Campuses:
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Twin Cities Campus
Technical Communication CertificateWriting Studies Department
College of Liberal Arts
The certificate in technical communication provides students with proficiency in four areas of technical communication: written, oral, visual, and digital. Students take at least two required upper-division courses and complete a capstone project as part of one of the courses. The courses are designed to teach students practical skills for communicating complex technical information to a variety of audiences and to complement their career plans.
Program Delivery
This program is available:
Admission Requirements
For information about University of Minnesota admission requirements, visit the
Office of Admissions
website.
General Requirements
All students in baccalaureate degree programs are required to complete general University and college requirements including writing and liberal education courses. For more information about University-wide requirements, see the
liberal education requirements.
Required courses for the major, minor or certificate in which a student receives a D grade (with or without plus or minus) do not count toward the major, minor or certificate (including transfer courses).
Program Requirements
Universal requirements:
- Complete a minimum of 8 credits at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities campus
- Complete all courses with a grade of C- or higher
- Produce a capstone project: The purpose of the capstone project is (1) to further develop and reflect on what you have learned through your certificate coursework and (2) to provide you with a tangible product that can be used for job applications and during interviews. The one-credit capstone project must be added on to WRIT 3562W or the WRIT elective that you take for the certificate. The capstone project will be evaluated by the instructor of the chosen WRIT course. If necessary to the project, an outside reader with subject matter expertise will be invited to also read and provide input. Projects will be evaluated on the following criteria: how well the project is written, organized and designed; how well the project extends an existing assignment; how well the project illustrates communication principles such as style, clarity and design; how well the project demonstrates rhetorical components of audience, purpose, message and context; how well the project addresses insights into communication in the student's specific field (science, engineering, architecture, political science, etcetera). Consult the departmental adviser for further details.
Required Course
WRIT 3562W - Technical and Professional Writing
[WI]
(4.0 cr)
Elective Course
Take a total of one elective course.
Take 1 or more course(s) from the following:
·
WRIT 3257 - Technical and Professional Presentations
(3.0 cr)
·
WRIT 3577W - Rhetoric, Technology, and the Internet
[TS, WI]
(3.0 cr)
·
WRIT 3672W - Project Design and Development
[WI]
(3.0 cr)
or
Students may substitute one of the following courses as an elective with prior approval from the WRIT departmental advisers.
Take 1 or more course(s) from the following:
·
WRIT 3441 - Editing, Critique, and Style
(3.0 cr)
·
WRIT 3671 - Visual Rhetoric and Document Design
(3.0 cr)
·
WRIT 4431W - Science, Technology, and the Law
[CIV, WI]
(3.0 cr)
·
WRIT 4501 - Usability and Human Factors in Technical Communication
(3.0 cr)
·
WRIT 4573W - Writing Proposals and Grant Management
[WI]
(3.0 cr)
·
WRIT 4662W - Writing With Digital Technologies
[WI]
(3.0 cr)
Capstone Project
Take WRIT 3291 as a 1-cr. 'add-on' to either of the certificate's required courses. The capstone project extends an assignment in the selected course to further explore an aspect of technical communication. The project must be developed in consultation with the instructor of the selected course, and all work must be completed within the same semester. Project formats include a paper, report, podcast, video, scientific poster, or electronic presentation. Consult dept adviser for full details.
WRIT 3291 {Inactive}
(1.0 cr)
|
|
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Course Equivalencies: | Writ 3562V/Writ 3562W |
Grading Basis: | A-F only |
Typically offered: | Every Fall, Spring & Summer |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Grading Basis: | OPT No Aud |
Typically offered: | Every Fall |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F only |
Typically offered: | Every Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F or Aud |
Typically offered: | Every Spring |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Course Equivalencies: | Writ 3441/Writ 4561 |
Grading Basis: | A-F only |
Typically offered: | Every Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F only |
Typically offered: | Every Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F only |
Typically offered: | Periodic Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Course Equivalencies: | Writ 4501/Writ 5501 |
Grading Basis: | A-F only |
Typically offered: | Every Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F or Aud |
Typically offered: | Periodic Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Course Equivalencies: | Writ 4662W/Writ 5662 |
Grading Basis: | A-F only |
Typically offered: | Every Fall & Spring |