Adjusting to a new graduate program can be difficult, and you might be wondering if the class choices you’ve made for next semester are the correct ones. The MSTC program has an excellent team of faculty members that are supportive of all of our needs, but maybe you want to hear the opinion of students who have been through their first year. We’ve asked them for you!
We surveyed current MSTC students who have completed at least one year in the MSTC with four questions related to their first-year experience. Here are some helpful tips and tricks from seven respondents:
What was/is your favorite MSTC core class? Why?
ENG 517: Advanced Technical Writing and Editing
- This was a close decision between 517 and 518. I’ve always liked technical editing, but in addition, we also get to learn how to use Oxygen which I used at my internship the summer after I took the course. –Bella Wick
- Because it was dealing with more technical aspects of the program such as authoring tools. –Mohammed Alhwejim
- It felt the most hands on and involved. I enjoyed having tangible and slightly creative projects. I also took the course with Dr. Pigg, and she had a really wonderful layout for projects. We had some class time to ask questions about projects which went a long way in helping with my success in the course! –Anonymous
- I enjoyed learning about content hierarchy and DITA. –Gabby Brown
ENG 515: Rhetoric of Science and Technology
- We had the chance to choose our own topic for a rhetorical analysis. This class also helped me settle on a potential capstone topic. –Alexa Cortes
- It’s a good class that gets the basics down, and it makes a nice gateway into the rest of the unit. –Anonymous
ENG 512: Theory and Research in Professional Writing
- I really liked the introduction to theory around professional writing! It was a good overview for my first semester that introduced me to how to think about technical communication. –Katy Koop
What is your favorite elective course?
- EAC 585 Integrating Technology in Higher Education (2 responses)
- ENG 506 Verbal Data Analysis
- I liked the ENG 519 Information Architecture class. I felt like I learned a lot about like organizing information and just understanding the architecture of technology
- BUS 554 Project Management
- PSY 541 Introduction to Human Factors Psychology
What is one thing you wish you knew during your first year that you now know?
- I wish I knew I needed to pretty much have my capstone topic decided by the end of my first year.
- It’s ok to give yourself a break. Burnout is real during the spring semester so find stress relievers that take you away from thinking about school for a bit.
- I wish I had been more prepared about the amount of group project work there is. It’s good, and I understand why it exists, but I didn’t realize how much group project work there would be. I needed to prepare for it and think about my schedule more to accommodate that.
- Choose your electives in a way that helps you accomplish your Capstone project.
- That “Technical Writing” has more to do with technology than science.
- Reach out to your professors; they are here to help you succeed. Plan your courses accordingly: what you take year 1 will directly impact your choices year 2. A lot of courses are only offered in Fall or Spring, so make note of this and plan ahead.
- Start thinking about your capstone early! It’s a synthesis of things that you’ve learned throughout your core courses and electives. As you’re taking core classes in your first year, be thinking about what you enjoy, and how you can leverage what you’re learning into a project!
If you had one thing you could tell a first year, what would it be?
- Prepare yourself to read a lot, and always try to see how your reading relates to topics that interest you so you can connect them to your capstone project in the future.
- Get an internship your first summer! You’re practically guaranteed a job post-graduation.
- Be prepared for lots of readings and build in good time during the week to get the readings and coursework done.
- Take all the required classes first.
- Utilize your peers and make friends! We are in this program together and complete a lot of the same work. Having a support system around you to ask questions and brainstorm with is priceless. It makes the program more enjoyable and fun, and you learn even more surrounding yourself with friends/peers that have varying backgrounds and knowledge and you make fabulous friendships along the way!
- When you’re planning on the courses you want to take, look at the big picture of what you’re specializing in. Talk to the people who have the career you want, and get their advice on the best classes for you to take.
Note: all comments are quoted but have been edited for mechanical and grammatical clarity.
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