Students

Science writing has mushroomed in recent years, paralleling the growth of science and technology in our society. Graduates of our young program have seen their articles, essays and reviews published in Discover , Technology Review , Science News, Seed , Sky & Telescope and many other publications. They've held jobs at the Boston Globe , Toronto Star , IEEE Spectrum , WGBH's NOVA , Psychology Today ; two of them recently signed book contracts. In coming years, we expect our graduates to make ever more significant contributions to the public's understanding of science and technology, and to take up leadership roles in government, foundations, journalism, book publishing, broadcasting, and other settings in which they can help bridge the gap between science and the public.

Most students enter our program with undergraduate science, engineering, or English degrees, a few with masters in such fields as plant pathology, mathematics, and the history of ideas. Some came into the program with substantial experience in journalism or other writing, where they often butted up against the complexities of science and technology in their work. All are drawn to the power of language and wish to reach broad, general audiences with their ideas. Other candidates for our program would be freelance writers, independent scholars, and working scientists and engineers perhaps more drawn to the intellectual excitement of science and technology than to its day-to-day practice.

In the end, we don't care; writers become writers through varied career paths, science writers no less than others. Our program does not demand, beyond a bachelor's degree, any particular educational credentials. We do demand, however, already well-honed writing skills and demonstrated background in, comfort with, or intellectual commitment to one or several fields of science. And we expect our students to enter the program with an abiding curiosity, never content with superficial understanding of intellectually difficult material. Our application process is intended to give potential students an opportunity to show they possess these traits.