About

Core elements of the CLASS department have been part of Tech since it opened. Being a good scientist or engineer takes strong writing and presentation skills and a good grasp of the social contexts of science and engineering.

According to the 1908-09 catalog information about the required preparatory classes (which were taught then through the NMT “Academy”),  "Especial stress is placed on work in English writing. It is being recognized that a most necessary part of a technical graduate’s equipment is an ability to express himself in concise, consecutive, idiomatic English. Slovenly, inconsequential,  ambiguous English in a report, a letter, an application, can readily lose a desirable position to an otherwise valuable technical man" (page 13, archived in the Registrar’s Office).

The earliest NMT catalog archived in Skeen library dates from 1912 and lists the Department of Language, which taught Spanish, and the Academic Department, which taught English and History (as well as basic math and sciences).

Catalogs from 1917 to 1930 list the Department of English and Spanish offering basic first-year writing courses, technical writing, and Spanish language courses. College preparatory courses were still taught by the Academy, and according to the 1921 catalog, those required writing classes met for 5 periods each week.
From 1930 through 1943, the department went by the name of Language and Economics.

The post World War II era saw a surge in college students thanks to the GI bill, and Tech’s course offerings in humanities and social sciences grew to meet the new demand. The courses covered three areas required for all students:

• Written and spoken English
• Literature and Fine Arts
• Social Science and History

Beginning in 1944, the department was called the Humanities Department, a name it kept until its current name (as of the 2011-2012 catalog): the Department of Communication, Liberal Arts, and Social Sciences.

 

How things were done in the pre-computer era: a SCRIPTS student worker hard at work on a typewriter, 1968.

 

Thomas Bennett, Principal of the Academy of New Mexico School of Mines (in modern terms, the department chair), professor of English and Spanish, 1925.

The Department offers three degrees: an industry-endorsed Bachelor of Science in Technical Communication, a Bachelor of General Studies (B.G.S.), and an Associate’s of General Studies (A.G.S.) degree. It further offers a graduate Certificate in Scientific and Professional Communication, and minors in Hispanic Studies, History, Literature, Philosophy, and Technical Communication, allowing students to enrich their studies at Tech to become successful professionals and knowledgeable members of society.

With a degree in Technical Communication, students can have a variety of exciting careers, including manual and grant writing, documenting research, being usability specialists, online help developers, and web designers. With a degree in General Studies, students can have a career in any field where a knowledge of the Liberal Arts as well as a knowledge of Science is required.

The degree in Technical Communication that the Department offers is a Bachelor’s of Science. This means that students have to take the same basic Science courses required for Science and Engineering majors. Students also are required to have a scientific focus. This gives students with a degree in Technical Communication from New Mexico Tech an edge in the job market.