Dec 05, 2025

2025-2026 Undergraduate Bulletin

Professional & Technical Communication, B.S.

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Introduction

Professional and technical communicators are vital in every organization across every industry sector. UW-Stout’s Professional and Technical Communication (PTC) program provides students with the skills needed in many companies and businesses.

Graduates of this program will have the expertise to research, visualize, design, develop and manage content and content production across many platforms and channels, including web, print, and social media. The continuous development of new communication technologies creates a steady demand for professionals who can efficiently and accurately create content.

The coursework is flexible to allow you to explore areas of communication that are especially of interest to you, such as marketing, photography, print production, video, and design.

All PTC students participate in a work experience to get practical, real world expertise in the areas of communication they choose to pursue.

General Requirements

Bachelor of Science Degree

Total for Graduation:	120 credits
Stout Core:	40 credits
Professional Core:	67-70 credits
Applied Field:	10-13 credits

Program Requirements

Stout Core (40 credits)

Communication Skills (9 credits)

ENGL-101 Composition 1 (3 cr.) or
ENGL-101HON Honors Composition 1 (3 cr.)
ENGL-102 Composition 2 (3 cr.) or
ENGL-102HON Honors Composition 2 (3 cr.)
COMST-100 Fundamentals of Communication (3 cr.)

Analytic Reasoning and Natural Sciences (10 credits)

Courses must be from the areas of analytic reasoning and natural sciences. At least one mathematics or statistics course and a natural science course with a lab are required.

Arts and Humanities (6 credits)

Social and Behavioral Sciences (6 credits)

Social Responsibility and Ethical Reasoning (3 credits)

Courses must be selected from the list of approved social responsibility and ethical reasoning courses.

Course Selective-1 :

Electives to reach 40 Stout Core credits

Course Selective-1 :

Students must also take courses with the following designations:

Racial and Ethnic Studies (2 courses)

Global Perspective (2 courses)

Professional Foundations (67 credits)

Experiential Learning (1 credit)

All students are required to complete at least one credit of field experience (ENGL-398) or cooperative education experience (ENGL-349). See your advisor or program director for additional information. NOTE: Each work experience credit requires at least 80 hours of professional work. Co-ops must meet the requirements set by Career Services: at least 320 hours with paid compensation completed within a summer or semester.

ENGL-349 Cooperative Education Experience (1 cr.) or
ENGL-398 Field Experience (1 cr.)

Media and Design (12 credits)

ENGL-221 Social Media Strategy and Content Creation (3 cr.)
ENGL-335 Digital Humanities: Foundations, Exploration, Creativity (3 cr.)
ENGL-350 Digital Storytelling (3 cr.)
ENGL-385 Document Design (3 cr.)

Social and Cultural Awareness (12 credits)

COMST-312 Intercultural Communication (3 cr.) or
ENGL-312 Transnational Professional Communication (3 cr.)
PHIL-235 General Ethics (3 cr.) or
PHIL-240 Contemporary Ethical Issues (3 cr.) or
PHIL-245 Environmental Ethics (3 cr.) or
PHIL-275 Business Ethics (3 cr.) or
ICT-215 Cybertechnology Ethics (3 cr.)
Six credits of courses with the following prefixes (WGS) Women and Gender Studies and/or COMST (Communication Studies) and/or PHIL (Philosophy):
Course Selective-1 :
Course Selective-2 :

Global Learning (6-9 credits)

Students must obtain at least six credits of foreign language AND/OR credits earned while studying abroad.

Applied Field (10-13 credits)

In consultation with your advisor and/or program director, select a set of courses that add up to 10-13 credits for your Applied Field. These can be courses to support a field that applies to your interests or professional goals. (This can include courses towards an established minor or certificate.)

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