Program Description

The certificate in Professional and Technical Writing prepares students for thinking about writing as a rhetorical and social act, wherein the message conveyed is not only well crafted, but meets the expectations of the audience in terms of its design and execution. Workplace documents must meet workplace standards, as well as consider target audiences. Today those messages can be in the form of texts, web pages, blogs, podcasts, and videos, as well as the more traditional messages of “print.” Because of the digital, writing can employ all of these features or some them, depending on the type of document. Courses related to various writing modalities are included in the certificate.

Academic and Career Opportunities

There is a consistent need for technical and professional writers with local companies and organizations; for in-house and national clients; medical writers to create documents for best practices and medical devices; engineering companies that require specialized documentation for products. In addition, there is a need for proposal and grant writers, in profit and non-profit organizations. Students in the WRS major who have taken advantage of the courses that will comprise the certificate are now employed by various companies in the Salt Lake Valley as proposal writers, content editors, web designers, and in publishing houses. Depending on experience, salaries range from entry-level (approximately $40,000) to the more experienced writers who begin at approximately $60,000.

More Info

• Department of Writing and Rhetoric Studies
• College of Humanities
• Department Advising
• Career & Professional Development Center

Catalog

• Professional and Technical Writing Certificate

Exploratory Classes

• WRTG 2830 - Frameworks for Technical and Professional Communication

• WRTG 4830 - Designing for Usability