Professional Writing and Digital Communication is a flexible program designed to serve students who are interested in pursuing careers in technical, professional, and digital communication and students who see the development of communication skills as advantageous to their professional and educational goals.
In addition to skills-based classes, the department offers a two-course Micro-Credential and a four-course Certificate. Students do not need to be pursuing another graduate degree to pursue these credentials, though in many cases, courses used for these credentials can also be used to satisfy requirement of other degrees at UB.
Our Mission
Our program has two closely aligned missions. The first mission is to prepare students to enter careers as communication professionals. From technical writers to social media specialists, there are an expanding array of professions that demand adept writing skills, keen rhetorical awareness, and flexible digital literacy. These careers span virtual every industry: medicine, computers, finance, entertainment, non-profits, and so on. Our program is designed to give students a competitive advantage in entering these professions by providing them with writing skills, digital literacy, and proven methods for adapting and succeeding in new communication situations.
The second mission recognizes that it is not solely communication professionals who require these skills in order to find professional success. A degree in science, engineering, or business provides students with the necessary education to enter those fields, but, as is widely acknowledged, it is often the “soft skills” of communication that make a difference in one’s long-term career. Similarly, for those pursuing graduate degrees in the arts, humanities, and social sciences, our program offers an opportunity to adapt one’s disciplinary research and communication skills for a broader range of public and professional audiences and careers.
Our Digital Focus
Though professional and technical communication have been clearly identified career paths for decades, the development of the internet and especially the innovations of the past decade have transformed these careers in terms of the expertise they require, the variety of texts and media objects they produce, and the ways in which professionals work. Our program views digital communication as foundational to the curriculum.
Our digital focus has four key elements:
Students may take the Certificate as a standalone program or combine it with other graduate degrees. In particular, students who choose to pursue an MA or PhD in English will find that the coursework in the Certificate also satisfies MA/PhD requirements. Qualified undergraduates may begin the Certificate in their senior year and thus complete the program with only one additional semester of coursework.
Students in the Certificate must enroll in two of the following four courses: ENG 503: Professional Writing and Digital Communication, ENG 510: Technical Communication, ENG 520: Professional Writing, EAS 580: Technical Communication for Engineering.
From there, students take two more elective courses from our growing list of courses. Students can continue a focus in technical or professional communication or integrate these interests with coursework in literacy education, rhetorical theory, or digital humanities.
Requirements
The Certificate in Professional Writing and Digital Communication comprises four graduate courses (12 credits).
Required Courses: Select 2 of the following 4 courses (6 credits)
ENG 503: Digital Communication (3 cr.)
ENG 510: Technical Communication (3 cr.)
ENG 520: Professional Writing (3 cr.)
EAS 580: Technical Communication for Engineering (3 cr.)
Elective Courses (6 credits)
DMS 537: New Media 1 (4 cr.)
DMS 538: New Media 2 (4 cr.)
DMS 570: Media Theory (4 cr.)
ENG 503: Professional Writing and Digital Communication (3 cr.)
ENG 510: Technical Communication (3 cr.)
ENG 520: Professional Writing (3 cr.)
ENG 602: Digital Composing and Rhetoric (3 cr.)
ENG 605: Media Curating (3 cr.)
ENG 623: Studies in Rhetoric (3 cr.)
ENG 653: Critical Theory (3 cr.)
LAI 536: Digital Video as Literacy Learning (3 cr.)
LAI 673: New Literacies Seminar (3 cr.)
LAI 678: Digital Media in Education (3 cr.)
The Micro-Credential consists of two courses, ENG 503: Digital Communication and ENG 602: Digital Composing and Rhetoric, and a final portfolio of work. Taken together these courses provide both a practical and scholarly understanding of the expanding role of digital media in workplace communication: composing in a variety of media; collaborating online; addressing diverse, global, networked audiences; and working with social media, mobile platforms, and other emerging technologies.
All graduate, professional, and advanced certificate students, as well as qualified undergraduates, currently enrolled at the University may pursue this Micro-Credential.
Final Portfolio Criteria
To receive the Micro-Credential, students must submit a digital portfolio of work including multiple modes of communication (e.g., textual, video, audio, graphical, etc.). In addition, students will submit a brief (approximately 1000-word) memo in which they reflect upon and synthesize their learning experiences in the courses. Overall, the portfolio must demonstrate the student’s successful engagement with the program’s learning outcomes.
1. Identify and analyze professional communication genres and practices.
2. Evaluate best practices for digital communication in professional contexts.
3. Apply common methods of rhetorical analysis to study professional communication.
4. Develop skills with composing in a range of digital environments.
Micro-Credential Badge
Upon completion of the program, students will receive a digital badge. A digital badge is an icon, but it is not a static image in that is click-able, and houses information, including the issuing institution, the date earned, the criteria required to earn the badge, and the evidence that shows that you have met the required criteria. Digital badges are dynamic credentials that YOU own, so you can decide how you want to use them. Digital badges can be put on social media sites, added as a link on your digital résumé, embedded in your e-portfolio, and more.
Our Faculty
David Bruce, Learning and Instruction
Elizabeth Mazzolini, English
Kristen Moore, English
Ryan Rish, Learning and Instruction