• What is TPC?
• Undergraduate Options
• Graduate Options
• Undergraduate TPC courses
• Graduate TPC courses
• Industry & Academic Advisory Team (IAAT)
• Internship and Employment Placements
• Faculty who focus in TPC

What is TPC?

Technical and Professional Communication is the study of strategies and approaches for communicating technical and non-technical information with a variety of audiences, in a variety of modalities.  TPC is a growing field in the U.S. and global labor markets and many high-tech and biomedical firms, as well as national laboratories, regularly employ technical communicators to work with their scientists and engineers on written and visual communication outputs as well as on UX (User-Experience) teams. Our program prepares students to enter these exciting career paths or to pursue TPC further at the MA or Ph.D. level.

TPC is a field based in rhetoric, in which you will use your skills in persuasive and clear creative communication, working in a variety of genres (including the writing of proposals and grants, instructions and standard operating procedures, reports, web copy, social media content, white papers, and more). 

Undergraduate options

• Minor

• Certificate for Non-ENGL Majors

• Certificate for ENGL Major

If you are an English major at UNM, you can receive a Certificate in TPC if you take four classes beyond the total number you need to complete for your ENGL major.  This document will guide you through the process.

Our Undergraduate CERT is also available to students from every major on campus. The CERT is a great supplement to Engineering and Science BS degrees at UNM; achieving the CERT in TPC will show future employers and graduate programs that you have depth-knowledge in effective communication practices for a variety of expert and non-expert audiences. 

See this video for further information on the TPC program. 

Reach out to TPC Program Director Dr. Julianne Newmark, or English Undergraduate Advisor Kelly Neuschwanger, if you have any questions or want to elect to pursue the Certificate.

Graduate-student options

• MA Focus in TPC

• Ph.D. Focus in TPC

• GCERT in TPC

Professional Writing Track for MA and Ph.D. Students

Students enrolled in ENGL graduate programs at the MA or Ph.D. level can pursue the Professional Writing track. Students who are interested in applying for admission to our department’s graduate programs in English and focussing on TPC can review the application guidelines and timeline here at the MA level and here at the PhD level, as well as the focus areas of our Rhetoric and Writing faculty. 

Graduate Certificate in Technical and Professional Communication (GCERT TPC)

For individuals who hold a Bachelors degree of any kind and wish to develop skills in TPC, but do not wish to enroll in our full Rhetoric and Writing MA or Ph.D. program, we offer our Graduate Certificate in Technical and Professional Communication.  This 15-credit Certificate is available as a stand-alone credential or can be pursued within an enrolled students’ current MA or Ph.D. plan.

If you are a community member who feels that enhanced skills in TPC would benefit your current career or help you pivot to a new one, or if you are a UNM employee who wishes to develop TPC skills while using your tuition remission benefit, please peruse the information about the GCERT here, where you will find the link to apply. 

Undergraduate TPC Courses

ENGL 2210, Technical Writing (Core Curriculum course; click here for informational video)

ENGL 2220, Intro to Professional Communication

The courses listed below are dedicated TPC courses in the English Department.  These courses fulfill some of the requirements for the TPC Minor and Certificate at the undergraduate level.  Other courses may be used as well, as outlined in the full descriptions, available here. 

ENGL 2210, Technical Writing (3 credits)

ENGL 2220, Introduction to Professional Writing (3 credits)

ENGL 417, Editing (3 credits)

ENGL 319, Usability and User-Centered Design (3 credits)

ENGL 320, Advanced Expository Writing (3 credits)

ENGL 413, Scientific, Environmental, and Medical Writing (3 credits)

ENGL 414, Documentation (3 credits)

ENGL 418, Proposal and Grant Writing (3 credits)

ENGL 419, Visual Rhetoric (3 credits)

ENGL 420, Topics in Professional Writing (3 credits)

ENGL 441, English Grammars (3 credits)

ENGL 499, Internship (3 credits)

Graduate-level TPC Courses 

The courses marked with an asterisk are required for one or both of the GCERT tracks. Please see the Technical and Professional Communication GCERT page for further information.

ENGL 502*: Technical and Professional Communication (3 credits)

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)

ENGL 535*: Ethics in Technical and Professional Communication (3 credits)

ENGL 540: Research Methods (3 credits)

ENGL 598: Graduate Internship (3 credits)

Industry and Academic Advisory Team (IAAT)

Our Advisory Team is comprised of a group of individuals dedicated to the growth of our program and technical communication excellence in a variety of workplaces.  The IAAT meets once a year for our board meeting, but maintains a presence on campus throughout the year, serving in a mentoring capacity for current TPC students, attending TPC events, and speaking at our once-a-semester “Pizza with a Practitioner” lunches. To learn more about our IAAT, click here.

Internship and Employment Placements

Our TPC students have secured internships at a variety of local Albuquerque businesses and non-profits, including Popejoy Hall, Albuquerque: The Magazine, UNM HSC Department or Orthopedics, Sandia National Laboratories, ABQ BioPark, and more.  If you are interested in a TPC internship at the undergraduate or graduate level, review the details of our internship courses and reach out to the TPC Program Director or the course’s instructor.

Students who have completed BAs in ENGL with a focus in TPC as well as students who have received their MA or Ph.D. in our program have secured employment as technical communicators or UX professionals at a variety of companies and organizations, including Sandia National Laboratories, Los Alamos National Laboratories, UNM Department of Orthopedics and Rehabilitation, National Parks Service, and more.  

Faculty Who Focus in TPC

Do you want to talk to some of our faculty about your interests in TPC–and theirs? The faculty members below have research and teaching profiles in TPC and would be happy to chat with you!

Julianne Newmark

Tiffany Bourelle

Steve Benz