M.A. Science Concentration

Cultivate ways of thinking that are essential to covering any scientific field.

The program made me more probing in my research, and more disciplined in my writing. It gave me the confidence of having completed additional elective courses in my scientific field of interest.

Sarah Lilley, '19 M.A. Science

Students in the Science concentration focus on themes and ways of thinking that can be used to cover any scientific field, whether it’s health, technology or the hard sciences. They get a landscape view, looking at history, patterns of discovery and innovation.

They interpret studies, unearth important details, place scientific developments in context — and make science come alive. 

The seminar emphasizes understanding the culture and practice of science, giving students the skills to interpret a peer-reviewed study as well as providing a clear understanding of the peer-review process, its origin and its challenges. The course places particular emphasis on writing creatively and compellingly, whether in a short news story or in a long piece of narrative nonfiction.

What You'll Study

Climate change

Each semester is centered around a close look at a few fields to get at the larger themes of covering science. The fall semester typically starts with the history of science: students look at the continuities between past events, such as the Scopes Trial, and contemporary issues.

They delve into climate science, visiting laboratories to understand contemporary research, and they examine the politics of the field. They study several exciting frontiers in physics (black holes and gravitational waves) and technology (instruments and ethics), and finish the semester with sessions on ecology, focusing on current issues such as urban ecology or invasive species.


 

llustration by Brian Hubble.

Thesis Feature

For her thesis, Victoria Schlesigner, M.S. ‘05, M.A. ‘06, traveled to Kenya to report on the effect of foreign aid. A version of her thesis appeared in the May 2007 issue of Harper’s: The Continuation of Poverty.

 

Along the way, students examine scientific funding and think critically about metaphor in science writing. The spring semester focuses on evolution and genetics, neuroscience, public health and medicine. Students often travel to see fossils in situ and at the American Museum of Natural History, and they learn about mass extinction events and how the movements of the cosmos are reflected in sediments on Earth.

Curriculum

Students in the field for a climate course.

The Science program has a strong focus on climate that is led by Professor Marguerite Holloway, the school's Director of Science and Environmental Journalism and author of a forthcoming book on climate change.

The M.A. program includes instruction by climate scientists and offers students the chance to take climate-related classes in other departments, including law, public health, ecology, anthropology, earth and environmental sciences.

In the M.S. program, Professor Holloway teaches a fall Reporting class focused on climate; an Environmental Writing class; and a spring seminar, "Covering Climate: Connecting the Dots," in which M.S. students do a deep dive into understanding the complexity of the beat so they develop confidence and authority about reporting on varied aspects of the climate crisis. The seminar includes a strong emphasis on finding new approaches to climate storytelling through discussion with many climate journalists and experts.

Professor Duy Linh Tu, the School’s Dean of Academic Affairs and a documentary filmmaker, teaches climate courses throughout the year as well. Students taking his reporting class learn the basics of newsgathering with a focus on issues facing New York City’s coastlines. His Video 1 class gives students the fundamentals of video storytelling about climate and environmental issues. Then, in the spring semester, students can take his documentary filmmaking course, also focused on climate issues in the city.

Alumni in Focus

Alex Lubben
Alex Lubben

'21 M.A. Science

Alex Lubben is a reporter at The Times-Picayune. He worked on “Harm’s Way,” a series on relocation caused by climate change in the United States, for The Center for Public Integrity.

Muriel Alarcon
Muriel Alarcón

'20 M.A. Science

Muriel Alarcón is a 2023 Climate Science Reporting Fellow at the Pulitzer Center. Her work has been published in MIT Technology Review, The New York Times, and Grist.

Grey Moran
Grey Moran

'18 M.A. Science

Grey Moran is a staff writer at Civil Eats. Their work has also appeared in The Guardian, The Nation, The Atlantic, and The New York Times.

They learn how to take apart medical studies and use the statistics skills they learned in Evidence & Inference in the fall. They also discuss some of the newest developments in epigenetics and in neuroscience. Recent lecturers included paleontologist Paul Olsen, neuroscientist Stuart Firestein, animal behaviorist Diana Reiss, medical historian David Rosner and sociologist Alondra Nelson.

M.A. Science Concentration Faculty