Technical and
Professional WritingTechnical and
Professional WritingProfessor—Rehling
Assistant Professor—Lindeman
B.A. in Technical and Professional Writing
Minor in Technical and Professional Writing
Certificate in Technical and Professional Writing
Technical and professional writers are in demand to link ideas, technologies, and products with people who need to understand those developments or to use them. The Technical and Professional Writing Program can prepare students for that critical communications role through major, minor, and certificate programs.
Technical and professional writers work in almost every field of industry and public life, including in high-technology industries, in business, in government, and in research and non-profit organizations. These career writers not only write and edit many types of documents in different media, career writers also sometimes manage documentation and communication projects.
To be best prepared for success in such work, students will need to start with strong writing skills, then learn how to adapt them for the workplace and for changing technology and employment needs. Students also will need an intellectual framework for continuing professional growth and responsibility throughout their careers.
TPW students will combine TPW courses—which expose them to workplace forms, methods, and issues—with interdisciplinary electives that further develop related communications skills and attitudes. Students also can target a potential employment interest: Majors choose a specialized concentration (the subject matter focus); minors and certificate students can use TPW studies to complement their education and experience in other fields.
After completing the TPW program, students can begin their writing careers with important accomplishments and advantages: an academic degree or certificate in the field, improved and focused skills, an understanding of professional expectations for writers, and a portfolio of relevant writing samples.
Depending on students' choices of subject matter focus and/or skills electives, students would be prepared for entry-level jobs as writers, editors, desktop publishers, and/or communications managers producing technical manuals or training materials, reports or proposals, and promotions or publicity.
NOTE: Technical and professional writing major, minor, and certificate students must earn at least a C or better in all courses that count towards the degree or certificate.
On-line course descriptions are available.
| Core Courses | Units |
|
| TPW 400 | Fundamentals of Technical and Professional Writing | 3 |
| TPW 550 | Professional Editing | 3 |
| TPW 555 | Desktop Publishing for Professional Writers | 3 |
| TPW 600 | Individual and Team Writing | 3 |
| TPW 695 | Internship in Technical and Professional Writing | 3 |
| Any other TPW-prefix course (except TPW 698) | 3 |
|
| Units for core | 18 |
|
| Skills Electives Select 9 units from the list below, from a list of skills electives available in the TPW office, or other courses upon TPW director approval. |
9 |
|
| Skills electives include these TPW courses: | ||
| TPW 470 | Writing Professional Promotions | |
| TPW 480 | Writing Technical Documentation and Procedures | |
| TPW 490 | Grantwriting | |
| TPW 585 | Writing for On-Line Presentation | |
| TPW 600 | Individual and Team Writing (elective for minor/certificate) | |
| TPW 625 | Advanced Topics for Technical and Professional Writers | |
| TPW 685 | Projects in the Teaching of Technical and Professional Writing | |
| Additional skills elective courses include those offered by other departments that cover communications fundamentals, editing/production, graphic design, training/non-print media, foreign language skills, and special topics related to workplace writing. | ||
| Subject Matter Focus Select one of the options below and complete 18 units according to the instructions |
18 |
|
| Communications Track Options: Courses selected from any one of these departments: Design and Industry, Instructional Technologies, Speech and Communication Studies, Journalism, or Broadcast and Electronic Communication Arts. | ||
| Technical Track Options: Courses selected from any one department in the College of Science and Engineering, any one department in the College of Business, or any one TPW director-approved department in the College of Health and Human Services. | ||
| Interdisciplinary Track Options: Courses selected from any interdisciplinary program or in an independently developed theme that is approved by the TPW director as relevant for technical or professional writing (for example, Arts Administration, Multimedia, or Environmental Studies). | ||
| Total for major | 45 |
|
NOTE: Any TPW-prefix courses already counted for the core or chosen for the subject matter focus are not eligible as skills electives. Skills electives cannot be from the department chosen for the subject matter focus.
The minor and certificate requirements are the same. In order to be accepted to an undergraduate certificate program, a student must have completed 56 semester units of undergraduate course work with a 2.0 (C) grade point average. A maximum of 12 transfer units is allowed toward the minor or certificate with the TPW director’s approval.
On-line course descriptions are available.
| Core Courses | Units |
|
| TPW 400 | Fundamentals of Technical and Professional Writing | 3 |
| TPW 550 | Professional Editing | 3 |
| TPW 555 | Desktop Publishing for Professional Writers | 3 |
| TPW 600 | Individual and Team Writing or | 3 |
| TPW 695 | Internship in Technical and Professional Writing or | |
| TPW 698 | Supervised Writing Project | |
| Any other TPW-prefix course (except TPW 698) | 3 |
|
| Total for core | 15 |
|
| Skills Electives Skills electives courses as described under the B.A. program. |
9 |
|
| Total for minor/certificate | 24 |
|
NOTE: Any TPW-prefix courses already counted for the core are not eligible as skills electives.