Computer Information Science American River College

Degrees 

A.A. - Technical Communications

Description:
This is an interdisciplinary course of study designed to prepare students for employment as professional writers and communicators in a variety of media intended to instruct and inform audiences. The degree program includes substantial course work in writing, information design, editing, page design, online help development, web site creation, and the use of industry standard applications.

Learning Outcomes:

Upon completion of this program, the student will be able to:
  • analyze audience information needs and propose solutions to aid the audience.
  • design technical communication solutions for a variety of industry and government purposes.
  • design and create web sites and help systems with effective visual design, navigation, and written content.
  • design and publish printed pages with effective design, organization, content, and indexing.
  • compose professional prose for a variety of audiences with a variety of purposes.
  • compose and edit professional documents in grammatically correct, concise English.
  • create and use style templates in a variety of industry standard software.

Course List:

Required Program
BUS 100 English for the Professional 3
CISA 305 Beginning Word Processing 2
CISW 300 Web Publishing 3
JOUR 300 Newswriting and Reporting 3
TECCOM 300 Introduction to Technical/Professional Communication 3
TECCOM 310 Technical/Professional Communication: Writing Reports 3
TECCOM 320 Technical/Professional Communication: Proposal Writing 3
TECCOM 330 Technical/Professional Communication: Writing Technical Manuals 3
TECCOM 340 Technical/Professional Communication: Developing Help Systems 1.5
A minimum of 12 units from the following:
 12
   ARTNM 328 Beginning Digital Photo Imagery (3)
   ARTNM 330 Intermediate Digital Photo Imagery (3)
   ARTNM 352 Design for Publication (3)
   CISA 331 Intermediate Desktop Publishing (2)
   CISW 310 Advanced Web Publishing (4)
   CISW 321 Web Site Development using Dreamweaver (3)
   CISW 400 Client-side Web Scripting (4)
   CISW 410 Middleware Web Scripting (4)
   ENGWR 301 College Composition and Literature (3)
Total Units: 36.5

Click here for Printable Degree - Course Check Off Sheet

Associate in Arts Degree
The Technical Communications Associate in Arts (A.A.) degree may be obtained by completion of the required program, plus general education requirements, plus sufficient electives to meet a 60-unit total. See ARC graduation requirements.

Career Opportunities:
Technical communicators may be employed in a variety of occupations in government, scientific firms, nonprofits, natural resources, finance, education, and high tech.

Search Jobs:
Example terms and keywords to use in job search sites:

Terms: Technology - Computer Science,Technical Communications - California

Technical Communications Manager
IT and Communications Systems Technical Communications Consultant
Internet Technical Support Specialist I
Technical Supervisor
Technical Support Engineer I
Technical Sales Engineer
Technical Solutions Consultant
Communications Technician
Technical Support Specialist
Sample Job Search Websites:
Indeed.com - http://www.indeed.com/
SimplyHired.com - http://www.simplyhired.com/
Monster.com - http://www.monster.com/
Bureau of Labor Statistics - Resources for Jobseeker or Worker:
http://www.bls.gov/audience/jobseekers.htm
LinkedIn.com - Job Search: 
https://www.linkedin.com/job/home?trk=nav_responsive_sub_nav_jobs