The University of New Mexico\u2019s English Department launched its Graduate Certificate in Technical and Professional Communication (GCERT TPC). The 15-credit certificate is designed to prepare community members who already possess undergraduate or graduate degrees with a specific writing- and communication-related credential to help them improve their written communication skills in their existing workplace or to transition careers. For individuals in engineering and science fields, as well as the business and non-profit sector, the skills in proposal and grant writing, usability and user-centered design, and ethics in technical and professional communication offered by the GCERT\u2019s courses will prepare Certificate holders to lead in their current and future workplaces and community service contexts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are very excited to serve New Mexicans who want to improve their writing, their visual communication skills, and their confidence as persuasive, audience-oriented communicators,\u201d says Dr. Julianne Newmark, Technical and Professional Communication program Director. \u201cI regularly receive emails from mid-career professionals in the Albuquerque community who want to enroll in our undergraduate TPC classes or to complete our undergraduate TPC certificate. But that\u2019s not an option for those who already hold a degree. This GCERT allows us to fill a real need in our community and beyond. And, the classes that comprise the Cert are available in fully online formats, which makes the Cert broadly accessible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 15-credit Certificate has two tracks, the \u201cGeneral\u201d track and the \u201cProposal and Grant-Writing\u201d track. Both tracks include five classes, two of which are required courses for the General GCERT: a Foundations course and an Ethics course. There are five required in the \u201cProposal and Grant-Writing\u201d track. Many courses from the English Department\u2019s Rhetoric and Writing Program serve as electives, ranging from Visual Rhetoric to Editing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis GCERT is available to students who are brand-new to our campus, virtually or in-person, as well as to existing graduate students from across UNM,\u201d says Newmark, adding \u201cTo be able to enhance our fellow New Mexicans\u2019 skills in ethical technical communication is a goal we\u2019ve long had as faculty members in our Rhetoric and Writing Program. We can\u2019t wait to grow this program and serve our community through it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n