MSIDC Graduate Courses

Students in the master's degree program choose from the following campus-based, online, and hybrid courses the semesters they are offered:

IDC 6001 Technical Writing and Editing
3 credit hours  Syllabus
Overview of technical writing and editing. Emphasis on drafting and editing many documents that reflect the variety of writing done in the field of technical communication. Both experienced and inexperienced writers will benefit from this course, which must be taken the first semester of enrollment in the master's program.

IDC 6002 Information Design
3 credit hours Syllabus
Co- or Prerequisite: IDC 6001, IDC 6030
Study of the main design elements in information products with an emphasis on rhetorical and theoretical underpinnings for design decisions. Students work on designing and redesigning products in various media. Should be taken as soon as possible after admission.

IDC 6005 Visual Thinking
3 credit hours 
Course examines principles of effective visual communication. Students analyze visual artifacts, select visual representations for key concepts, and identify appropriate visual forms for different information structures.

IDC 6010 Writing Across Media
3 credit hours Syllabus
Course examines rhetorical, structural, and stylistic requirements of various communications media. Topics include writing for the Web, narrative design, and document engineering.

IDC 6030 Foundations of Graphics
3 credit hours  Syllabus
Prerequisite: IDC 6001
An introduction to the fundamental elements and principles of graphic design and application of these concepts to page design and layout. Study of elementary color theory. Introduction to production techniques and current software applications. This course is double-listed for both undergraduate and graduate students. Graduate students will be required to complete additional work that emphasizes theory and research over application. Thus they must demonstrate a higher level of learning than undergraduates. Students who took TCOM 4030 Foundations of Graphics as undergraduates must take IDC 6040 Applied Graphics as their required graphics course instead of IDC 6030.

IDC 6035 Information Graphics
3 credit hours Syllabus
Process and product of visual representation and display of information utilizing advanced techniques to produce infographics. Must have working knowledge of PhotoShop and Illustrator.

IDC 6040 Applied Graphics I
3 credit hours Syllabus
Prerequisites: IDC 6001 and IDC 6030
Co- or Prerequisite: IDC 6002
Students develop competency in raster-based digital image editing for information design and technical communication. Students complete practical graphics projects using typography and digital illustrations.

IDC 6041 Applied Graphics II
3 credit hours Syllabus
Students develop competency in creation of vector-based graphics for information design and technical communication. Students complete practical graphics projects for business, industry, and education.

IDC 6045 Foundations of Multimedia
3 credit hours Syllabus
Prerequisites: IDC 6001 and IDC 6030
Co- or Prerequisite: IDC 6002
A study of the foundations of multimedia including theory, planning, scripting, storyboarding, and production. Students will submit research work on the theory of multimedia. This course is double-listed for both undergraduate and graduate students. Graduate students will be required to complete additional work that emphasizes theory and research over application. Thus they must demonstrate a higher level of learning than undergraduates. MSIDC students who took TCOM 4045 Foundations of Multimedia as undergraduates may not count IDC 6045 for credit toward their graduate degree.

IDC 6060 International Technical Communication
3 credit hours Syllabus
Prerequisites: IDC 6001 and IDC 6030
Co- or Prerequisite: IDC 6002
Survey of the major issues that affect technical communication from a global perspective. Topics may include cultural influences on communication, challenges associated with technical translation, differing uses of graphics, communicating within multinational organizations, and theoretical issues related to international communication.

IDC 6070 User Documentation
3 credit hours Syllabus
Prerequisites: IDC 6001 and IDC 6030
Co- or Prerequisite: IDC 6002
Introduction to the process and principles of writing manuals, with emphasis on user manuals. Students write and produce all or part of a manual. Course includes study of structured writing. Course also includes discussion of (1) production issues and (2) theory relevant to designing usable and readable manuals. This course is double-listed for both undergraduate and graduate students. Graduate students will be required to complete additional work that emphasizes theory and research over application. Thus they must demonstrate a higher level of learning than undergraduates. MSIDC students who took TCOM 4070 User Documentation as undergraduates may not count IDC 6070 for credit toward their graduate degree.

