Technical Communication

The Certificate in Technical Communication at Boise State is intended primarily for those students who do not wish to become professional technical communicators, but who wish to improve their writing and editing skills. Some of these students are English majors, studying literature, creative or expository writing, or English education; however, many are from outside the Department of English and even outside the College of Arts and Sciences.

The Certificate consists of three required courses and two courses chosen from a list of electives.

The required courses

• ENGL 302 Technical Rhetoric
• ENGL 312 Technical Communication Applications
• ENGL 403 Technical Editing

The electives

The electives consist of twelve courses from numerous fields: communication, organizational communication, management information systems, linguistics, management, sociology, and marketing. All are three-credit courses. Choose any two from the following courses:

• CIS 310 Intro. to Management Information Systems (3 credits) (CIS 310 Introduction to MIS has been changed to ITM 310 Business Intelligence (3 credits). Your instructor will sign the Academic Adjustment form.)
• COMM 307 Interviewing
• COMM 361 Organizational Communication
• COMM 478 Public Relations
• COMM 481 Studies in Interpersonal Communication
• GENBUS 360 Business Ethics and Social Responsibility
• LING 305 Introduction to Language Studies
• MGMT 401 Organizational Behavior
• MGMT 405 Management of Continuous Learning
• MKTG 306 Promotion Management
• SOC 390 Conflict Management
• SOC 487 Organizational Theory and Bureaucratic Structure

When you have completed the requirements for a certificate, follow the instructions below.

Application and Admission

There are no application and admission requirements. You must fulfill the prerequisites of each course you choose. After completing the five courses with a grade of at least C in each, bring to the Director of Technical Communication the following information:

• Grade reports or an unofficial transcript indicating the five courses that you have completed, the semesters in which you completed each one, and the grade you received in each one
• Your name, as you would like it spelled on the certificate itself
• The mailing address to which you would like the certificate sent