About PCID
Housed in the Department of Interdisciplinary studies, the Professional Communication and Information Design (PCID) Program supports students in gaining transferable knowledge and skills that can be applied to writing and communication situations outside of higher education.
Academic CatalogOverview
What will students learn?
PCID courses are required for many majors on campus, and we would recommend all students take one of the courses. Why? Because “today’s employer’s value a wide variety of skills” and “90% of employers ranked written communication as ‘very’ or ‘somewhat’ important. Yet, only 44% believed graduates were adequately prepared in this area” [footnote this reference: How College Contributes to Workforce Success: Employer Views on What Matters Most https://www.aacu.org/research/how-college- Contributes-to-workforce-success).
PCID address this need and this concern by asking students to write and communicate for a variety of audiences for specific purposes. Through problem-based projects and experiential learning, students are exposed to writing and communication situations that would encounter in their professional lives.
Unlike other writing courses, assignments are
- contextually focused
- project driven with multiple deliverables
- collaborative
- problem-based
By bringing together their disciplinary knowledge with writing and communication knowledge and lots of practice, students will be better prepared to write and to communicate on the job and in their personal and civic lives.
Student learning outcomes across all three courses focus on the following
- Analyze and write in a specific context defined by purpose and audience
Analyze professional cultures, social contexts, and audiences to determine how they shape the various purposes and forms of writing, such as persuasion, organizational communication, and public discourse. - Learn effective information and document design
Learn to argue with visual data, understanding and implementing various principles of format, layout, and design of documents that meet multiple user/reader needs. - Write within a genre
Learn and practice writing in various genres of professional and technical discourse like the memo, letter, technical reports, proposals, and descriptions, etc. - Develop a writing process, style, and editing techniques
Develop and understand various strategies for planning, researching, drafting, and revising documents. Develop a clear, concise, and functional writing style. Develop techniques to become an effective critic and editor. - Practice Collaboration
Learn and apply strategies for successful collaboration, such as working and communicating on-line with colleagues, setting and achieving project goals, and responding constructively to peers’ work.
Courses
PCID 3040: Business communication and information design
PCID 3140: Technical communication and information design
PCID 3150: Science Communication and information design
