Program Overview

The Technical Communications Program (TCP) is an important, innovative teaching resource established by the School of Engineering in 1976 to help ensure that Stanford engineering graduates have the communication skills necessary to succeed as professionals.

The TCP offers flexible, discipline-specific instruction. We focus on the kinds of writing and speaking that students will be asked to do as professionals, whether in industry or academia. Our instruction is highly individualized: much of it takes place in one-on-one tutorials.

Each quarter, the TCP offers several elective courses in technical and professional writing and public speaking/presentation development. In addition, it provides Drop-In Tutorial services in both writing and speech.

The program is also charged with helping departments within the School of Engineering design and implement writing-intensive courses that satisfy the university’s Writing in the Major requirement.

Finally, the TCP provides faculty in engineering departments with speech and writing TAs, who may give a brief presentation on writing reports or delivering presentations and who then meet individually with students to help them organize, write, and revise their reports or to help them prepare and rehearse their presentations.