A minor in technical communication (TCOM) enables you to add valuable skills to your present field or discipline. For example, if you’re majoring in the sciences or technology, you may want to add a writing component to your degree to increase job opportunities after graduation.
The following information comes from the official EWU catalog, which outlines all degree requirements and serves as the guide to earning a degree. Courses are designed to provide a well-rounded and versatile degree, covering a wide range of subject areas.
Technical Communication Minor
The Technical Communication Minor is a strong addition to any major. The set of communication skills offered work well in a variety of professional contexts, enabling students from any discipline to communicate effectively and thereby excel in their careers.
Note: The prerequisite for TCOM 205 is ENGL 201. Students transferring to EWU may need to take ENGL 201.
| Required Courses | ||
| TCOM 205 | INTRODUCTION TO TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION | 5 |
| TCOM/JRNM 305 | PRINT LAYOUT AND CONTENT DESIGN | 5 |
| TCOM 404 | INSTRUCTIONS AND PROCEDURES | 5 |
| TCOM 407 | PROPOSAL WRITING | 5 |
| Elective–choose one 300- or 400-level TCOM course in consultation with TCOM faculty. | 4-5 | |
| Total Credits | 24-25 | |
Cross-listed: ENGL 300, SUST 300.
Pre-requisites: ENGL 201.
This course focuses on analyzing and creating effective communication practices for professional writing. Communication projects such as proposing new research projects, creating and integrating data graphics into professional reports, and reporting data to recommend problem-based solutions through reports and presentations will be emphasized in this course.
Cross-listed: ENGL 309, JRNM 309.
Pre-requisites: ENGL 201.
Many professionals continue to struggle with grammar and usage rules throughout their careers. In this course, students will refresh and improve their knowledge of English grammar, style and usage rules. They will develop confidence in using correct punctuation, capitalization and verb forms, and learn how to create and employ different types of sentence structures, becoming proficient at writing clear, correct sentences to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences.
Notes: may be stacked with ENGL 505.
Usability is a metric for which we gauge the effectiveness of our technical communication. We may often describe a product as “usable” or not “user-friendly.” These terms indicate whether the product is or is not easy to navigate, use or comprehend. This course emphasizes user research and usability evaluation to test and revise technical products and artifacts so users can complete tasks efficiently and successfully. In this class, students will research the needs of representative users (including their environmental limitations and the tasks they need to complete), develop a usability test plan, conduct usability evaluations, and analyze, report, and present this research in a way that assists writers/producers to create new, more usable iterations of their technical communication products.
Pre-requisites: TCOM 404.
In this course, students will learn the principles and practices of content management. They will learn associated technologies as well as how to write, design and integrate content to fulfill organizational goals and how to communicate consistent information through multiple formats, delivery channels, and devices.
For a full list of the TCOM elective courses offered, head over to the catalog.