Department of Communication, Liberal Arts, and Social Sciences
Graduate Certificate Program
The ability to communicate professionally is a fundamental necessity in a society
where information has become the most powerful currency. Students currently enrolled
in NMT graduate programs, as well as professionals from the state of New Mexico and
beyond, benefit from this advanced degree option that hones their communication skills
specific to their professional demands and, more generally, allows them to achieve
mastery of a variety of modes of communication.
Graduate Certificate in Scientific and Professional Communication
Program Description
The Scientific and Professional Communication Graduate Certificate offers graduate
students and post‐baccalaureate professionals an opportunity to build and strengthen
their professional communication abilities for academic and professional work.
The 14 hours of coursework required for the Certificate brings the student from a
general foundation (ENGL 501 and TC 511) to specific media of presentation (COMM 560),
while elective courses are available to students with specific interests; for example
professionals who work in the Americas will benefit from SPAN 520, engineers may be
interested in a course specifically designed for Engineering Communication (COMM 570).
Program Outcomes
Students will demonstrate graduate-level writing and editing.
Students will demonstrate a graduate-level understanding of key scholarship and research,
history, current issues, and cultural matters in scientific and professional writing.
Students will demonstrate a graduate-level ability to connect theory with practice
in one or both of the following ways: (a) creating effective documents in scientific and professional genres, (b) performing proficiently in the use of software technology.
Students will demonstrate a graduate-level understanding of ethical issues for scientific
and professional writers.
