On Developing a TPC Program Graduate Orientation

Abstract

While graduate student orientation is an important form of technical and professional communication for students entering graduate school, providing specialized information to help them succeed in academia and industry, many are not program specific. The main research focus of this study is to determine what currently enrolled graduate students and alums in a TPC program believe is necessary for an orientation program to be successful and feel supported. This article reports on a survey of current students and alumni of East Carolina University's (ECU) Ph.D. in Rhetoric, Writing, and Professional Communication (RWPC) program. Students wanted orientation to excite, motivate, and guide them. Our findings suggest improving graduate student onboarding, including peer-to-peer and faculty-student support for socialization. Key points that graduate students need in an orientation include academic professionalization, faculty and student networking, department or program standards, social and peer connections, and transition and lifestyle changes, amongst others.  This study emphasizes the importance of context-specific TPC program orientation thus departmental and program orientation needs to be designed to meet the needs of our specific TPC graduate students. The project advances TPC professionalization scholarship and informs effective orientation programs for TPC graduate students. This research is intended for TPC program faculty and administrators to consider its implications for their program's emphasis.