Undergraduate
Writing and Communication Courses
Photo: Erika Schulte
Our department teaches all first-year writing courses. We also teach courses in technical writing, environmental humanities, rhetoric, and many other topics.
B.S. in Scientific and Technical Communication
The Department of Writing Studies offers a B.S. in Scientific and Technical Communication (S&TC). This degree offers a unique combination of written, oral, and visual communication theory and practice as they apply to interdisciplinary areas of science and technology.
This program examines how communication is a complex process that involves both the robust principles of audience, persuasion, clarity, accuracy, and ethical integrity, and a command of the knowledge of scientific and technical topics that one communicates. Students have the opportunity to examine social, legal, ethical, and political implications of communication as they relate to science, environment, gender, technology, diverse cultures, and workplace practices.
Students will study theories of rhetoric and communication and apply principles of audience analysis, writing and editing, information design, oral communication, and visual rhetoric. They will learn to engage in writing as a process and examine writing within communities of practice.
Careers in Scientific and Technical Communication
Scientific and technical communicators apply communicative techniques and technologies to the distribution of knowledge in industry, business, education, and government. They write and design information for audiences ranging from scientists to management to consumers of technical products and services.
The technical communication field is on the rise, and the demand for trained communicators in this profession is strong and likely to increase. The Twin Cities is home to many companies and organizations that hire technical communicators. Our graduates consistently find rewarding careers with outstanding companies, including Medtronic, Unisys, IBM, Symantec, U.S. Bank, Fredrickson Communications, and more.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, while employment of writers and editors is predicted to rise with the overall national employment average, “[O]pportunities should be best for technical writers and those with training in a specialized field. Demand for technical writers and writers with expertise in areas such as law, medicine, or economics is expected to increase because of the continuing expansion of scientific and technical information and the need to communicate it to others.”
More Information
Department of Writing Studies
612-624-3445
writ@umn.edu