The Technical Writing Program, sponsored by the English and Computer Science Departments, enables students to adapt a liberal arts education to the demands of the technical writing profession. The program does not involve a specific “technical writing” course; instead it combines writing and computer science courses with an internship in a technical firm.

Technical writers today produce a variety of materials, including film scripts and textbooks as we as manuals. Heads of computer technical writing departments say that they expect to train new employees on the details of their work, but that they can give this training only if their new employees already have the types of writing skills provided by a liberal arts education.

And CLA student who has passed the college’s Writing Proficiency Requirement may apply for admission to the Technical Writing Program; application from outside the University Community care also welcome to apply. Application involved the submission of two college-level essays, at least five typed pages each in length. Students completing the program will receive a certificate in technical writing.

For further information, contact Professor Neal Bruss, English Department, at 617-287-6713.

Program Sequence

Computer Science

CS 110 (Intro to Computer Programming [Pascal])

CS 210 (Intermediate Computing w/ Data Structures)

CS 240 (Computer Architecture I)

Writing

ENGL 306 (Advanced Composition)—usually taken in the semester immediately preceding the internship.

Electives

One course in Mathematics, Computer Science, English or Video

Internship

Technical Writing Internship (a three to six credit internship in a Boston-area computer firm)

Note: Admission to CS110 requires a satisfactory score on the Math Placement Test or a passing grade in Math 140, Calculus I.