Professional and Technical Communication, BA or BS with grad track option leading to Professional and Technical Communication MA

The Department of technical communication offers a five-year BA or BS/Master’s program for highly motivated Technical Communication majors. The combined grad track program will enable students to earn a BA/BS and MA in five years. The combined grad track will also help students save money and prepare themselves for the rigors of graduate education while still enrolled as an undergraduate.

All applications will be reviewed by the department’s Assistant Chair. They should contact the department to set up that meeting.

Eligibility

To be eligible to apply to the grad track program, students must

Have maintained a cumulative 3.5 GPA, to include transfer credit
Have completed 75 undergraduate hours, including TECM 2700 and 2800 (earned an A) (75 credits to be admitted)
Be a declared technical communication major
Meet with the department’s Assistant Chair and Undergraduate Advisor for a short interview

The admission decision will be made by the department’s Assistant Chair. He will use the student’s GPA, but he will also use the following criteria:

A resume
A response to a writing prompt
Nomination forms from two technical communication faculty
An interview with the department’s Assistant Chair

The originator of this proposal confirmed that the learning outcomes in the undergraduate courses are met by the graduate courses. Here are the graduate courses replacing undergraduate courses:

TECM 5195: Editing Technical Documents (replaces TECM 4190: Technical Editing)
TECM 5200: Digital Content Strategy (replaces TECM 3550: Content Strategy)
TECM 5280: Designing Technical Documents (replaces TECM 3100: Visual Technical Communication)
TECM 5550: Studies in the Teaching of Technical Communication (replaces one of the two required TECM undergraduate electives)

Restrictions

The grad track pathway requires students to take 12 graduate credits (4 courses) in their undergraduate senior year. Graduate course work taken for undergraduate credit will be considered advance credit, students must complete the 4 graduate courses within 12 calendar months of enrolling in their first graduate course

Students are not permitted to take more than 12 graduate credits until they fully complete the requirements for the BA or BS degree. Students who complete the 12 credits are automatically admitted to the MA program.

Students admitted to a pathway must complete 90 credit hours before taking the courses in pathway. Students must complete the bachelor’s degree within one academic year of their first pathway course in order to have the graduate course credits transferred to their graduate plan of study.

Students in pathways must apply formally for admission to the graduate program associated with the pathway. This requires submitting a formal application for admission to the Toulouse Graduate School typically during the fall semester of their senior year.