A screenshot from the Graduate Certificate in Technical and Scientific Communication homepage. On the top and left is the name of the certificate, and underneath is a short blurb about the program outcomes. On the right is a girl with long, braided hair and glasses sitting in a library.
Image from the graduate certificate in technical and scientific communication homepage.

A new graduate certificate program is available for graduate students who want “to learn and critically analyze the norms, practices, and cultural elements of technical – including scientific – information,” says Department of English faculty member and Center for Communicating Science collaborator Julie Gerdes. The certificate requires two core courses and two electives, Gerdes says, and may expand its offerings in the future. 

    The Graduate Certificate in Technical and Scientific Communication includes two core courses: Introduction to Technical and Scientific Communication and Communicating Scientific Information. These will establish foundations in designing effective documents for a variety of workplaces, writing for scientific publications, data visualization, audience analysis, and multimodal communication strategies. Students also have the option to choose electives in areas such as medical humanities, visual rhetoric, technical communication theory, or other special  topics. 

    “The certificate program is meant to develop not just the writing but also the critical thinking and analysis chops of students who are already writing every day and will likely continue writing in their careers,” says Gerdes, “whether that is in the research, commercial, government, or nonprofit sector. Classes will approach writing as an activity that exists within larger structures and within professional communities, so students can expect to finish the certificate with an appreciation for the humanistic aspects that go into the most technical of documents.”

    According to Gerdes, the certificate program was designed for three audiences:  1) graduate students in STEM fields seeking essential skills for writing common deliverables such as grant proposals, manuscripts for publication, and conference posters; 2) graduate students in rhetoric and writing who are interested in specializing in technical communication; and 3) working professionals in or seeking to move into technical or scientific writing roles. 

    The Center for Communicating Science offers GRAD 5144, Communicating Science, to graduate students eager to develop their skills in communicating their research to people outside their specialties, while the new certificate program will primarily focus on skills for scientific communication within research fields. Gerdes said that the new courses will also provide students with training for the development of written deliverables such as fact sheets and web content for public audiences.

By Bria Weisz, Center for Communicating Science graduate assistant