Online Master's Degree in Technical Writing at Utah State University

Who operates the program?

The Master’s program at Utah State is taught and administered by the English Department, while enrollment and fees are handled by USU Extension through the office of Continuing Education. Utah State is a land-grant university, ranked by the Carnegie Foundation as a "Doctoral/Research University--Extensive" institution. The university is fully accredited by the Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges. To learn more about Utah State University, please visit this website: http://www.usu.edu.

How do online graduate seminars function?

The program is offered entirely online, which means that students can complete all requirements for the Master of Science degree in English without traveling to the campus in Logan. As in a traditional, face-to-face seminar, students read assigned materials, create documents, and discuss what they are reading and writing with each other and with the instructor. However, in our online seminars they do all this without necessarily meeting each other in person. Members of the class interact through the Internet, using a simple interface program called SyllaBase, which was developed by technical staff and faculty at Utah State.

SyllaBase allows both synchronous ("chat room") and asynchronous ("threaded") discussion. Synchronous discussion occurs in real time. Students who are logged on at the same time use this feature to read and respond to each other's messages without a time lag. Most class discussion, however, is conducted asynchronously to accommodate students who live in different time zones and have different work schedules. In an asynchronous discussion, students do not need to be logged on at the same time to exchange messages. They may post messages to the class at any time of the day or night, at any location in the world where there is access to the Internet. Students can read and respond to each other's postings whenever it suits them.

Although class members may not all be logged on at the same time, class is always accessible. And while students may not have the benefit of seeing other seminar members and hearing their voices, the online medium offers other benefits. For example, several discussion topics may be pursued concurrently, whereas in a face-to-face seminar only one topic at a time may be addressed and usually only one person at a time may speak. Furthermore, the SyllaBase interface records all postings, so students can review earlier discussions in the class and add to them at any time during the course. Instructors set guidelines for the kind and amount of discussion they expect in their classes.

Because messages may be posted to the class website at any time of the day or night, some students make the mistake of assuming that their instructors are always standing by to respond immediately to those messages, at any time of the day or night. Students can expect responses within a reasonable amount of time, but it may take several days if the instructor is attending to his or her other work commitments.

Instructors will also set guidelines for appropriate behavior in online discussions. Although members of the seminar are not physically present together, they should be as civil with one another, and with the instructor, as if they were. The program aims to encourage healthy, vigorous discussion but to avoid having it devolve into unproductive "flaming."

Who teaches the online graduate classes?

The English Department has a number of faculty members who are trained and experienced as professional communicators, and who actively research in their fields of expertise. You may review their credentials on our faculty profiles page at this website. Some courses may be taught by subject matter experts not on the permanent faculty at USU.

What kinds of students enter the program?

We designed the program mainly to help practicing professional writers advance their careers, and most students in the program are employed full time as writers in nonacademic workplaces. Some students taking online courses in the program may be considering careers that involve both practicing and teaching technical writing, but the program is oriented toward educating the practicing specialist and does not focus on pedagogical issues.

When selecting applicants for admission, we favor those who have experience as professional communicators. That experience and samples of the writing associated with it (including the required prefaces) are given the most weight when applications are reviewed. Other factors we consider include letters of intent, resumes, letters of recommendation, grade point averages, scores from the GRE or GMAT or MAT, and the relevance of the applicants' undergraduate educations.

What are the prerequisites to success in the program?

To thrive in our online Master's program, students need sufficient motivation to participate in ongoing online discussion and they need to be technologically self-reliant. Our program assumes students are already familiar with HTML, FTP, and other Internet-based technologies, or that they are willing and able to learn the software on their own, without help from the instructor.

Students with little or no experience in the field may need to take one or two undergraduate classes in professional or technical writing to prepare themselves for the program.

How do I apply?
Visit this website: http://www.usu.edu/gradsch/admission

You can fill out your application form on this site and also download forms for letters of recommendation. If you have questions about the process, contact the School of Graduate Studies at (435) 797-1189 or gradsch@cc.usu.edu.

What are the application deadlines?

Applications are reviewed twice a year. If you want to start the program in summer or fall semester, your completed application packet must be in our hands by March 1. If you want to be considered for a spring semester start, we must have your application by November 1.

What application materials do I need to send to the School of Graduate Studies?

