Technical Communication Programs Research Articles

A survey of technical communication programs in U.S. colleges and universities-1984

Bachelor-, master-, and doctorate-leve technical communication in U.S. colleges and universities are tabulated by state from 1983-1984 academic data. The program are grouped into six categories: communication, communication theory, English (technical writing emphasis), technical communication, technical journalism, and technical writing.

A survey of technical communication programs in U.S. Colleges and Universities

Bachelor-, master-, and doctorate-level programs related to technical communication in U.S. colleges and universities are tabulated by state, based on 1982–83 academic data. The programs are grouped into six categories: communication; communication theory; English (technical writing emphasis); technical communication; technical journalism; and technical writing.

Building a Technical Communication Program

Building a Technical Communication Program

Evaluation of a Bachelor's Program in Technical Communication: Results of a Questionnaire

This is an evaluation of the undergraduate technical communication major in the Department of Rhetoric, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, 1979. Three audiences received the questionnaire: technical communication graduates, potential employers, and members of the Society for Technical Communication. The questionnaire was designed to determine perceptions of technical communication courses, rank-ordering of competency areas, and listing courses that should be required for all technical communication majors. The results are reported and discussed in this article.

Career Opportunities for Teachers of Technical Writing: A Survey of Programs in Technical Communication

In response to a mail survey of the career opportunities they offer teachers of technical writing, twenty-four programs that prepare students for careers as technical writers and editors indicated that their technical writing faculty enjoy about the same teaching loads, salaries, and chances for promotion and tenure as do equally qualified and experienced teachers of literature at their schools. The programs also indicated that they have a growing number of openings on their faculties for teachers of technical writing. Finally, the programs ranked and rated seventeen qualifications that might be offered by applicants for those positions; the most significant conclusion drawn from the rankings and ratings is that the programs look more favorably upon experience — both in teaching and in working as a technical writer or editor — than they do upon formal study of technical writing or the teaching of it.

Mapping the Unexplored Area: Developing New Courses and Coherent Programs in Technical Communication

Teachers new to technical writing must understand that “Technical Writing” is not one course. Rather it is a whole variety of courses distinguished from one another primarily by differences in objectives and only secondarily by differences in subject matter. To identify needed technical writing courses and to define coherent sets of courses, teachers of technical writing and program administrators need “a mapping procedure” to help them consider alternatives systematically in terms of objectives. This paper proposes such a mapping procedure.

Evaluation of a Master's Program in Technical Communication—Results of a Questionnaire

This is an expanded version of an evaluation originally given at the International Technical Communication Conference, Washington, D.C., 1976. The questionnaire was an attempt to get in touch with as many graduates of Rensselaer's Master's Program in Technical Communication as possible and to find out their reactions to the curriculum. The questions covered such topics as present and past occupations, usefulness of the Rensselaer curriculum, recommended curriculum changes, making use of invited speakers, degree of emphasis on style and format, supplementary courses, contact with professional writers, and adoption of new techniques.

The Expanding Dimensions of Technical Writing

MOST OF US who teach technical writing today concentrate on assisting students in science, engineering, and other technologies to develop greater proficiency in written presentation. As important as this educational objective is, however, other dimensions of technical writing stand in the wings awaiting our attention. Scientific and technical writing as a profession has much greater dimensions than many people realize. Today, for example, more writers and editors are involved in scientific and technical publication in business, industry, and government in this country than in the mass media. Scientific and technical publication is marked by a variety of writing requirements from the standard technical report on one hand to television manuscripts and public health educational programs on the other. Scientific and technical writing is a rapidly growing and changing field, one that is assuming greater importance. It is a field that has an extremely important contribution to make if we are to bring our technology to bear on the social problems of today. Even though their present number is small, the graduates of professional technical writing programs within the next ten years will very likely represent the rule rather than the exception among newcomers to the profession. Yet how many of our colleges and universities are doing anything to meet the needs of this growing field? Those of us who teach technical writing are in an excellent position to contribute to the development of professional programs if we are willing to expand our horizons and to join with our colleagues in other academic departments. Surely the profession is more apt to follow the lead of these programs at an increasingly rapid pace if we but develop them. At the University of Washington, we are now pressing for the approval of a Master's program in Medical and Technical Communication, and I would be awfully surprised if we were the only chool presently moving into the field. Putting together our proposed graduate program turned out to be a rather eyeopening experience. Perhaps sharing some of our thoughts and experiences will encourage and assist some of you to expand your horizons in technical writing. We see the graduate of our program as working in four broad areas: