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Queen's University in Belfast and Dublin City University have launched a joint masters course, aimed at bridging the gap between science and the arts. The degree is the first joint Irish-United Kingdom postgraduate qualification.

The MSc in science communication, to be launched this autumn, will bring together both science and non-science graduates, and train them to help improve the public understanding of science by including writing, editing and reporting.

During the year-long course, students will divide their time between DCU and the Queen's Outreach campus in Armagh. Queen's has a strong tradition in science and the history of science, while DCU has pioneered the development of communications and journalism courses.

Course coordinator Brian Trench of DCU's school of communications said the course was timely, not only in terms of helping the population at large to grasp pressing scientific issues, such as genetic engineering and environmental hazards, but also because scientists were looking for the means to make a more forceful case for continued public support.