Re: What degree would you get

[Beth Williams <BWILLIAM -at- SOLOMON -dot- MHS -dot- COMPUSERVE -dot- COM>]

The original question was:
How many other universities out there offer Technical Communication as a
major?

To which Kristen Mercer replied:
Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio offers an
undergraduate degree (and a graduate degree, I believe) in Scientific and
Technical Communication.  When I was there, we took classes in computer
basics, computer programming, graphic design, journalism, technical
writing, technical editing, and others. We also were required to do an
internship and all the writing and editing classes had final projects
that involved finding a "client" and doing a "freelance job." It's good
program and I felt prepared when I headed out into the work force.  I
know there are other class requirements that have been added since I
left.

Just to add a little more to this conversation:
I am currently in the graduate program at B.G.S.U. (yes, we do have one).
 We have a basic core of classes that include technical writing, editing,
research, and visual communications.  Students are required to complete
an internship and practicum work which includes portfolio building, an
oral presentation, and a reflective essay all stemming from the
internship.  One of the strongest assets our program has is the cognate,
or area of specialization.  The cognate consists of four or five classes
the student selects to match his/her specific area of interest.  My
cognate class this semester deals with research and implementation of
SGML/HTML.  My cognate is computer science/technology, but I know of
others in the program whose interests range from psychology to training
and development to marketing research.  Undergraduate and graduate
students also combine to sustain an award winning STC chapter at Bowling
Green.

Enough for now,
Beth Williams
bwilliam -at- solomon -dot- mhs -dot- compuserve -dot- com