TW Program Description

[Peter Hager <FAC_PHAGER -at- VAX1 -dot- ACS -dot- JMU -dot- EDU>]

M.A., M.S. and Ph.D. Programs in Technical, Scientific, and
Professional Communication


Institute of Technical, Scientific, and Professional
Communication
James Madison University
Harrisonburg, VA 22807
(703) 586-6202
Contact Person: Peter J. Hager


Program Objectives:

Responsibilities of today's professional in technical,
scientific, or  professional communication are increasingly more
varied, more technology-based, and, consequently, more
challenging and competitive.  The ever-growing presence of
technology within the field of technical, scientific, and
professional communication requires that competitive
communicators have equal command of words and visual imagery and
be able to implement emerging technologies.
     Professional communicators must be highly proficient in
performing and supervising the entire document design process--
from the planning and research of a scientific or technical
document to its writing, editing, layout, and printing.  They
must also know how to design and integrate sophisticated visual
information into a document to make it a more audience-centered
and usable "product" is easily read, understood, and updated.
     The central objectives of the M.A. and the M.S. degrees in
Technical, Scientific, and Professional Communication are to
provide students with specialized advanced education in technical
communication theory and its application in work-world contexts
so that they might expand their communication skills and learn
communication management to advance their careers or to prepare
themselves for post-degree studies in the field.
     The Ph.D. program prepares students for careers in both the
professions and academia.  It emphasizes technical, scientific,
and professional writing; oral and visual communication; and
rhetoric.  A large percentage of graduates of the program will
accept industry or government positions that require skills in
analyzing and designing human communication systems and
practices.  Many graduates will become managers of publication
groups within industry, business, and government, while others
will choose to remain within academia as university or college
professors in areas of technical, scientific, or professional
communications.
     Central objectives of all three programs are to provide
students the opportunity to
     *    understand fully how and why effective communication
          works and to learn how to solve communication problems;
     *    explore the theory behind technical, scientific, and
          professional communication;
     *    create for themselves a cognate area of study within
          the scientific or technical field in which they intend
          to work as professional technical communicators;
     *    enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of their
          management of communication;
     *    relate principles from technical, scientific, and
          professional communication to theory and research in
          cognitive psychology;
     *    attain proficiency in using a range of document
          development tools, including desktop publishing and
          graphics software, as well as networking technologies,
          including Internet, Bitnet, and the World-Wide Web.


Career Paths:

Students can tailor course work to match their professional
interests by enrolling in courses within such career areas as
     *    biomedical communication,
     *    computer documentation,
     *    document design and production,
     *    governmental writing,
     *    managerial communication,
     *    organizational communication,
     *    rhetoric, and
     *    technical, scientific, and professional editing.


Areas of Competency:

Graduates of the proposed programs will be competent in the
following:
     *    Understanding of how effective communication should
          occur within an organization.
     *    Writing and rhetorical skills (e.g., logical
          organization; clear and concise style; error-free
          grammar, usage and punctuation).
     *    Editing and proofreading skills.
     *    Ability to define target audiences to ensure that a
          document meets the informational
          needs and interests of readers.
     *    Research skills in gathering information through such
          means as interviewing; surveys; library research;
          online database searches; Internet, Bitnet, and
          World-Wide Web searches.
     *    Analytical skills to solve problems using a logical and
          reasoned approach.
     *    Interpersonal skills in speaking that would enable her
          or him to communicate effectively with technical
          personnel, management, and other communication
          personnel.
     *    Ability to work collaboratively with colleagues to
          complete a document project.
     *    Proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing a foreign
          language.
     *    Document design skills (e.g., page layout & format,
          typography, design and creation of graphics).
     *    Production skills (e.g., paste-up of camera-ready copy,
          soliciting of printer bids, managing prepress duties).
     *    Depth of expertise in the technical content area.
     *    Mastery of  the various modes of technical
          communication (e.g, term definition, technical
          summaries, mechanism descriptions, process
          descriptions, instructions).
     *    Proficiency in writing technical document forms (e.g.,
          memos, proposals, formal reports).
     *    Skills in managerial communication.
     *    Understanding of how technology can be used to enhance
          communication in an organization.
     *    Proficiency in using communication  technologies (e.g.,
          computer hardware and software, computer peripherals,
          telecommunications equipment) to make more effective
          the documentation process as well as to improve the
          quality of the documentation itself.
     *    Expertise in using a variety of computer hardware and
          software (e.g., word processing programs,graphics
          software, desktop publishing, software, databases,
          multimedia software, CD-ROM).


Student Profile:

About one-half to two-thirds of students who will enroll in the
M.A., M.S., or Ph.D. program will have completed their
undergraduate work in such fields as the physical sciences (e.g.,
biology, chemistry, biochemistry, physics), computer science, and
applied disciplines (e.g., nursing and medical technology).
Between one-third and one-half of the students will have earned
undergraduate or graduate degrees in the humanities, particularly
English and communication.  About half the M.A. and M.S. students
will enter one of the degree programs either immediately after or
within two years after completing their bachelor's degree.  About
half the students will have five to ten years of experience
working in the professions.


Degree Descriptions:

M.A. and M.S. candidates must successfully complete a minimum of
36 credit hours of graduate-level course work and a minimum of
two semesters (one academic year).   To complete the Ph.D.
degree, students must satisfactorily complete 78 hours beyond the
bachelor's degree, or 42 hours beyond the master's degree.  Some
of the courses offered at the M.A., M.S., and Ph.D. levels
include
     *    Technical, Scientific, and Professional Communication
          for Non-Native Speakers of English
     *    Technical Editing
     *    Writing for Publication
     *    Rhetorical Theory
     *    Scientific Rhetoric
     *    Reasoning and Argumentation in Technical, Scientific ,
          and Professional Communication
     *    Organizational Communication
     *    Managerial Communication
     *    Statistics for Communications Research
     *    Science and Technology in Literature
     *    Ethical and Legal Issues in Technical, Scientific, and
          Professional Communication
     *    Writing in Government
     *    Writing in the Health Sciences
     *    Proposal Writing
     *    Computer User Documentation
     *    Publications Management
     *    Document Design
     *    Principles of Electronic Graphics
     *    Technical, Scientific, and Professional Presentations
     *    Intercultural Technical, Scientific, and Professional
          Communication
     *    Teaching Technical, Scientific, and Professional
          Communication


Program Facilities:

The graduate programs in technical, scientific, and professional
communication offer students a range of research and
technology-based facilities:
     *    computer labs with state-of-the-art PC and Macintosh
          hardware and software, including CD-ROM, laser disk,
          desktop publishing, and multimedia technologies;
     *    access to the university's advanced Internet, Bitnet,
          and World-Wide Web networks);
     *    internships and design projects that provide students
          with a sound foundation in the work-world practices of
          technical communication professionals;
     *    financial aid in the form of technical communication
          research and teaching assistantships at the M.A. and
          M.S. level as well as research and teaching fellowships
          at the Ph.D. level.


Admission Requirements:

Applicants for the M.A. or M.S. program must have earned a
bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university with a
concentration of courses in writing, editing, visual
communication, organizational communication, communication
theory, oral communication, or studies in a related scientific or
technological area, such as computer science or management
information systems, engineering, mathematics, and other science
fields.
     Applicants for the Ph.D. program must have earned a
bachelor's degree and an M.A. or M.S. degree from an accredited
college or university with a concentration of courses in writing,
editing, visual communication, organizational communication,
communication theory, oral communication, and studies in a
related scientific or technological area, such as computer
science or management information systems, engineering,
mathematics, and other science fields.