Business and Technical Writing Undergraduate Certificate
Certificate Requirements
Students earn the Certificate in Business and Technical Writing by completing 15 hours in selected writing courses across a core and elective list with a grade point average of 3.0 or better. 9 of the 15 hours must be taken at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Courses may not be taken on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory basis.
Core/Required Courses
| Course Number | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ENGL 3120 | Business Writing | 3 |
| ENGL 3130 | Technical Writing | 3 |
| ENGL 4890 | Writing Internship | 3 |
| or ENGL 4892 | Independent Writing Project | |
Elective Courses
| Course Number | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| UMSL Courses | ||
| ENGL 3160 | Writing in the Sciences | 3 |
| ENGL 4160 | Special Topics in Writing | 3 |
| ENGL 4871 | Publishing: Writers, Editors, and Readers | 3 |
| Missouri S&T Courses | ||
| ENGLISH 3560 | Technical Writing | 3 |
| TCH COM 2560 | Technical Marketing Communication | 3 |
| TCH COM 3440 | Theory of Visual Technical Communication | 3 |
| TCH COM 4085 | Internship in Technical Communication (individual enrollment) | 3 |
| TCH COM 4450 | International Dimensions of Technical Communication | 3 |
| TCH COM 4450 | Proposal Writing | 3 |
| TCH ED 5510 | Technical Editing | 3 |
| TCH COM 5530 | Usability Studies | 3 |
| TCH ED 5560 | Web-Based Communication | 3 |
| TCH COM 5610 | History of Technical Communication | 3 |
| TCH COM 5620 | Reasearch Methods in Technical Communication | 3 |
Alternative elective writing courses may be taken as electives with the prior approval of the certificate program coordinator.
Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of the program, certificate earners will be able to:
- Revise and edit texts efficiently
- Adjust style, tone, and format to best suit a professional context
- Develop rhetorical flexibility as it pertains to shifting professional writing expectations
- Identify various readers and stakeholders, and the situations in which they both operate
- Accurately compose language that meets the needs of readers and stakeholders
- Identify and solve real world problems via writing/composition
- Design and create texts in various modes (e.g. digital, videos, alphabetic, auditory, and multiple/combined modes)
- Demonstrate an ability to apply contextually appropriate rhetorical strategies and technologies to solve communication problems successfully and safely