The MATC requires 36 hours of courses. Up to 9 hours of these courses may be in a minor. In addition, you will submit a portfolio of your work to the faculty in your final semester. Texas Tech will normally accept 6 hours of approved graduate courses from another accredited university to apply to a degree.
The MATC emphasizes breadth of coursework. Students will prepare broadly in the kinds of responsibilities that careers in technical communication require. It is a good choice for students with undergraduate majors other than technical communication or who wish to pursue a minor field of study along with technical communication.
All students will complete courses in the following four categories, for a total of 12 courses or 36 hours. Students will complete 10 courses from categories A, B, and C plus the two required courses in category D.
| Category A: Application At least 4 of these courses |
ENGL 5372 Technical Reports ENGL 5373 Technical Manuals ENGL 5374 Technical Editing ENGL 5375 Document Design ENGL 5376 Online Publishing ENGL 5387 Publications Management ENGL 5377 Theoretical Approaches to Technical Communication (when the topic emphasizes application) |
| Category B: Theory and Research
At least 3 of these courses so that courses from A and B total a minimum of 7 |
ENGL 5369 Discourse and Technology ENGL 5384 Rhetoric of Scientific Communication ENGL 5385 Ethics in Technical Communication ENGL 5386 Written Discourse and Social Issues ENGL 5388 Usability Testing ENGL 5389 Field Methods of Research ENGL 5377 Theoretical Approaches to Technical Communication (when the topic is theoretical) |
| Category C: Tailoring
your Degree Program Courses to total 10 courses when added to the selections from categories A and B. Options include: |
|
| Category D: Required Courses |
ENGL 5371 Foundations of Technical Communication. Introduction to the field and its theories, publications, genres, and current topics.
Writing for Publication, ENGL 5390. After completing at least 24 hours from the organized courses listed above, students will enroll in ENGL 5390. The paper from this course should be suitable for publication in a journal such as Technical Communication. |
Two or three courses (6-9 hours) may constitute a minor in a field other than technical communication. The minor should enhance your ability to understand and apply research related to communication or to complete job responsibilities. The minor courses may be taken in one department or may consist of a cluster of courses on related topics from different departments. The minor may be completed in the English Department in a field such as linguistics, rhetoric, or literature. The choice of a minor must be approved by the faculty advisor and the Director of Graduate Studies as well as by the minor department. The minor department establishes its own policies about what courses constitute a minor and about examinations in the minor field.
In your final semester of the MATC, you will develop and present to the TCR faculty a porftolio demonstrating what you have learned in the program.
Students enrolled in a distance learning course in the English department at Texas Tech University will need access to technology that enables them to complete projects and to a library. In addition, students should be aware of the time commitments of a graduate course and the honor system that is essential to credible courses by distance.
| Technology | Students need access to
the following software and equipment and be able to solve any problems with their
equipment and software. They also need to be able to connect to the website at Texas Tech
University and communicate by email, including sending and receiving attachments. Software Requirements word processing program presentation software graphical Web browser (Explorer, Netscape) Some classes may require a graphics program or page layout program. Minimum Hardware Requirements Your computer must be capable of running multiple applications simultaneously. Internet Access Graphical Web browser: Please note that some company firewalls prevent access to the MOO port. You can check your ability to access the MOO by logging on as a guest: http://moo.engl.ttu.edu:7000 E-mail Aliases |
| Library Resources |
Students need access to a
library containing a collection of scholarly books and journals in the field of technical
communication to complete some of the course assignments.
The TTU library offers services for distance students. |
| Time | A graduate level course requires a commitment of anywhere from> ten to fifteen hours per week for participating in group online activities, for reading, and for working on course projects. Summer courses compress this time requirement into a much smaller space, sometimes requiring 20+ hours a week. Students are required to participate in a one- to one-and-a-half-hour synchronous class discussion at approximately 6:00 p.m. one established weekday during the semester. Summer courses meet online two or three times per week. |
| Text sharing | Synchronous discussions in the MOO are recorded and may be published at the course website. Students must be willing to contribute to discussion in this somewhat public environment and to have their comments included in transcripts of synchronous discussions. |
last updated by Joyce Locke Carter: 04.21.08