Technical and Professional Writing
College of Liberal & Creative Arts
Interim Dean: Daniel Bernardi
Technical and Professional Writing Program
HUM 414
415-338-7025
E-mail: tpw@sfsu.edu
Web Site: http://tpw.sfsu.edu/
Director: Neil Lindeman
Advisors: Lindeman and Rehling
Faculty
Professor: Rehling
Associate Professor: Lindeman
Programs
B.A. in Technical and Professional Writing
Minor in Technical and Professional Writing
Certificate in Technical and Professional Writing
Program Scope
Technical and professional writers are in demand to link ideas, technologies, products, and services with people who need to understand those developments or to use them. The Technical and Professional Writing Program can prepare students for that critical communications role through major, minor, and certificate programs.
Technical and professional writers work in almost every field of industry and public life, including high-technology industries, business, government, and research and non-profit organizations. These career writers not only write and edit many types of documents in different media, but also sometimes design publications, manage and evaluate documentation and communication projects, and oversee development, production, and distribution processes.
To be best prepared for success in such work, students will need to start with strong writing skills then learn how to adapt them for the workplace and for changing technology and employment needs. Students also will need an intellectual framework for continuing professional growth and responsibility throughout their careers, including a solid grounding in humanistic studies, with an emphasis on analytical and ethical practices relevant for the workplace.
TPW students can combine TPW courses—which expose them to current workplace forms, methods, standards, and issues—with interdisciplinary electives that further develop related communications skills and attitudes. Students also can target a potential employment interest: Majors choose a specialized concentration (the subject matter focus); minors and certificate students can use TPW studies to complement their education and experience in other fields.
After completing the TPW program, students can begin their writing careers with important accomplishments and advantages: an academic degree or certificate in the field, improved and focused skills, an understanding of professional expectations and best practices for writers, and a portfolio of relevant writing samples.
Career Outlook
Depending on students' choices of subject matter focus and/or skills electives, students would be prepared for entry-level jobs as writers, editors, desktop or multimedia publishers, information developers and designers, and/or communications managers producing and overseeing technical documentation, content management systems, training or support materials, reports or proposals, and promotions or publicity.
Complementary Studies
Twelve units of complementary studies are required of all candidates for the Bachelor of Arts degree in Technical and Professional Writing. These units must come from courses bearing a prefix other than TPW, and not cross-listed with TPW. TPW majors can complete the requirement from within the major by taking 12 of the 15 units of classes required for their Subject Matter Focus. The Subject Matter Focus requires students to take 15 units of courses from a pre-approved list of non-TPW departments (e.g., Communication Studies, Journalism, Instructional Technology, Marketing), or to create a customized concentration based on courses from a mix of non-TPW departments, as approved by their major advisor. Although CS is already satisfied in the major itself, if students wish they may also meet their CS requirement by Study Abroad, courses taken in a secondary major or minor or certificate, or by choosing to take 12 units of a foreign language, any of which would also enhance the degree.
Bachelor of Arts in Technical and Professional Writing
Technical and Professional Writing (B.A.) — 45 units
Courses are 3 units unless otherwise indicated.
Core Courses (15 units)
- TPW 400 GW Fundamentals of Technical and Professional Writing - GWAR
- TPW 550 Professional Editing
- TPW 555 Visual Rhetoric and Document Design
- TPW 600 Individual and Team Writing
- TPW 695 Internship in Technical and Professional Writing
Skills Electives (15 units)
Select a minimum of 6 units from the list below and 9 additional units either from the list below or from interdisciplinary courses approved by your TPW advisor. Note: Skills electives cannot be from the department chosen for the subject matter focus.
- TPW 200 Writing Practices in Professional Contexts
- TPW 470 Writing Professional Promotions
- TPW 480 Writing Technical Documentation
- TPW 490 Grantwriting
- TPW 585 Technical Writing Online
- TPW 600 Individual and Team Writing (elective for minor/certificate only)
- TPW 685 Projects in the Teaching of Technical and Professional Writing (1 - 4)
Optional interdisciplinary course work typically would cover applied writing or editing; linguistics; organizational communication; graphic design and production; multimedia or computer tools; foreign language for business; or special topics related to workplace writing.
Subject Matter Focus (15 units)
Select a single one of the tracks below and complete 15 units according to the instructions. Note: All focus courses must be 200-level or above, with at least 9 units at 300-level or above.
Communications Track Options: Courses selected from any single one of these departments: Communication Studies, Foreign Languages, Journalism, Broadcast and Electronic Communication Arts, Design and Industry, or Instructional Technologies.
Technical Track Options: Courses selected from any single department in the College of Science and Engineering, any single department in the College of Business, or any single TPW advisor-approved department in the College of Health and Social Sciences.
Interdisciplinary Track Options: Courses selected to fit a customized concentration (based on an independently developed theme or on an existing interdisciplinary program) that is approved by the TPW advisor as relevant for technical or professional writing. (Examples: Arts Administration, Multimedia, Environmental Studies).
Note: All units applied to the TPW B.A. must be earned with a grade of C or better.
Minor/Certificate in Technical and Professional Writing
The minor and certificate requirements are the same. In order to be accepted to an undergraduate certificate program, a student must have completed 56 semester units of undergraduate course work with a 2.0 (C) grade point average. A maximum of 6 TPW advisor-approved transfer units is allowed toward the minor or certificate.
Before completing the certificate, students must demonstrate appropriate writing competency by successful completion of the required 18 units of upper-division, writing-intensive TPW course work.
Technical and Professional Writing, Minor or Certificate — 24 units
Courses are 3 units unless otherwise indicated.
Core Courses (12 units)
- TPW 400 GW Fundamentals of Technical and Professional Writing - GWAR
- TPW 550 Professional Editing
- TPW 555 Visual Rhetoric and Document Design
- TPW 695 Internship in Technical and Professional Writing
Skills Electives (12 units)
Chosen from skills electives courses described under the B.A. program, including a minimum of 6 TPW units.
Note: All units applied to the TPW minor/certificate must be earned with a grade of C or better.
