Major and Minor
Explore and Discover. Innovations in science significantly impact our everyday lives—from vaccines to artificial intelligence. The need to understand and communicate those advancements to the public is critical. From broadcast and print journalism to law and medicine, there is a great demand for people who understand science, engineering, and technology and can translate it to wide variety of audiences. The major in communication of science and technology prepares students to be a link between science, technology, and the public, preparing them for a wide range of careers.
Major | Minor | Honors | Major/Minor Declaration
The Communication of Science and Technology Major
Designed for students interested in distilling science and technology into clear messages and compelling stories for a variety of audiences. This major draws on both the scientific and creative communities.
The major in CSET consists of 42 credit hours, as follows:
Required Core (9 credit hours)
- CSET 1500: Communicating Science (3 credit hours)
- CSET 2100: Science Communication Tools and Techniques (3 credit hours)
- CSET 2500: Science for Everyone (3 credit hours)
Natural Sciences/Engineering Courses (15 credit hours)
Students may take any level of Mathematics and Natural Science (MNS) and/or Engineering (ENG) courses to fulfill the 15 credit hours.
Telling Scientific Stories (6 credit hours)
At least 3 hours each from the writing skills and science and narrative categories below:
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Bridging Courses (9 credit hours)
Bridging courses present an innovative way to explore issues at the intersection of science and the humanities. Courses are offered by a wide range of departments, including anthropology, economics, Earth sciences, English, political science, math, philosophy, and more. For a full list of approved courses, refer to the Bridging Courses section in the Undergraduate Catalog.
Electives (3 credit hours)
3 credit hours chosen from any courses or combination of courses below:
- CSET 3840: Directed Study
- CSET 3841: Project in Science Writing and Communicating
- CSET 3880, 3881: Internships
- Research (research hours can include appropriate credit hours from another department or program; these hours must be approved by the student’s CSET adviser)
- CSET 4998: Honors in CSET
- Qualifying Telling Scientific Stories or Bridging the Sciences and Humanities or Natural Science and/or Engineering Depth courses
- One additional 2100-level or higher W course from any department or program in A&S.
The Communication of Science and Technology Minor
The minor in communication of science and technology is a powerful complement to many natural science, social science, and humanities majors. For those students who want to take just a single course that provides an overview of science communication, CSET 2100: Science Communication Tools and Techniques is a good choice.
The minor in CSET consists of six courses, totaling a minimum of 18 credit hours, distributed as follows:
Required Core (9 hours)
- CSET 1500: Communicating Science
- CSET 2100: Science Communication Tools and Techniques
- CSET 2500: Science for Everyone
Telling Scientific Stories (3 credit hours)
At least one 3-credit-hour course from either list below.
[Insert Accordion 1639]
Bridging Course (3 credit hours)
Bridging courses present an innovative way to explore issues at the intersection of science and the humanities. Courses are offered by a wide range of departments, including anthropology, economics, Earth sciences, English, political science, math, philosophy, and more. For a full list of approved courses, refer to the Bridging Courses section in the Undergraduate Catalog.
Natural Science/Engineering (3 credit hours)
- Students may take any level of Mathematics and Natural Science (MNS) and/or Engineering (ENG) courses to fulfill the 3 credit hours.
Honors Program
Honors in CSET is a selective program of individual undergraduate work, supervised by a faculty adviser. Honors candidates propose, construct, and complete a project (written, visual, aural, digital, or a combination) that demonstrates the ability to communicate science, in-depth, to a nonexpert audience.
Requirements:
- Must be a CSET major and have completed a minimum of 21 hours towards the major
- 3.3 cumulative GPA, 3.4 CSET GPA
- 1 semester of CSET 3840: Directed Study or CSET 3841: Project in Science Writing and Communicating (directed study/research thesis)
- 1 semester of CSET 4998: Honors Thesis (write thesis)
During the CSET 3840/41 semester you’ll choose a faculty member to direct the thesis, decide on a topic, develop a reading list, and outline a scope of work.
During the CSET 4998 semester you’ll choose committee members, complete the research, write the thesis, and defend the thesis.
If you are interested in completing an honors thesis, please reach out to one of our faculty members for more guidance.
Declaring a Major or Minor
Complete the Declaration of Major form and have the form signed by the director of undergraduate studies, Shellie Richards. Email the completed form to the Office of Undergraduate Education.