Outreach and Engagement Education for Fisheries Graduate Students: Developing a Course to Enrich a Graduate Outreach Requirement

Scientists need to engage stakeholders in natural resource management; however, few graduate programs prepare students to conduct outreach and engagement. Given this need, the authors’ goals were to (1) create a one-credit course that introduced outreach and engagement practices and participatory approaches, (2) improve the quality of graduate students’ Outreach Experiences (OEs) within the framework of a university departmental requirement, and (3) share lessons learned in addressing the training gap. Students in the course met learning objectives to improve OE plans, evaluate the effectiveness of outreach and engagement, and improve engagement with varied audiences. OE plans from students in the course scored significantly higher than precourse plans, indicating increased likelihood of effective engagement with their chosen audiences. Formal training in best practices and detailed guidance for students and faculty advisors are likely to improve student professional development and the outcomes of outreach and engagement activities.