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Science writer education requirements
Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
There are several educational requirements to become a science writer. Science writers usually study biology, journalism, or english. 67% of science writers hold a bachelor's degree, and 19% hold an master's degree. We analyzed 485 real science writer resumes to see exactly what science writer education sections show.
The most common colleges for science writers are the University of Maryland - College Park and the University of Maryland - College Park.
There are also many online science writer courses to help get the education required to be a science writer.
What education do you need to become a science writer?
What degree do you need to be a science writer?
- Bachelor's, 67%
- Master's, 19%
- Doctorate, 10%
- Associate, 2%
- Other Degrees, 2%
What should I major in to become a science writer?
- Biology, 25%
- Journalism, 10%
- English, 10%
- Other Majors, 48%
Most common colleges for science writers
| Science writer common college | Percentages |
|---|---|
| University of Maryland - College Park | 10.23% |
| University of California, Santa Barbara | 9.09% |
| Boston University | 7.95% |
| University of California - Davis | 7.95% |
| Johns Hopkins University | 5.68% |
Best majors for science writers
| Rank | Major | Percentages |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Biology | 24.6% |
| 2 | Journalism | 10.2% |
| 3 | English | 9.8% |
| 4 | Biochemistry, Biophysics, Molecular Biology | 6.8% |
| 5 | Chemistry | 5.7% |
Best colleges for science writers
The best colleges for science writers are Northwestern University, Harvard University, and Carnegie Mellon University.
A science writer with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for science writers. We based this list on several metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of graduates, the ratio of working vs. non-working students ten years after admission, the average cost of attendance, and median debt for graduates who become science writers.
1. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
In-state tuition
$54,568
Enrollment
8,451
2. University of Florida
Gainesville, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,381
Enrollment
34,564
3. Harvard University
Cambridge, MA • Private
In-state tuition
$50,420
Enrollment
7,582
4. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$56,225
Enrollment
19,548
5. Northeastern University
Boston, MA • Private
In-state tuition
$51,522
Enrollment
13,760
6. Pennsylvania State University
University Park, PA • Private
In-state tuition
$18,454
Enrollment
40,108
7. University of Houston
Houston, TX • Private
In-state tuition
$8,913
Enrollment
37,291
8. Syracuse University
Syracuse, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$51,853
Enrollment
14,759
9. SUNY Stony Brook
Stony Brook, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$9,625
Enrollment
17,407
10. University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$14,184
Enrollment
30,845
20 best online courses for science writers
Advertising disclosure
1. Being a researcher (in Information Science and Technology)
The course provides a broad view of how to become and progress as a researcher. It spans over a wide range of topics, from the historical development of scientific thought to research methodology, to the pragmatics of publication, research funding, evaluation, and promotion in a researcher’s career. It also stresses the ethical aspects of research. Although the course speaks about scientific research in general, it especially focuses on the field on Information and Communication Science and...
2. Introduction to Translational Science
Translational science seeks to speed up the process of moving research discoveries from the laboratory into healthcare practices. Numerous scientific and organizational roadblocks can act as obstacles along the path of translation and ultimately hinder the speed of progress in medical research. The National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) was established by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to transform and accelerate the translational research process, with the...
3. Data Science Bootcamp 2022: 5 Data Science Projects
Data Science and Machine Learning Masterclass with Python with 5 Data Science Real World Projects...
4. The Data Science Course: Complete Data Science Bootcamp 2023
Complete Data Science Training: Mathematics, Statistics, Python, Advanced Statistics in Python, Machine & Deep Learning...
5. Studying Cities: Social Science Methods for Urban Research
Welcome! Are you looking to learn more about how to conduct scientific research, specifically in an urban or local context? Then you have found the right course: Studying Cities: Social Science Methods for Urban Research by the Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS), Erasmus University Rotterdam. During the course you will gain more insight in the different steps of the research cycle, and build a firm foundation for your own future research endeavors. Before any (urban)...
6. Science Literacy
Fake news or good science? In a world where we have access to unlimited information, it is hard to sift through the echo chamber of opinions fueled by emotions and personal biases, rather than scientific evidence. Science Literacy will teach you about the process of science, how to think critically, how to differentiate science from pseudoscience, how indigenous wisdom can inform science, how to understand and design a scientific study, and how to critically evaluate scientific communication in...
7. How to Write an Effective Research Paper
Learn how to write award-winning research papers with easy steps. Includes examples and a research paper template...
8. Machine Learning, Data Science and Generative AI with Python
Complete hands-on machine learning and AI tutorial with data science, Tensorflow, GPT, Open AI, and neural networks...
9. Julia Scientific Programming
This course introduces you to Julia as a first programming language. Julia is a high-level, high-performance dynamic programming language developed specifically for scientific computing. This language will be particularly useful for applications in physics, chemistry, astronomy, engineering, data science, bioinformatics, and many more. You can start programming with Julia within Coursera and it can also be used from the command line, program files, or a Jupyter notebook. Julia is designed to...
10. Global Warming I: The Science and Modeling of Climate Change
This class describes the science of global warming and the forecast for humans’ impact on Earth’s climate. Intended for an audience without much scientific background but a healthy sense of curiosity, the class brings together insights and perspectives from physics, chemistry, biology, earth and atmospheric sciences, and even some economics—all based on a foundation of simple mathematics (algebra)...
11. Data Science with Python Complete Course
Data Science 2021 : Complete Data Science...
12. Complete Data Science Training with Python for Data Analysis
Beginners python data analytics : Data science introduction : Learn data science : Python data analysis methods tutorial...