IDC 6080 Professional Oral Presentations
3 credit hours  Syllabus
Prerequisites: IDC 6001 and IDC 6030
Co- or Prerequisite: IDC 6002
Course designed to enhance students' presentation skills in a technical and business environment. Students practice various speech types such as briefings, interviews, formal technical presentations, panels, and impromptu presentations. Course also includes an overview of communication theory as it applies to oral presentations.

IDC 6090 Medical Communication
3 credit hours Syllabus
Prerequisites: IDC 6001 and IDC 6030
Co- or Prerequisite: IDC 6002
Course examines the scope of medical communication, with emphasis on opportunities for technical communication professionals. Students will analyze, edit, and revise various medical document types, such as medical research abstracts, patient education materials, professional medical training documents, medical advertisements, and pharmaceutical package inserts. Students will independently study medical terminology and develop a portfolio of medical writing samples.

IDC 6110 Communications Project Management
3 credit hours Syllabus
Prerequisites: IDC 6001 and IDC 6030
Co- or Prerequisite: IDC 6002
Course introduces and applies the literature, tools, and techniques of professional project management. Includes major online course elements. Students will choose a project in technical communication and apply the major phases of project management: definition, planning, execution, and closing. Topics of emphasis include communication skills, project management software tools, and project team dynamics.

IDC 6120 Usability Testing
3 credit hours Syllabus
Prerequisites: IDC 6001 and IDC 6030
Co- or Prerequisite: IDC 6002
Study of the relevant research and practical application of usability testing as part of product development. Includes strategies for planning, conducting, and analyzing a test. Teams will perform tests and report results from an actual test in a usability lab.

IDC 6130 Online Documentation
3 credit hours Syllabus
Prerequisites: IDC 6001 and IDC 6030
Co- or Prerequisite: IDC 6002
Study of the design and development of effective online Help systems and Web-based documentation. Presents principles of usable online information design, task-based user analysis, and advanced tools and technologies for developing and delivering online information products, including single-sourcing, SGML, and XML. Students design and develop an HTML Help system. Instruction will be provided in the use of RoboHelp and alternative HTML Help authoring tools. Students entering the course without basic HTML knowledge will be expected to learn the basics of HTML on their own. This course is double-listed for both undergraduate and graduate students. Graduate students will be required to complete additional work that emphasizes theory and research over application. Thus they must demonstrate a higher level of learning than undergraduates.

IDC 6135 Web Site Design
3 credit hours Syllabus
Prerequisites: IDC 6001, IDC 6030, and one of the following: IDC 6005, IDC 6180, IDC 6010, IDC 6040
Co- or Prerequisite: IDC 6002
Advanced theoretical study and application of best practices for the design and delivery of information on the World Wide Web. Students learn the fundamentals of HTML, use of HTML authoring tools, Web content writing and editing, page layout, design of Web graphics and multimedia elements, and Web site architecture and content management. Students work individually and in teams to design and develop Web sites. Some classroom instruction is provided in basic HTML and XHTML coding, the composition of cascading style sheets, and the use of Dreamweaver and FrontPage. Course includes a theory and research component.

IDC 6140 Instructional Systems Design
3 credit hours Syllabus
Prerequisites: IDC 6001 and IDC 6030
Co- or Prerequisite: IDC 6002
Course introduces and applies the literature, tools, and techniques of systematic instructional design. Includes substantial online course elements. Students will study major models of instructional design and apply them to develop and refine a unit of instruction. The course addresses the literature and theory underlying formal instructional development-particularly cognitive psychology-and provides practice in goal analysis, team instructional development, formative evaluation, and evaluation.

IDC 6145 Performance Technology
3 credit hours Syllabus
Prerequisites: IDC 6001 and IDC 6030
Co- or Prerequisite: IDC 6002
Course introduces and applies the literature, tools, and techniques of performance technology. The performance technologist analyzes and solves human productivity and efficiency problems in the workplace. Students will examine major models of performance improvement, and adapt and apply them to simulated corporate productivity challenges, and to real opportunities in their own work experience. This highly participatory course is a natural complement to graduate courses in instructional design and instructional technology.

