Certificate in Technical Communication

About the Certificate | Course Catalog Descriptions | Requirements (PDF)

About the Certificate

1. The undergraduate Certificate in Technical Communication is offered by the Purdue School of Engineering and Technology at IUPUI in cooperation with the Department of English, the Department of Communication Studies, and the Society for Technical Communication.  The program follows the School’s guidelines for a Class C certificate.  A certificate will be presented to those who successfully complete the program of course work.
2. Students who earn the Certificate in Technical Communication will demonstrate that they have the core competencies necessary for entry-level positions as technical communicators.  They will demonstrate their ability to gather and transform technical information for a variety of audiences.  They will design, develop, and edit effective documents using rhetorical principles and current technology.
3. Any student formally admitted to the University may be a candidate for the certificate.  To receive the certificate, students must have a technical specialty (major, minor, or nine hours of course work), successfully complete nineteen credit hours of required and selected courses, and present a portfolio of work that is judged professionally competent by representatives of the local chapter of the Society of Technical Communication.  Courses taken at other universities may be recognized as the equivalent of the required or selected courses and can substitute for 50% of the IUPUI courses.  The TCM Coordinator must approve the candidate’s selection of courses.

Technical Specialty
A technical or scientific major or minor or technical interest demonstrated by nine hours of courses, including CIT 106 or 112 or an equivalent introductory computer course.

Curriculum

Required Courses: /10 credits

• TCM 220 or 320 - an introductory technical writing course
• TCM 350 (Visual Elements of Technical Documents)
• Eng W365 (Theories and Practices of Editing)
• TCM 435 (Portfolio Preparation)
  

• TCM 370, Comm C401 or Comm C402 - a course in oral presentation of technical material
• TCM 395 (Independent Study)
• TCM 420 (Field Experience in Technical Communication)
• TCM 425 (Managing Document Quality)
• TCM 450 (Research Approaches for Technical and Professional Communication)
• TCM 499 (Selected Topics in Technical Communication – variable titles)
• Comm R320 (Advanced Public Communication) or Comm R321 (Persuasion)
• Comm C228 (Discussion and Group Methods) or Comm C380 (Organizational Communication)
• Eng G205 (Introduction to the English Language)
• Eng W315 (Composing Computer-Delivered Text)
• IET 364 (Total Quality Control)
• Jour J463/J563 (Desktop Publishing) or Jour J390 (Corporate Publications)
• OLS 274 (Applied Leadership), OLS 375 (Training Methods) or OLS 474 (Conference Leadership Training)

Other courses may be approved for a student by the TCM Certificate Coordinator based on a student’s interests and career objectives.

Portfolio
Near the end of their coursework, students will present a professional portfolio, suitable for job hunting, which includes three to five documents of various types that demonstrate a range of skills and competencies.  Members of the Indiana Chapter of the Society for Technical Communication will review the portfolio and provide responses.

For career information:
Indiana Chapter of the Society for Technical Communication
http://www.stc-indiana.com/
Indiana Chapter of the American Medical Writers Association
http://www.hoosieramwa.org/

Program Administration
Marjorie Rush Hovde, Technical Communication Program
799 W. Michigan Street, Indianapolis, IN. 46202
ET 324F, (317) 274-0825
mhovde@iupui.edu