English

Eastern Washington University is excited to offer the only BA in technical communication in the state of Washington.

Technical communication is a professional program designed to prepare students for a career as a technical writer. Because of the diverse nature of the profession, students will need to develop a broad base of professional writing skills, including work in documentation, editing, graphic design and public relations.

Technical communicators develop, edit and manage software and equipment manuals, maintenance procedures, assembly instructions, catalogs, sales promotion materials, organizational policies and procedures, websites, online tutorials and proposals.

For current information about program requirements, please see current EWU catalog.

As part of this program, students will complete a professional internship, requiring at least 200 hours of supervised work in a business, industry or agency related to the student's academic preparation and career goals. Students will also develop basic computer literacy, including working knowledge in desktop publishing and web design practices.

With a technical communication degree, students learn how to design user interfaces, test documents and products for usability and prepare text for translations.

Technical communicators are writers, editors, artists, managers, educators and media specialists who are employed in virtually every industry.

Also, technical communicators can serve as part of a team conducting usability studies to help improve the design of product prototypes. They plan and edit technical materials and oversee the preparation of illustrations, photographs, diagrams and charts.

Today's world of technology means a high demands individuals who can understand scientific and technical information and communicate that information to others.

Technical communication is a fascinating and lucrative career choice with the opportunity to:

• Develop a wide range of skills including writing, page layout, book design, graphic design, Web development and training
• Express creativity in a variety of media and formats
• Find work in almost any industry you want
• Develop diagnostic and problem-solving skills to anticipate and solve problems

Note: two years of a single high school foreign language or one year of a single college-level foreign language is required.

Course List

Pre-Major Requirements (10 credits)

ENGL 270 Introduction to Fiction (5)
ENGL 271 Introduction to Poetry (5)
Requires a minimum grade of 2.5 in each course and at least a 3.00 average for the two courses together.

Required Courses (45-55 credits)

ENGL 205 Intro to Technical Communication (5)
(Students must complete this course with a minimum grade of 3.0)
ENGL 305 Professional Communication (5)
ENGL 360 Language Structure and Use (5)
ENGL 404 Software Documentation (5)
ENGL 407 Proposal Writing (5)
ENGL 409 Editing in Technical Communication (5)
ENGL 459 Grammar for Teachers (5)
ENGL 490 Senior Capstone: Issues in Technical Communication (5)
ENGL 495 Professional/Technical Communication Internship (5-15)

Supporting Courses (40 credits)

CMST 200 Intro to Speech Communication (4)
DESN 216 Computer Graphics (4)
DESN 263 Visual Communication Design I (4)
DESN 360 Desktop Publishing (4)
DESN 363 Visual Communication Design II (4)
DESN 368 Introduction to Web Page Design (4)
JRNM 451 Introduction to Public Relations Theory (4)
JRNM 452 Advanced Public Relations Theory (4)
JRNM 453 Public Relations Writing (4)
TECH 393 Technology in World Civilization* (4)

Select one from the following (5 credits)

ENGL 340 Survey of British Literature I (5)
ENGL 341 Survey of British Literature II (5)
ENGL 342: Survey of British Literature III (5)
ENGL 343 Survey of American Literature I (5)
ENGL 344 Survey of American Literature II (5)
ENGL 350 Shakespeare (5)