Technical Writing

We offer the state's only graduate degree in technical writing, and our program is widely considered to be one of the best in the Southeast. The program blends theory and practice in training students for careers in industry, teaching, and/or doctoral programs, including the department's new Ph.D. in Texts and Technology. Students learn to effectively and ethically plan, research, write, design, evaluate, and edit a range of technical documents using various technologies and industry-standard software. Students have access to the department's state-of-the-art technical writing computer lab and usability testing lab, facilities about which few programs can boast. Courses are often offered partly or fully via the web.

The technical writing program has a large, nationally recognized faculty with wide-ranging expertise in such areas as visual design, usability, ethics, stylistics, computer documentation, international communication, and the rhetoric of science. Several faculty members have won national awards for their teaching and research, and several are authors in the respected Allyn and Bacon Series in Technical Communication.

The technical writing program has enjoyed numerous partnerships with high-tech industries in the Central Florida Research Park and the greater Orlando area. Many courses involve real-world projects for local companies and organizations. The program is also well connected to the local Orlando chapter of the Society for Technical Communication (STC). This connection enables students to network with businesspeople and often land impressive jobs immediately after or even before graduation.