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Subject:Begins a list of schools From:David Hailey <FAHAILEY -at- WPO -dot- HASS -dot- USU -dot- EDU> Date:Tue, 3 Sep 1996 10:51:40 -0600
I received a message from Bruce Faron today. Because he
wrote it privately, it would be inappropriate for me to
include it, but he addresses a question that have
consistently popped up in the group: He asked what schools
I consider worth attending. But it also raises the other
question we see again and again: "How do I break in? How do
I improve my credentials? How do I freelance, consult,
etc?" With (all) your help, I would like to begin a home
page that focusses on helping neophytes into the field.
I would like to address his question in the public forum in
the hope that I can begin a database that continues my small
beginning.
As concerns schools, this is my insufficiently humble
opinion.
The following list is not conclusive. It lists only the
schools that I KNOW to be excellent because I know the
programs and their teachers. There are other programs that
are good, but I don't know who teaches there or what the
programs are like, so I can't recommend them. The schools I
would chose from if I were looking to study at the best are:
1. Texas Tech BA,MA, Ph.D. One of the top three multimedia
technical writing programs in the country--recently stole
Stuart Selber, among the top mm theorists. Strongly
theoretical. I would go there for my MA and Ph.D. if I
intended to teach.
2. Utah State University BS, MS. The top multimedia
technical writing program (imho) in the country. Strictly
professional. Examines the evolution of the profession and
adapts classes to fit. All TW faculty are working pros.
Students graduate into $30-40K/year jobs for Novell, Allen
Communications, Micron, etc. _All_ students get jobs.
Grad school is specifically designed to enhance the
credentials of working professionals.
3. University of Washington--a direct line to Microsoft and
the other Washington software developers--also Japanese
technical writing language program.
4. Michigan Tech -- I would go there if I couldn't get into
TT and wanted a well respected Ph.D. They are more
respected than TT, but I think TT is better.
There are lots of other good programs that I know of, but
these are the only ones I know would attend.
With this in mind, as we think about our needs as
professional writers, where are the really good schools. I
would be happy to put together a WWW page that lists and
points to the schools. Would you (all) consider
contributing your opinions?
Regards. . .
Dave Hailey
Assistant Professor
Professional Writing/Hypermedia
Utah State University
fahailey -at- wpo -dot- hass -dot- usu -dot- edu
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