King College > Academics > Schools > School of Arts and Sciences > Technical and Professional Communication

Technical and Professional Communication

"When you make technical documents, you are creating, designing, and transmitting technical information so that people can understand it easily and use it safely, effectively, and efficiently. Much of what you read every day--textbooks, phone books, procedures manuals at the office, environmental impact standards, journal articles, Web sites, the owner's manual for your car--is technical communication."

-- Mike Markel, Boise State University

Overview

Today’s marketplace needs individuals who can translate technical information into easy-to-understand language. This is the niche that the technical/professional communicator fills. Program graduates can prepare marketing and advertising materials, write documentation for products and services, do journalistic writing, develop websites and new media, and edit complex technical information. Technical/professional communicators demonstrate at work competence in research and grounding in ethics.

Students in the technical and professional communication program will get practical experience by completing projects for campus, corporate, or community clients.

Students are encouraged to cultivate, in addition to their communication courses, competence in a professional or technical field such as business, computer science, biology, chemistry, or physics. A hallmark of this program is flexibility as students work with their advisors choosing from the array of courses and practical opportunities to capitalize on students’ gifts and interests. A portfolio and a minimum of one internship, tailored to career goals, are required to complete the program. 

Career Opportunities

Technical/professional communicators are in high demand for jobs in public relations, journalism, feature writing, technical documentation, writing of manuals, copywriting for print and web media, editing, and legal writing. By combining this program with another field like a physical science or business, students will be prepared for work as writers and designers of printed or new media.

With a degree in Technical and Professional Communication, you could find yourself...

• Designing web sites for organizations and businesses
• Writing manuals for many different industries, including the auto, computer, and aeronautics industries
• Writing for a newspaper
• Producing newsletters and brochures
• Assisting engineers, researchers, and scientists in writing reports and articles
• Writing for specialized technical and medical trade journals
• Translating technical and scientific information into other languages
• Developing sales and public relations campaigns
• Writing on-line help files for complex software packages
• Conducting internal training programs for companies and organizations
• Writing grants to help non-profit organizations fund useful projects

Required Coursework

Academic Catalog: (To download this Acrobat PDF: Windows OS > Right click; MAC OS > Control click)

2007-2008 King College Academic Catalog