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JOUR-4820 Special Topics in Public Relations
–Sp
3 hours
Available to advanced students who desire intense study of
special areas of public relations. Topics of current interest in the
field of public relations will be offered to cover in-depth areas of
specialization. Topics may include crisis communication, agency
management, event planning, and international public relations.
Prerequisites: JOUR-3550 Advanced Public Relations Writing; or
permission of instructor.
(even years)
JOUR-4950 Internship
–Fa, Sp, Su
3–12 hour
Students are placed with professional organizations to apply
their journalism training and gain experience in actual career
situations. This should be discussed with an advisor one semester
prior to the internship experience. Internship agreements must be
signed by the student, the job supervisor, and the faculty mentor
prior to the initiation of the internship.
Prerequisite: for print major,
JOUR-3420 Editing and Design; for broadcasting major, JOUR-
3350 Television News Production; for public relations major,
JOUR-3550 Advanced Public Relations Writing.
Professional Writing and Information Design (PWID)
PWID-3000
3 hours
Production Tools and Document Design
–Fa
Students will learn to teach themselves technology to prepare
for learning new technology as it evolves in industry. Students will
also learn document design principles to help them create visually
stimulating, well-organized documents.
PWID-3010 Style and Mechanics for Writers
–Fa, Sp, Su
3 hours
Students will learn to apply reliable principles to make writing
clear, concise, coherent, and cohesive. Crosslisted with ENG
3010 Style and Mechanics for Writers.
Prerequisite: ENG-1400
Composition.
PWID-3011 Legal and Research Writing
–Fa
1 hour
Students will learn to apply reliable principles to make their
writing clear, concise, coherent, and cohesive. In addition,
they will learn to write persuasive documents that are required
of professionals in the fields of law and public administration.
Prerequisite: ENG-1400 Composition. Corequisite: PWID-3010
Style and Mechanics for Writers
PWID-3020 Professional Portfolio Development I
–Fa
1 hour
Students will develop a professional portfolio and learn to use it
effectively as a tool to obtain an internship.
PWID-3090 Technical Marketing Communication
–Fa
3 hours
Students will learn to create marketing materials for the
technical industry, from design to completion.
Prerequisites: PWID-
3010 Style and Mechanics for Writers; PWID-3100 Designing
Visual Communication.
PWID-3100 Designing Visual Communication
–Fa
3 hours
Students will learn to integrate visual design concepts to
enhance communication in various documents and media. Topics
will focus on increasing usability of communication products by
targeted audiences.
Corequisite: PWID-
2
000 Production Tools for
Technical Communication.
PWID-3130 Technical Communication
–Fa
3 hours
Students will study the technical communication profession.
They will learn the skills needed to succeed in the field,
professional approaches to solving problems in the field, and
potential professional opportunities in technical communication.
PWID-3170
2 hours
The Technical Communicator in a Corporate Culture
–Sp
Students will discuss issues beyond intellectual ability and
technical know-how that are crucial to a successful career. They
will discover guidelines to assist them in improving their emotional
intelligence capabilities.
PWID-3180 Visual Rhetoric
–Fa
3 hours
Students will learn to understand the rhetoric of visual language
and to adapt visual language to specific audiences, purposes, and
contexts — just as they do written texts. As a result, they should
be able to respond flexibly to design problems in all professional
documents.
PWID-3210 Technical Editing
–Sp
2 hours
Students will learn to develop style guides and edit technical
documents or communication using conventional and electronic
methods to ensure consistent grammar, style, visual design, and
technical accuracy for end-users in targeted audiences.
PWID-3250 Documentation Design
–Sp
3 hours
Students will learn to plan, design, and create user
documentation through systematic user analysis, task
identification, effective writing, and effective visual design.
PWID-4010 Designing Technical Reports
–Sp
3 hours
Students will learn to design and write effective technical
reports and presentations that purposefully convey clear,
concise, and accurate information to a targeted audience while
using an appropriate level of technicality and supporting data or
information.
PWID-4020 Professional Portfolio Development II
–Fa
1 hour
Students will maintain a professional portfolio and learn to use it
effectively to obtain employment after graduation. (Fee: $25)
PWID-4050 Designing Online Information I
–Fa
3 hours
Students will learn how to design and manage information on
the World Wide Web. The class addresses issues in usability,
information architecture, and content strategy. Students will learn
design principles and writing issues specific to the digital medium.
PWID-4060 Designing Online Information II
–Sp
3 hours
Students will learn how to plan for, design, and provide front-
end development for web pages. Students will learn to design
mock ups for a web site and code those sites using HTML,
XHTML, and CSS.
Prerequisites: PWID-4050 Designing Online
Information I.
PWID-4070 Designing Online Information III
–Sp
2 hours
Students will learn advanced features of HTML and CSS
and beginning concepts of JavaScript. Students will use these
tools to create usable, effective websites filled with rich content.
Prerequisites: PWID-4050 Designing Online Information I and
PWID-4060 Designing Online Information II.
PWID-4130 Instructional Design I
–Fa
3 hours
Teaches technical communicators how to employ technology
and learning theory in developing adult training courses.
PWID-4140 Instructional Design II
–Sp
3 hours
This course provides students with the opportunity to delve
deeper into the art and science of instructional design by
focusing on educational technology in general and e-learning
tools, techniques, and practices specifically in use in today’s
corporate environment. The course also investigates the topics of
knowledge management, performance support and human capital
management in order to give students a well-rounded introduction
to the contemporary practice of non-traditional instructional
design.
Prerequisites: PWID-4130 Instructional Design I or
permission of instructor.
PWID-4160
3 hours
Technical and Professional Communication Internship
–Su
Students will participate in a work-study program approved and
administered by the department in which advanced Professional
Writing and Information Design students receive a variety of job-
related experiences in a communication environment.
Prerequisite:
permission of instructor.
Page
220
2015–16 Undergraduate Academic Catalog
Course Descriptions
JOUR-4820 – PWID-4160