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Certificate Program in Technical Writing and Communication
Below this overview, you will find a list of all the courses associated with this program. While not all courses are currently offered, you can view each course description to become more familiar with the complete curriculum of the certificate or award.
Certificate Contact
Business and Management Department, (408) 861-3860, or e-mail program@ucsc-extension.edu.
Program Overview
Technical communicators work in a variety of fields and professionals must expand their skills to keep pace with the needs of Silicon Valley's most innovative companies. Whether addressing advanced topics or grammar basics, our comprehensive program centers around information usability educates superb technical communicators at all levels in all technical disciplines.
Our program is structured into five categories of courses, each catering to a different need and expertise within the professional community:
- Technical Communication Fundamentals
- Advanced Topics in Communication
- Project Leadership
- Tools and Technologies
Take individual courses to expand or update specific skills, or pursue the certificate for comprehensive instruction from the professionals who helped define the profession in Silicon Valley.
Audience
- Information developer, engineer and architect
- Career changers
- Documentation project leads
- Engineering managers
- Technical writer, editor and communicator
- User experience architect and designer
- Usability engineer
- Visual designer
Certificate Requirements
- Total of 10 courses
- Seven required courses
- Three elective courses
- Overall GPA of 3.0
- Course work must be completed within three years of declaring candidacy
- Courses completed more than five years prior to date certificate is issued cannot be used to fulfill requirements
- Refer to our Web site, www.ucsc-extension.edu/gpa , for our GPA calculator
Required Courses
Technical Communications Fundamentals
- Developing Technical Information from Plan to Completion (2 units)
- Grammar and Style for Technical Communicators (3 units)
- Technical Communication: An Introduction to the Profession and Process (1.5 units)
- Technical Writers' Workshop (1 unit)
- Writing Successful Instructions, Procedures and Policies (1.5 units)
Advanced Topics in Communications
- Final Project: Resume and Portfolio Preparation (1.5 units)
- Information Architecture and Design Basics (1.5 units)
Elective Courses
Technical Communications Fundamentals
- Editing Technical Documentation (2.0 units)
Project Leadership
- Estimating, Scheduling and Tracking Documentation Projects (1.0 unit)
- Role of the Project Manager (1.5 units)
Advanced Topics in Communications
- Minimalist Design for Documentation (0.5 unit)
- Usability Testing Documentation (1.5 units)
Tools and Technologies
- DITA Authoring Introduction
- DITA User Clinic
- DITA Information Architecture
It is recommended that you start with "Technical Communication: An Introduction to the Profession"
- You must end with "Final Project: Resume and Portfolio Preparation"
Certificate Application Information
We encourage you to establish candidacy in a certificate program early in your studies. The benefits of declaring candidacy early include notification of updates to the program.Certificate applications can be submitted through our online form or using our PDF form . If you use our PDF form, please submit your application along with the appropriate fee to the address or fax number listed on the application form.
Program Coordinator
ANDREA L. AMES, M.S., is a senior information developer at IBM. She specializes in user-centered product interface and online information architecture and design. She is expert at developing usable information for products, online information systems and print documentation. She teaches at the university level and is in demand as a conference speaker internationally. She is a director of the Society for Technical Communications' international board, and was recently named fellow.
