Contact: Han Yu
E-mail: hyu1@ksu.edu
Home page: www.ksu.edu/english/programs/techwriting.html

Offered through the English  department, the graduate certificate in technical writing and professional communication recognizes the complexities and demands of written, oral, and digital communication in the workplace as well as the interdisciplinary character of writing and communication studies in the academy. Thus, while centered on writing, the certificate includes course options in rhetoric, communication, design, digital media, speech, and group dynamics.

The certificate is available to any student with an undergraduate degree. A current undergraduate may take courses toward the graduate certificate if they enroll and pay for graduate credit. Classes for the certificate do not count toward their undergraduate degree. In some cases, courses may count toward a graduate degree. Interested students should meet with the program contact for advising and planning a course of study before taking any courses.

The certificate requires four courses (12 credit hours): one in writing, one in rhetorical or communication theory, and two electives.

At least one course must be from outside the student’s home discipline. Because of the wide variety of electives available, students can craft much of the certificate to meet their own career and educational goals. As with graduate degrees, participants are required to map out a coherent Program of Study with the certificate coordinator. The structure of the certificate is flexible enough so that most students, with advance planning, can pursue it without impeding regular degree progress.