Professor Dr. Ruth Derksen

Biography

Ruth Derksen is a Senior Instructor Emerita in the Faculty of Applied Science at the University of British Columbia, specializing in the integration of philosophy and language into professional communication courses. Her teaching and research activities encompass rhetoric, discourse analysis, and genre theory, focusing on curriculum development for engineering departments that includes communication competency tailored to specific engineering design projects. Ruth has presented numerous papers in Canada, the United States, Europe, and Russia, addressing topics such as audience design and linguistic constructions. She has also produced film broadcasts for a Canadian network and authored several books, including one that won the Lieutenant Governor’s award in 2014. Additionally, her research investigates the gap in assumptions international students have regarding success in English language use at UBC. Ruth's methodology emulates a project commissioned by the British Columbia Ministry of Education, which assesses the gap in English proficiency between secondary and post-secondary education.

Research Interests