed the design of the Science Communication Minor. Their stories will demonstrate the SCR’s focus on the issues, skills, and scholarship critical to the science of science communication. In a roundtable discussion, students will talk about their work and experiences developing them. And we’ll seek connections between these specific projects and paths forward for these budding professionals and for the program itself here at the University of Oregon. We’ll explore the motivations for students to get involved in this work, the challenges they faced along the way, and the insights they realized as a result.

Offering majors across campus a way to explore the field and apply the research and tools of communicators in a variety of contexts, the SCR Science Communication Minor explores original research and story development and production.

Join us as we share the stories of how undergraduate students at UO are bridging the trust gap between a dismissive public and scientific knowledge and are acting as connectors, researchers, and storytellers for a growing number of careers that rely on science communication.