You will need to send the following materials to the School of Graduate Studies:

A completed application form (submitted online)
A $55 application fee
All official undergraduate transcripts, showing GPA (the minimum requirement is 3.00 on a 4.00 scale for the last 60 credits taken)
Three letters of recommendation (two of which must be from former teachers if you have been enrolled in school during the last five years)
Test scores in ONE of these three tests taken in the last 5 years: GRE, MAT, or GMAT. If applicants choose the GRE, scores must be submitted in all three sections of the General test (Verbal, Quantitative, and Analytical) and must be at or above the 40th percentile in the Verbal section and either the Quantitative or the Analytical section). The GRE Subject test is not required. If applicants take the MAT or the GMAT, their score must also be at or above the 40th percentile.
International applicants from non-English-speaking countries must also take the following two tests:
- Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), scoring at least 550 (paper-based test), 213 (computer-based test), or 60 on the International English Language Testing System(IELTS).
- Test of Written English (TWE), scoring at least 5

The School of Graduate Studies keeps the application fee, reviews the other items, and passes them on to the English Department for evaluation.

What application materials do I need to send to the English Department?

While you are assembling the materials listed above to send to the School of Graduate Studies, you also need to gather and send the following items directly to Dr. Keith Grant-Davie, Director of Graduate Studies in English, English Department, Utah State University, 3200 Old Main Hill, Logan, UT 84322-3200:

A letter of intent, explaining your career goals, why you want to enter the program, and why you believe you are ready to work in an online instructional environment
Your current resume
Two writing samples demonstrating your ability or potential as a professional communicator. Write a half-page introduction to each writing sample, explaining the context (your role as the writer, your audience, your purpose, the constraints you were working within, etc.). If you are unable to supply a sample of professional or technical writing, please explain why not.

Do I have to take the GRE test?

Yes. Work experience will not be accepted as a substitute for GRE scores (although you may substitute scores from the MAT or the GMAT in place of GRE scores). These test scores are a standard part of the application materials for all graduate programs at Utah State. While we value work experience most highly when selecting applicants, we value recent test scores as an additional way to compare applicants against each other and against applicants to other programs.

How long will it take me to graduate?

You will need 33 credits to complete the program. To meet this requirement, you will take eleven 3-credit seminars. We currently offer three seminars per semester during the regular school year (Fall and Spring semesters). However, since the three seminars typically include one or two non-repeatable classes, a student who has already taken those classes may only be able to take one or two of the available seminars in some semesters. We routinely offer online seminars and one-week, on-campus workshops in the summer. The workshops are for 3 credits but they are not offered online and require students to be present on campus. We have designed the curriculum so that a student taking only online classes during the regular school year can graduate within three years. Those who take only one class per semester will take considerably longer. The School of Graduate Studies requires students to complete their degrees in no more than six years.

What will the Master’s degree cost?

The cost of tuition in the program for this academic year is $254 per semester credit or $762 per 3-credit class (plus a $50/course technology fee). Assuming a $20 per credit increase each year, a student would pay approximately $8,500 in tuition. Fees are not charged for online courses, nor is there a surcharge for non-resident (out-of-state) students. Each course may also require you to purchase textbooks. Some courses might require you to buy software. Some software, such as FTP programs, can be downloaded from the Internet without cost.

Do you offer any financial aid?

Students in the Technical Writing program who meet certain criteria may be offered a New Century Graduate Writing Fellowship to assist with their tuition. These awards are privately funded by the generosity of Professor Christine Hult, a faculty member at Utah State, and are not guaranteed from year to year. To be eligible, students must be paying their own tuition, not receiving reimbursement from their employers, and they must have completed at least 12 credits in the program by the end of the current semester. Each spring, eligible students may be nominated for a New Century award if their performance measures well against the following criteria: 1) they are making good, steady progress towards the degree, 2) they have a high GPA on graduate courses in the program, and 3) they presented strong application materials when they applied to the program, including undergraduate GPA and scores in the GRE, MAT, or GMAT. The final selection of fellowship recipients is made on the basis of recommendations by faculty who teach in the program and know the students' work. Typical fellowships in the past have been one-time awards of $1,000-$1,500.

For more information on financial aid, visit the School of Graduate Studies website at http://www.usu.edu/gradsch.

Whom should I contact if I have any questions not answered above?

For questions concerning advising or general program information, you should contact Dr. Keith Grant-Davie, who serves as Program Advisor and as the Director of Graduate Studies in English. He oversees all the graduate programs administered and taught by the department. He can be reached via e-mail, telephone, or fax at:

E-mail:Keith.Grant-Davie@usu.edu
Phone: (435) 797-3547
FAX: (435) 797-3797

For questions concerning the School of Graduate Studies:

School of Graduate Studies website:
http://www.usu.edu/gradsch

Phone: (435) 797-1189
FAX: (435) 797-1192

For questions concerning registration or tuition, contact Cara Shore in the Continuing Education office.

USU Extension website:
http://campuses.usu.edu

Phone: (435) 797-7312
FAX: (435) 797-1399