Technical Communications Courses (TCHNCLCM)

*For more information regarding course equivalencies please refer to the Course Equivalency section, under “How to Read a Course Description“, in the CoE Bulletin Website: https://bulletin.engin.umich.edu/courses/course-info/

200 Level Courses

TCHNCLCM 215. Technical Communication for Electrical and Computer Engineering
Prerequisite: Engineering 100, Corequisite: EECS 215. (1 credit)
Professional communication to the general public, managers and other professionals about electrical and computer engineering ideas. Functional, physical and visual/diagrammatic description. Report writing about circuits, signals and systems, including description and analysis. Job letters and resumes. CourseProfile (ATLAS)

TCHNCLCM 281. Technical Communication for Computer Science and Engineering
Prerequisite: Engineering 100, Corequisite: EECS 281. (1 credit)
Introduction to professional communication for computer scientists and engineers. Communication to managers and programmers about data structures, algorithms and programs. Coding conventions and documentation. Functional and visual/diagrammatic descriptions. Letters of transmittal and reports on software systems. Job letters and resumes. CourseProfile (ATLAS)

300 Level Courses

TCHNCLCM 300. Technical Communication for Electrical and Computer Science
Prerequisite: Engineering 100. (1 credit)
Professional communication to the general public, managers and other professionals about electrical and computer engineering ideas as presented in written reports and oral presentations. Functional, physical and visual/diagrammatic description; job letters and resumes. CourseProfile (ATLAS)

TCHNCLCM 350. Technical Communication for Robotics
Prerequisite: ROB 204 AND (ENGR 100 or ROB 103 or ENGL 124 or ENGL 125 or UA 150). Minimum grade of “C-” required for Enforced Prerequisite. Advised Prerequisite: 3 out of the following 5 courses: ROB 310, ROB 311, ROB 320, ROB 330, ROB 340. (3 credits)
Teaches students the communication skills needed to support the lifecycle of an engineering project in Robotics, including: communication to understand requirements, articulating those requirements, writing a proposal, communicating with one’s team, sharing project updates, and presenting final project work. Includes career documents and best practices for visual communication. CourseProfile (ATLAS)

TCHNCLCM 380. Technical Communication in IOE
Prerequisite: preceded or accompanied by IOE 366 and 373. (2 credits)
Successful professional and technical communication commands a wide range of skills, including critical inquiry, analysis and collaboration. Through regular practice, feedback, reflection and revision, this course examines technical communication principles and how to apply them in IOE environments. Specifically, the course emphasizes strategies for effective argumentation and persuasion as well as effective language use and style in written reports and oral presentations intended for IOE audiences. CourseProfile (ATLAS)

400 Level Courses

TCHNCLCM 401. Special Topics Strategic Planning & Proposal Writing
Prerequisite: junior or senior standing. (4 credits)
Student teams provide expert consulting services to community service organizations. Team assignments include preparing an environmental scan, a strategic plan and a grant proposal. Special emphasis is given to oral communication, writing to effect organizational change, design and management of large documentation projects, major designs reviews and creative thinking. CourseProfile (ATLAS)

TCHNCLCM 450. Web Page and Site Design
Prerequisite: junior or senior standing. (4 credits)
Practical skills and theoretical principles necessary to design effective WWW pages and sites, including HTML, tools for creating Web pages, graphics, scripting, animation, multimedia (practical skills) and information design, visual design and theoretical principles (theory). Design and analysis of Web sites. CourseProfile (ATLAS)

TCHNCLCM 496. Advanced Technical Communication for Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering
Requisites: TC 300 Co-Requisites: Senior Design Course. (2 credits)
Development of advanced communication skills required of electrical and computer engineers and managers in industry, government and business. Design and writing of reports, proposals and memoranda on complex technical material for diverse organizational audiences. Preparation and delivery of organizational oral presentations and briefings. CourseProfile (ATLAS)

TCHNCLCM 497. Advanced Technical Communication for Computer Science
Prerequisite: TCHNCLCM 300 OR TCHNCLCM 380 OR (BCOM 250 AND 350) OR ROB 204; Minimum grade of “C-” required for Enforced Prerequisite. BCOM 250 AND 350 accepted for Dual Business and Computer Science students. TCHNCLCM 380 accepted for Dual IOE and Computer Science students. ROBOTICS 204 accepted for Dual Robotics and Computer Science students. (2 credits)
Advanced technical communication for computer science. Design and writing of user and task analysis, requirements documents, specifications, proposals, reports and documentation, all aimed at diverse organizational audiences. Preparation and delivery of final oral presentations and written project reports. CourseProfile (ATLAS)

TCHNCLCM 498. Technical and Professional Writing for Industry, Government, and Business
Prerequisite: senior or graduate standing. (3 credits)
Development of the communication skills required of engineers and managers in industry, government and business. Focus on (1) the design and writing of reports and memoranda that address the needs of diverse organizational audiences and (2) the preparation and delivery of organizational oral presentations and briefings. Writing and speaking about design and research problems in terms that will satisfy both specialists and non-specialists. A series of short explanatory papers and speeches leading up to a final formal report and public lecture. CourseProfile (ATLAS)

TCHNCLCM 499. Scientific and Technical Communication
Prerequisite: permission of Technical Communication faculty. (elective credit only)
Conferences and tutorial sessions that provide opportunities for students with special interests to work on a tutorial basis with a member of the Technical Communication faculty. Not intended as substitutes for regularly scheduled courses. Conference and signed contract required with an instructor about the proposed study before enrollment possible. (Directed Study contract forms and additional information are available from the Technical Communication office.) CourseProfile (ATLAS)

500 Level Courses

TCHNCLCM  575. Directed Study
Prerequisite: permission of instructor. (to be arranged)
Conferences and tutorial sessions for students with special interests. May be taken for 1-4 credit hours as arranged by the instructor. CourseProfile (ATLAS)

600 Level Courses

TCHNCLCM  610. Technical & Professional Communication For Graduate Students
Advisory Prerequisite: Graduate Standing. (3 credits)
Writing instruction and tailored one-on-one support for students’ specific writing projects and needs. Recent projects include dissertation proposals and chapters, postdoctoral applications, journal articles, and conference presentations. Students will bring materials to workshop; this course does not have separate deliverables. CourseProfile (ATLAS)

TCHNCLCM  675. Directed Study
Prerequisite: graduate standing, permission of instructor. (to be arranged)
Conferences and tutorial sessions for students with special interests. May be taken for 1-4 credit hours as arranged by the instructor. CourseProfile (ATLAS)