Admission Requirements
Students who want to do an SCS internship are required to follow the Science Communication and Society courses first.
Please apply for the SCS specialisation through this registration form.
Description
Students who are following the Science Communication and Society specialisation are required to complete 14-34 EC of internship(s). Internships will be in the field of science communication (e.g. science journalism, science museum, online media, health communication). The total internship period may consist of one internship, or can be divided into 2 smaller internships. Each internship includes a written report and an oral presentation. The total internship period includes a minimum of 10 EC of research in science communication. The choice of internships should be approved beforehand by the coordinator of the specialisation (and sometimes the MSc programme coordinator).
Types of internship
Students can choose from three types of internships:
Practical internship: a full time internship at an organisation, working on practical assignments; e.g. working as a science journalist. This internship needs to be combined with a separate research internship of at least 10 EC, for instance at the SCS department.
Research internship: all credits are spent on a research study that is done either at the SCS department or at an external organisation, e.g. a content analysis about a certain topic in the media.
Practical internship with a research component: a full time internship within an organisation that includes a research component of at least 10 EC, relevant to the practical work; e.g. working at a science museum on a certain topic and simultaneously doing research about the prior knowledge and interest of a target audience about that topic.
Course Objectives
An important part of the SCS specialisation is the internship period. After completion of the Science Communication and Society Internship, students are able to:
Apply theoretical knowledge from the SCS courses for an evidence-based output in the practical field of science communication (for Practical Internships).
Apply their knowledge about research methods during their research project and being able to carry out a robust research within the field of science communication, taking into account ethical guidelines and theoretical frameworks which to build on (for Research Internships).
Participate and collaborate in a professional science communication organisation.
Develop and assess their own professional skills in an organization and monitor their progression on their inter- and intrapersonal skills.
Write a structured and complete Reflection Report, in which they describe their internship organisation, activities and give recommendations.
Reflect on their learning goals and describe their learning process.
Give a lively and engaging presentation about their internship, in which they highlight their progress in practical (and research) aspects of their work.
Write a complete Research Report and show their ability to draw on previous literature within their field to critically interpret their own results and to explain the relevance of their own research to the field of science communication (for Research Internships).
Timetable
Students can start their internship at any time during the academic year, as long as they have completed the SCS courses. For most students, this means starting internships in January or February.
In MyTimetable, you can find all course and programme schedules, allowing you to create your personal timetable. Activities for which you have enrolled via MyStudyMap will automatically appear in your timetable.
Additionally, you can easily link MyTimetable to a calendar app on your phone, and schedule changes will be automatically updated in your calendar. You can also choose to receive email notifications about schedule changes. You can enable notifications in Settings after logging in.
Questions? Watch the video, read the instructions, or contact the ISSC helpdesk.
Note: Joint Degree students from Leiden/Delft need to combine information from both the Leiden and Delft MyTimetables to see a complete schedule. This video explains how to do it.
Mode of Instruction
Self-study, Supervision
Assessment Method
During the internship, students send a monthly progress report to their SCS supervisor.
Half way through the internship, students have a midterm evaluation with their daily supervisor and SCS supervisor.
At the end of the internship, students have a final evaluation about their internship performance with their daily supervisor and SCS supervisor.
At the end of the internship, students write a (research- and) reflection report and give a presentation.
The final grade for the internship consists of
1. A grade for the performance of the internship (40%)
2. A grade for the internship report(s) (50%)
3. A grade for the presentation (10%)
Each of these need to be a passing grade. In addition, both the reflection report as well as the research report (if applicable) need to be a passing grade.
Reading List
n/a
Registration
If you are interested in following the SCS specialisation or any of the courses in particular, please apply through this registration form. For the internships you do not have to register through MyStudyMap or uSis.
Contact
More information can be found at our website
For any questions regarding the SCS specialisation, the SCS courses and the internship you can contact us by email: infoscs@biology.leidenuniv.nl.
Remarks
Software
Starting from the 2024/2025 academic year, the Faculty of Science will use the software distribution platform Academic Software. Through this platform, you can access the software needed for specific courses in your studies. For some software, your laptop must meet certain system requirements, which will be specified with the software. It is important to install the software before the start of the course. More information about the laptop requirements can be found on the student website.