24-696 Professional Communication in Engineering

5 units, Carnegie Mellon University

This course, required for all masters students in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, will help students hone their written and oral communication skills for the workplace. Students will meet weekly throughout a semester to learn communication strategies, practice those strategies in formal and informal contexts, and give and receive peer feedback. There will be weekly deliverables (both written and oral) that will receive formal feedback from communication TAs. To maximize learning benefits, students will have the option to revise assignments in order to improve their skills. Topics covered include: preparing brief (30-60 second) pitches, responding to job interview questions, writing challenging emails, writing progress reports, writing executive summaries, presenting technical work to non-experts, writing project descriptions for non-experts, creating a web portfolio.

Prerequisites: none listed

Offered: Spring 2027, Fall 2026, Spring 2026, Fall 2025

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