Ph.D. in Technical Communication (TECH)
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PhD requirements | courses | exams | dissertation | admission | application | contact
The doctoral program in technical communication at IIT prepares students for careers in teaching at the university and community college levels, as well as for advanced supervisory and research positions in business and government. Building on a base of skills in workplace practices, the program incorporates theory-oriented advanced readings, seminars, and dissertation research leading to original contributions to scholarship in the field.
84 credit hours beyond the bachelor’s degree, including:
- Technical communication core (33 credit hours)
- Electives (minimum of 12 credit hours)
- Dissertation research (minimum of 24 credit hours)
- Additional electives or dissertation research (as needed to achieve total of 84)
- Qualifying examination (oral)
- Comprehensive examination (oral)
- Dissertation
- Dissertation examination (oral)
Transfer Units
Students who have already earned master’s degrees or undertaken graduate work in relevant fields may transfer credit hours toward the doctoral degree (up to 36 credit hours for graduate coursework in relevant fields at IIT, up to 30 credit hours for graduate coursework in relevant fields at other institutions).
Technical Communication Core (33 credit hours)
- COM 521 Key Concepts in Technical Communication
- COM 525 Usability Testing and Evaluation
- COM 528 Document Design
- COM 529 Technical Editing
- COM 530 Online Design
- COM 535 Instructional Design
- COM 537 Publication Management
- COM 538 Entrepreneurship in Technical Communication
- COM 541 Information Structure and Retrieval
- COM 542 Knowledge Management
- COM 601 Research Methods and Resources
Electives (at least 12 credit hours)
- COM 501 Introduction to Linguistics
- COM 506 World Englishes
- COM 508 Structure of Modern English
- COM 509 History of the English Language
- COM 515 Discourse Analysis
- COM 532 Rhetoric of Technology
- COM 536 Proposal and Grant Writing
- COM 545 Writing for Publication
- COM 553 Globalization and Localization
- COM 561 Teaching Technical Communication
- COM 571 Persuasion
- COM 577 Communication Law and Ethics
- COM 580 Topics in Communication
Other courses in communication, history, philosophy, psychology, sociology, political science, business, etc., as approved by the student’s advisor and one of the co-directors of graduate studies.
Dissertation Research
- COM 691 Research and Dissertation for Ph.D. degree (at least 24 credit hours)
Additional Courses
Additional coursework or dissertation research sufficient to meet the requirement of 84 credit hours beyond the bachelor’s degree. All work for a doctoral degree should be completed within six calendar years after the approval of the program of study; if it is not, then the student must re-pass the Qualifying Examination.
The Qualifying examination is a structured discussion based on a portfolio consisting of four elements: (1) deliverables and explanatory material for a master’s-level project (or its equivalent); (2) a collection of significant course papers and assignments completed as part of the Technical Communication Core (or as part of equivalent study elsewhere); (3) a bibliographic essay identifying significant trends in recent research in technical communication (or successful completion of COM 521, Key Concepts in Technical Communication); (4) a substantial essay that introduces and analyzes the other materials in the portfolio and shows how they constitute a coherent program of study in preparation for advanced work toward the doctorate. The examining committee must include a minimum of four faculty members. The Qualifying Exam must be taken within the first year of work toward the doctoral degree, and the student must be registered when the exam is administered. If the student fails the Qualifying Examination, the examining committee may recommend a re-examination. At least one semester of additional preparation is considered essential before re-examination. The second chance for taking the Qualifying Exam is regarded as final. Any additional considerations must be petitioned and approved by the graduate dean.
The Comprehensive Examination is a structured discussion based on (a) a portfolio of course papers, projects, and readings completed as part of coursework undertaken in preparation for the doctorate, along with (b) a proposal for the doctoral dissertation. The examinee should demonstrate expertise in the area or areas relevant to the proposed dissertation. The examining committee must consist of at least four tenured or tenure-track faculty members, including three members of the technical communication faculty and one other faculty member from a Ph.D.-granting academic unit at IIT other than the Humanities Department. In some cases, students may wish to add a fifth member from the Humanities Department (e.g., history, philosophy, composition, art & architectural history, literature). Students usually take the Comprehensive Exam at the end of the second year of doctoral study, but no later than one year
prior to the Dissertation Examination. The student must be registered at the time of the exam.
The Dissertation Examination is a structured discussion of the dissertation and its scholarly context. Like the Comprehensive Examination Committee, the Dissertation Committee must consist of at least four tenured or tenure-track teachers, including three from technical communication and one from a Ph.D.-granting academic unit at IIT other than the Humanities Department. (This exam is called the “Final Thesis Examination” in the current Graduate Bulletin.)
The dissertation should constitute an original contribution to scholarship in technical communication—including areas of interaction between technical communication and other disciplines (especially the Humanities disciplines of art & architecture history, history, linguistics, literature, philosophy, and rhetoric/composition). The research topic and method may be empirical (perhaps employing the facilities of the Usability Testing and Evaluation Center or Speech Analysis Lab), pedagogical, historical, or theoretical.
The doctoral program in technical communication at IIT prepares students for careers in teaching at the university and community college levels, as well as for advanced supervisory and research positions in business and government. Building on a base of skills in workplace practices, the program incorporates theory-oriented advanced readings, seminars, and dissertation research leading to original contributions to scholarship in the field.
Our students enter the Ph.D. program from a wide range of undergraduate majors and master’s degree fields in the humanities, sciences, and technology—that is, not just technical writing, English, journalism, communication, history, and philosophy, but also computer science, psychology, design, biology, engineering, and many other areas. The program's goal is to help students build on existing strengths and develop new areas of expertise while mastering the techniques and literature of research in technical communication.
Applicants must have completed a bachelor’s or master’s degree in technical communication or any field that, in combination with the 33-credit-hour technical core, would provide a solid basis for the advanced study of communication in business, industrial, corporate, government, and other institutional settings. A partial list of examples would include human factors, psychology, history of technology,
computer science, sociology, anthropology, and library science, among many others. The relevance of previous degrees to the doctoral program will be assessed by the co-directors of graduate studies and by the admissions committee.
In addition to the application form, the applicant must submit the following:
- Official transcripts, or certified copies thereof, of all academic work at the college level or above
- Three letters of recommendation
- Professional statement
- Required test scores
All applicants are required to submit the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) scores with a combined minimum score of 1200 (for tests taken prior to Oct. 1, 2002), or 900 (quantitative + verbal) and 2.5 (analytical writing) (for tests taken on or after Oct. 1, 2002).
International students must submit TOEFL scores unless they are exempt. Students who score below 600/250/99* on the TOEFL must take the English Proficiency Review (EPR) to assess the level of their skill in written and spoken English. Students who show deficiency on the EPR exam may be refused admission to this graduate program. U.S. citizens and students from a number of countries are exempt from the TOEFL requirement. (For details, see the current Graduate Bulletin.)
* Paper-based test score/computer-based/Internet-based test score.
Applications to the Ph.D. program in technical communication are administered by the Graduate College, which encourages an online application. Additional information is available at the Website of the Graduate College. Application deadlines are listed at www.iit.edu/graduate_admission/prospective_students/deadlines.shtml
If you have questions about the PhD degree, a career in technical communication, or readiness for the program, please contact:
Dr. Warren Schmaus
Email: gradhuminfo@iit.edu