13. AI for Scientific Research
In the AI for Scientific Research specialization, we'll learn how to use AI in scientific situations to discover trends and patterns within datasets. Course 1 teaches a little bit about the Python language as it relates to data science. We'll share some existing libraries to help analyze your datasets. By the end of the course, you'll apply a classification model to predict the presence or absence of heart disease from a patient's health data. Course 2 covers the complete machine learning...
14. Data Science for Health Research
In Data Science for Health Research, learn to organize and visualize health data using statistical analysis in programs like R. Explore how to translate data, interpret statistical models, and predict outcomes to help make data-informed decisions within the public health field...
15. Clinical Research for beginners
The Art of Publishing - Master Pub Med, Study design, Biostatistics, Journal choice, Manuscript writing & Referencing...
16. R Programming Hands-on Specialization for Data Science (Lv1)
An in-depth course on R language with real-world Data Science examples to supercharge your R data analysis skills...
17. Data-Driven Animation for Science Communication
In this course each student will create a scientific animation that tells a story with data to better communicate scientific results – along the way they will learn programming, science writing, and technical animation skills. This course trains students in data-based storytelling that promotes research and science communication for the benefit of communities and policymakers on local and global scales. Students will draft a science writing script, create custom raster and vector graphics, data...
18. Science Matters: Let's Talk About COVID-19
Welcome to ‘Science Matters: Let's Talk about COVID-19’, from the Jameel Institute at Imperial College London. The outbreak of the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) is the most significant public health emergency of the 21st century so far. As the epidemic spreads, people around the world want to understand the science behind the most pressing questions: how many people have been infected? How dangerous is the virus? When will a vaccine be available? How can the epidemic be contained, and...
19. Dr. K's Complete First Semester General Chemistry I Course
A Course to Prepare You for College Level General Chemistry...
20. Philosophy and the Sciences: Introduction to the Philosophy of Physical Sciences
What is the origin of our universe? What are dark matter and dark energy? This is the first part of the course 'Philosophy and the Sciences', dedicated to Philosophy of the Physical Sciences. Scientific research across the physical sciences has raised pressing questions for philosophers. The goal of this course is to introduce you to some of the main areas and topics at the key juncture between philosophy and the physical sciences. Each week we will introduce you to some of these important...
Top 10 most affordable universities for science writers
The most affordable schools for science writers are University of Florida, baruch college of the city university of new york, and hunter college of the city university of new york.
If the best universities for science writers are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for science writers.
1. University of Florida
Gainesville, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,381
Cost of attendance
21,034
2. Baruch College of the City University of New York
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,262
Cost of attendance
14,046
3. Hunter College of the City University of New York
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,182
Cost of attendance
13,998
4. Brigham Young University
Provo, UT • Private
In-state tuition
$5,620
Cost of attendance
18,136
5. Brooklyn College of the City University of New York
Brooklyn, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,240
Cost of attendance
13,991
6. California State University - Long Beach
Long Beach, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,798
Cost of attendance
18,306
7. University of South Florida
Tampa, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,410
Cost of attendance
20,456
8. USF Sarasota-Manatee
Sarasota, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$5,587
Cost of attendance
13,043
9. California State University - Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,749
Cost of attendance
14,823
10. Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$5,656
Cost of attendance
21,623
Top 10 hardest universities to get into for science writers
The hardest universities for science writers to get into are Northwestern University, Harvard University, and Carnegie Mellon University.
Some great schools for science writers are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for science writers based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.
1. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
Admissions rate
8%
SAT average
1,508
2. Harvard University
Cambridge, MA • Private
Admissions rate
5%
SAT average
1,520
3. Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA • Private
Admissions rate
17%
SAT average
1,507
4. Northeastern University
Boston, MA • Private
Admissions rate
19%
SAT average
1,466
5. Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, NY • Private
Admissions rate
6%
SAT average
1,512
6. Washington University in St Louis
Saint Louis, MO • Private
Admissions rate
15%
SAT average
1,506
7. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
Admissions rate
13%
SAT average
1,445
8. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
Admissions rate
4%
SAT average
1,497
9. Georgetown University
Washington, DC • Private
Admissions rate
15%
SAT average
1,456
10. Boston University
Boston, MA • Private
Admissions rate
22%
SAT average
1,420
Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for science writers
The easiest schools for science writers to get into are Mount Saint Mary's University, barry university, and notre dame de namur university.
Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a science writer without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for science writers.
1. Mount Saint Mary's University
Los Angeles, CA • Private
Admissions rate
84%
SAT average
1,031
2. Barry University
Miami, FL • Private
Admissions rate
91%
SAT average
1,006
3. Notre Dame de Namur University
Belmont, CA • Private
Admissions rate
82%
SAT average
983
4. Our Lady of the Lake University
San Antonio, TX • Private
Admissions rate
93%
SAT average
1,002
5. Saint Joseph's College of Maine
Standish, ME • Private
Admissions rate
84%
SAT average
1,069
6. Cardinal Stritch University
Milwaukee, WI • Private
Admissions rate
71%
SAT average
1,035
7. Rochester University
Rochester Hills, MI • Private
Admissions rate
100%
SAT average
1,002
8. Grand View University
Des Moines, IA • Private
Admissions rate
92%
SAT average
1,060
9. Holy Names University
Oakland, CA • Private
Admissions rate
70%
SAT average
849
10. Notre Dame College
Cleveland, OH • Private
Admissions rate
90%
SAT average
994
Average science writer salary by education level
| Science writer education level | Science writer salary |
|---|---|
| Master's Degree | $73,607 |
| Bachelor's Degree | $74,238 |
Science writer education FAQs
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Updated January 8, 2025
Updated January 8, 2025