In the TCID major, students can combine their passions for STEM and writing. TCID students learn a multitude of skills from technical writing to user experience testing and get a good perspective on jobs in a variety of fields before graduation.
TCID has two components: technical communication (TC) and information design (ID). Together, they form a tapestry of skills used to turn industrial information into an enjoyable and understandable user experience.
According to Brandon Strubberg, chair of the TCID department, technical communication is “a constellation of professional skills that are applicable to any industry. Every industry requires documentation, requires communication, requires basically communicating complex information … from an expert audience to … a non-expert audience.”
Technical writers communicate things in a way that encourages users to take action. Strubberg shared that common fields in need of technical writers include aerospace, defense, tourism, business, oil, gas and medicine. He added that technical writing can be “everything from the tag on your shirt to specifications for launching Elon Musk’s SpaceX rockets.”
Information design focuses on creating fulfilling user experiences, referred to as UX within the major. “You want to ensure that whatever product you create … is both easy to use and satisfying to use,” Strubberg said.
In the TCID program, students learn iterative design, a way of creating products in steps and testing usability at each stage of the design process. Graduates leave the major with skills in both technical writing and UX.
TCID works alongside a variety of industry partners to get students necessary experience for entry-level careers. Many required classes for the major bring in outside professionals, so students are taught how to create polished designs.
For their capstone, TCID majors present a portfolio of work on a user-tested website to a panel of industry professionals, many of whom are hiring interns and entry-level employees.
The TCID major doesn’t have specific tracks of study, but it does offer four badge options to accompany the degree: UX research and design, iterative design, technical communication and information design. These badges take three courses to earn and serve as a specialization rather than a study track.
The department also offers minors in TCID and UX. Strubberg claims the minors complement STEM majors, like computer science and engineering.
The TCID major requires nine credit hours of work outside TCID as a concentration in cybersecurity management, business administration, data analytics, design media, non-profit organization writing or programming.
If a student chooses to concentrate on cybersecurity management, cybersecurity classes can be paid for in full by a scholarship program that encompasses TCID and INDS.
According to Strubberg, Technical writing used to be an English major option because of its close relationship with rhetorical theory. UCCS became one of less than 10 universities in the nation to house a standalone TCID department when TCID separated from English a few years ago.
Strubberg believes UCCS developed TCID into its own department because of how well the major integrated professional development and industry partnership. “They recognize that everything we’re doing aligns with what universities need to be doing to get students jobs and job-ready skills,” he said.
TCID’s accelerated program allows students to get a bachelor of arts and a master’s in business administration in five years, saving students interested in achieving a master’s degree the extra time and expense of graduate school. According to Strubberg, the accelerated program through TCID gives students specialized skills with an extra edge of qualification. The accelerated program started last year, and two students are currently enrolled.
Strubberg noted that students who graduate from the TCID program at UCCS often don’t pursue graduate school otherwise because the bachelor’s program already teaches specialized skills and creates attractive job candidates. Since TCID undergraduate programs are rare, many students at other universities pursue master’s degrees in TCID after graduating from a different bachelor’s program.
TCID is a constantly developing field that requires an abundance of adaptability. One thing students need to be trained in, Strubberg said, is how to use AI. TCID is on the “cutting edge” of integrating AI into the curriculum.
TCID classes also teach students to collaborate with AI and prompt students to think critically about AI-generated content.
“It is ridiculous to try to push against this. Instead, we owe it to our students in order to get them ready for the workplace to help them think through [AI] and train using this,” Strubberg said, referencing the fact that technical writers have been using chatbots for years.
Strubberg said many students go to the TCID program without a specific career in mind. Instead, TCID students often love to read and write but lack the desire to teach and enjoy science topics but not the math required by science fields. TCID is a major where two often conflicting passions are able to mix.
Photo courtesy of UCCS.