Skip to Main Content

G.C. in Scientific & Professional Communication

Download as PDF

CLASSGraduateGraduate Certificate

[Program Overview]

Program Title

Graduate Certificate in Scientific and Professional Communication

Department(s)

CLASS

Degree Designation

Graduate Certificate

Program Type

Graduate Certificate

Program Description

Minimum credit hours required—14

The Scientific and Professional Communication Graduate Certificate offers graduate students and post- baccalaureate and industry and public sector professionals an opportunity to build and strengthen their professional communication abilities for professional and academic work. The certificate can be completed live or through distance education

Program Information & Policies

The 14 hours of coursework required for the Certificate provides general foundation of communication to the public and to academic audiences (course or course and course), while elective courses are available to students with specific interests; for example professionals who work in Spanish-speaking settings might benefit from course; students in industry or in one of New Mexico’s national labs might choose courses such as course International Professional Communication or course Science Writing; and students interested in public policy and public engagement might consider course Science and Technology Policy or course Policy Sciences. The certificate concludes with a capstone project that allows students to work on a project related to their work or partner with a community organization.

We also provide the option for a concentration in Policy Sciences and Communication. Students may select from the electives above and opt to substitute a third policy-related course in place of course.

Completion requirement
Complete ALL of the following Courses:
  • TCOM5011
  • TCOM5005
    OR     COMM5075
Earn at least 6 credits from the following:
  • COMM5075
    OR     TCOM5005
  • TCOM5021
  • TCOM5016
  • POLS5070
  • POLS5071
  • SPAN5020

  • and 5000-level special topics courses in TCOM or POLS.

course or course can only be used as an elective if not complete for the Communication Requirements above.

We also provide the option for a concentration in Policy Sciences and Communication. Students may select from the electives above and opt to substitute a third policy-related course in place of course.

Students must be concurrently enrolled in a graduate degree program at NMT or meet the admissions criteria to enroll in a graduate degree program (including as non-degree-seeking graduate students).


General Requirements

It is required that a student preparing to complete the M.S. degree:

  1. have a minimum of six credit hours of approved out of program upper-division or graduate course work,

  2. declare a major with at least 12 credit hours of coursework above the 5000-level, exclusive of research credits,

  3. complete a research project culminating in a thesis or independent study paper, and

  4. theses must be checked with iThenticate by the academic advisor before they will be accepted.

Note: Students pursuing an Master’s. degree in a different discipline than their Bachelor's degree may request a waiver for the out of program requirement. Waivers must be approved by the student’s advisor, committee, department chair, and the Dean of Graduate Studies.

These general requirements do not apply to students in the Master of Science for Teachers (MST) program.

Approvals

  1. The appropriate department grants admission to its graduate program.

  2. The appropriate department and the Dean of Graduate Studies must approve the composition of each graduate student’s advisory committee.

  3. The graduate student’s advisory committee must approve the student’s thesis or independent study research project. The MS degree will not be awarded until the thesis or independent study paper has been approved by the advisory committee.

  4. Coursework to be applied toward the degree must meet the associated degree requirements and be approved by the graduate student’s advisory committee and the Dean of Graduate Studies.

Research Options

There are two research options, M.S. with Independent Study and M.S. with Thesis. Each option requires a minimum of 30 credit hours. Some departments do not recognize the Independent Study option.

M.S. with Independent Study Requirements:

  1. Completion of at least 27 credit hours of approved course work, with at least 15 credit hours of 5000-level courses, exclusive of research credits;

  2. Completion of at least three credit hours of independent study;

  3. Submission of a formal paper describing the results of the research to the candidate’s advisor and advisory committee; and

  4. Submission of a digital abstract of the independent study to the Center for Graduate Studies.

M.S. with Thesis Requirements:

  1. Completion of at least 24 credit hours of approved course work, with at least 12 credit hours of 5000-level courses, exclusive of research credits;

  2. Completion of at least six credit hours of thesis work;

  3. Satisfactory oral defense of the thesis research; and

  4. Submission of the digital thesis to the Center for Graduate Studies via ProQuest.

Most Master Degrees at NMT require some out of department course electives, see the Graduate Office or an Academic Advisor for clarification or for additional information.