IDC 6150 Marketing Communication
3 credit hours Syllabus
Prerequisites:IDC 6001 and IDC 6030
Co- or Prerequisite: IDC 6002
Course examines those aspects of technical communication that include advertising, brochures, catalogs, press releases, and other means of marketing in both print and other media. Includes analysis of Web pages and the uses of the World Wide Web for marketing purposes.

IDC 6155 Online Instructional Development
3 credit hours Syllabus
Course explores online instructional development and deployment in higher education and corporate arenas, addressing issues of pedagogy, current and emerging technologies, marketing, design, and evaluation.

IDC 6160 Rhetoric: History, Theory, and Practice
3 credit hours Syllabus
Prerequisites: IDC 6001 and IDC 6030
Co- or Prerequisite: IDC 6002
Course introduces rhetoric as the relationship between thought and expression. Explores connections between rhetoric and writing, between a public act and a personal thinking process, by examining classical and contemporary accounts of rhetorical history and theory. Students apply theory to their own writing as they explore the relationship between writers, readers, and subjects and the range of options available to communicators. This course is double-listed for both undergraduate and graduate students. Graduate students will be required to complete additional work that emphasizes theory and research over application. Thus they must demonstrate a higher level of learning than undergraduates.

IDC 6170 Video Production
3 credit hours Syllabus
Prerequisites: IDC 6001 and IDC 6030
Co- or Prerequisite: IDC 6002
Introduction to the role and use of video production for technical and professional communication. Topics include scripts, storyboards, shot selection, continuity, lighting, sound, in-camera editing, and fundamental post-production techniques. Students complete at least two assigned videos as individual or team projects. This course is double-listed for both undergraduate and graduate students. Graduate students will be required to complete additional work that emphasizes theory and research over application. Thus they must demonstrate a higher level of learning than undergraduates. MSIDC students who took TCOM 4170 Video Production as undergraduates may not count IDC 6170 for credit toward their graduate degree.

IDC 6180 Information Architecture
3 credit hours Syllabus
Course examines key concepts involved in communicating information in complex Web environments. Topics include audience analysis, organizational schemas, labeling, and navigation.

IDC 6901-6903 Special Topics
Variable credit – 1 to 3 hours
Prerequisites: IDC 6001 and IDC 6030
Co- or Prerequisite: IDC 6002
A course on a special topic of Importance and relevance to the field of technical and professional communication not covered in the graduate curriculum. Offered when needed.

IDC 7503 Independent Study
3 credit hours
Prerequisites: IDC 6001 and IDC 6030
Co- or Prerequisite: IDC 6002
A directed study for a graduate student who wishes to pursue a special interest in technical and professional communication not covered in the curriculum. The student submits to the IDC Graduate Program Coordinator a proposal that clearly defines the course of study and the benefits to be obtained. The proposal must be submitted at least one semester prior to registration for independent study hours. Once the proposal is approved, the student is assigned a faculty advisor and registers for 3 credit hours.

IDC 7601-7603 Master's Internship
Variable credit – 1 to 3 hours
Prerequisites: Completion of 27 hours of IDC coursework or consent of the department chair, confirmation of approved internship. Course provides student with hands-on experience in technical communication in a professional environment. Work should be typical of technical communicators. Work may be either an extended project or a variety of shorter assignments. Your internship supervisor will also be required to fill out an evaluation of your performance. (Total of 6 hours of Master's Internship required.)

IDC 7801-7803 Master's Thesis
Variable credit – 1 to 3 hours
Prerequisites: Completion of 30 hours of IDC coursework or consent of the department chair, approval of thesis proposal. Intensive research project that results in a formal written thesis. Usually flows from an area of interest discovered by the student in early stages of the MSIDC program or through work experience. Thesis work will be closely supervised by the student's advisor. Students may enroll for a maximum of 3 hours per term for thesis credit, with exceptions at the discretion of the department chair. (Total of 6 hours of Master's Thesis required.)

For more information on the Master's Thesis, see the Student Guide to the Master's Thesis.