Earn Your Certification in Technical Communication Online through UCLA Extension

By Helen Williams, UCLA Extension office, Los Angeles, CA

Now you can acquire the technical communication skills and certification you want from the nation's largest single-campus continuing education program-in the comfort of your own home or office.

Mention that you are an STC member and it gets even better: effective through September 1, 2003, you will receive a $50 discount for one online class per quarter.

The technical communication online curriculum consists of both basic and advanced or specialized courses in technical communication. The program is intended for those who are in the field and want to sharpen their skills or expand their knowledge base, or for those who are looking for an academic experience that prepares them to enter the field.

Although students in the certificated program may select courses from these offerings and take them in any order they wish, it is strongly recommended that the following foundation courses be taken first, particularly if students do not have professional experience in technical writing.

Foundation Courses
· Foundation Skills of Technical Writing (Online)
· Technical Writing (Online)
· Technical Editing (Online)
· Information Design (Online)

While the above courses are offered regularly, the curriculum as a whole is dynamic, with new courses being introduced in response to the special needs of those in the field. The following are courses that, in addition to the above, have typically been offered as part of this program:

Other Courses in the Curriculum
· Creating Readable Documents (Online)
· Technical Writing for the Web (Online)
· Introduction to Policies and Procedures Communication (Online)
· International Technical Communications (Online)
· Introduction to Project Management (Online)*
· Project Management Communications (Online)*
· Project Estimating (Online)*
· Writing Effective Proposals (Online)**
· Managing Effective Proposals (Online)**
· Making Sense of Knowledge Management (Online)

*These courses are particularly helpful when taken sequentially.
**These courses are particularly helpful when taken sequentially

Technical Requirements
Students need a PC or Macintosh computer with reliable access to the Internet with Internet Explorer 4.0 (or higher) or Netscape Navigator 4.0 (or higher) Web browser installed.

Need Additional Information?
The next UCLA Extension quarterly offerings begin in January 2003. For full information on course content of the above courses, and to learn which courses are being offered each quarter
- see UCLA's institutional Web site at www.uclaextension.org,
- see the UCLA Extension quarterly catalog, or
- contact Helen Williams at the UCLA Extension program via e-mail at HWilliam@unex.ucla.edu, or by phone at (310) 825-7729.