Wherever you are in your career—novice, developing, or established—The Open Notebook’s Science Journalism Master Classes will help you sharpen your ability to find and vet story ideas, craft effective pitches, report and write impactful stories, spot scientific hype, collaborate with editors, and more. To create our Master Classes series, we’ve teamed up with Emily Laber-Warren, who heads the Health and Science Reporting program at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York. Emily’s lessons draw not only on her classroom experience but on insights from the many science journalists who have shared their work processes with The Open Notebook over the years through hundreds of articles on craft, writer interviews, annotations of notable stories, and our Ask TON advice column.
Our Science Journalism Master Classes are free, thanks to a generous grant from The Kavli Foundation.
Here’s How It Works
- Each course drills into one skill or habit, presented in a series of five to eight lessons, delivered by email. You can sign up for our courses at any time and get started immediately—there’s no set start date.
- You are welcome to take any or all courses, in any order. We recommend taking only one at a time.
- You can choose to have lessons delivered either daily (weekdays only, starting the next day) or weekly (starting the same day). You’ll receive a welcome email immediately. (If after signing up for a course you don’t see a welcome email within a few minutes, check your spam/junk/trash folder and, if you use Gmail, your promotions tab. If that doesn’t work, please email Siri Carpenter at siricarpenter@theopennotebook.com and we’ll get you set up.)
- Each lesson includes a (brief) self-directed homework assignment. Most assignments should take less than an hour to complete.
- At the end of each course, you’ll come away with greater mastery of your craft.
- After you’ve completed each course, you’ll have the option to download a “Course Essentials” worksheet and to request a certificate of completion. You’ll also have the opportunity to sign up for periodic virtual discussions with Emily Laber-Warren (we’ll notify course registrants about upcoming opportunities).