Technical Writing Undergraduate Certificate
Certificate Requirements
Students earn the Online Certificate in Technical Writing by completing 18 hours in selected online writing courses with a grade point average of 3.0 or better, including a capstone course. Twelve of the 18 hours must be taken at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Courses may not be taken on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory basis.
| UMSL Courses | ||
| ENGL 3120 | Business Writing | 3 |
| ENGL 3130 | Technical Writing | 3 |
| ENGL 3160 | Writing in the Sciences | 3 |
| ENGL 4870 | Advanced Business and Technical Writing | 3 |
| ENGL 4871 | Publishing: Writers, Editors, and Readers | 3 |
| ENGL 4872 | Technical Presentations | 3 |
| ENGL 4890 | Writing Internship | 3 |
| ENGL 4892 | Independent Writing Project | 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 4530 | Help Authoring | 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 |
Students may use ENGL 4890,ENGL 4892, ENGL 4870, ENGL 4871, and ENGL 4872 as their capstone course.
When the student has completed requirements for the certificate, the coordinator will notify the university registrar and the college from which the student will graduate. Upon the student’s graduation, completion of the Online Technical Writing Certificate will be noted on the official transcript and a certificate will be mailed to the student’s residence. Students who have graduated before completing the Online Technical Writing Certificate will receive the certificate in the mail and will have the certificate entered on their official transcripts.
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