Graduate Certificate in Technical & Professional Communication (GCERT in TPC)
Welcome
Our TPC faculty possess a range of teaching specialties and industry histories that equip them to serve students seeking the TPC GCERT across the range of classes that comprise the certificate. With its launch in Fall 2022, the GCERT allows members of the community who are not enrolled in other UNM graduate programs to secure a stand-alone credential in technical and professional communication after completing five, 3-credit classes (a total of 15 credits). The GCERT is also an excellent option, as a degree supplement, for individuals enrolled in other ENGL degrees programs (the MA, MFA, or Ph.D.); for these students, the GCERT serves as a transcripted emphasis in TPC that can enhance their employment prospects post-graduation. Also, for graduate students from STEM disciplines at UNM, the GCERT offers transcripted evidence of concerted training in writing and communication. The courses that comprise the GCERT, or the whole GCERT itself, are excellent writing- and communication-training for university employees who wish to their tuition remission benefit to enhance their workplace success.
This Certificate requires 15 hours of coursework. Students may choose the "Standard" track or the "Grant and Proposal Writing" track. All GCERT students conclude their program by submitting a portfolio comprised of samples of their strongest multimodal and text-based compositions to the Program Director. All GCERT students take two required courses: ENGL 502, "Technical and Professional Communication," and ENGL 535, "Ethics in Technical and Professional Communication." In the "standard" tack, student may selected three electives from approved courses. In the "Grant and Proposal Writing" track, all five courses are "set," required courses.
The GCERT is assessed and advised in collaboration with an Industry Advisory Team (IAT), a group of specialists employed in governmental, for-profit, and not-for-profit technical communication contexts. Please contact the Program Director, Dr. Julianne Newmark, or affiliated faculty if you have any questions.
For complete requirements, see the Graduate Handbook.
Course Requirements (15 hrs)
Standard track (15 hrs)
Fifteen hours of courses from the broader range of courses within Rhetoric and Writing. RW courses not named below might be permitted as substitutes with permission from Program Director.
Courses with an asterisk are Online Max courses
Required courses:
ENGL 502*: Technical and Professional Communication (3 credits)
ENGL 535*: Ethics in Technical and Professional Communication (3 credits)
Electives (choose three):
ENGL 512*: User-Centered Design and Usability (3 credits)
ENGL 513*: Scientific, Environmental and Medical Writing (3 credits)
ENGL 517*: Editing (3 credits)
ENGL 518*: Proposal and Grant Writing (3 credits)
ENGL 519: Visual Rhetoric (3 credits)
ENGL 520: Topics in Professional Communication (3 credits)
Grant and Proposal Writing track (15 hrs)
Fifteen hours of courses from the broader range of courses within Rhetoric and Writing. All five courses in the Grant and Proposal Writing track are required. However, in rare instances, RW courses not named below might be permitted as substitutes with permission from Program Director.
Courses with an asterisk are Online Max courses
Required courses:
ENGL 502*: Technical and Professional Communication (3 credits)
ENGL 518*: Proposal and Grant Writing (3 credits)
ENGL 535*: Ethics in Technical and Professional Communication (3 credits)
ENGL 540: Research Methods (3 credits)
ENGL 598: Graduate Internship (3 credits)
GCERT Portfolio
If a student plans to complete GCERT coursework in a Fall semester, the Portfolio must be submitted via email to the Program Director by November 15. If the student plans to complete GCERT coursework in a Spring semester, the Portfolio must be submitted via email to the Program Director by April 1. The digital portfolio (created using a web-building platform of the student’s choice) must include three works completed by the student during the GCERT program, chosen to exemplify range of skill and excellence of ethical, audience-oriented output. The Portfolio must feature an approximately 500- to 750-word reflective memorandum, as the opening content of the portfolio. More specific guidelines and a rubric for the final portfolio are available from the Program Director.
