Our Major and Minor

Our major and minor draw on three main areas of Professional Writing: Rhetorical Theory and Practice, Creative Writing/Editing and Publishing, and Digital and Technical Writing. 

Required Courses for Major

(19 credits)

PWR 210: Writing in the Digital Age
PWR 295: Introduction to Professional Writing
PWR 395: Revising and Editing
PWR 399: Rhetoric
PWR 495: Internship in Professional Writing
PWR 497: Senior Seminar in Professional Writing

Professional Writing Electives

(15 credits, with at least six hours at the 400-level)

The purpose of our major is to provide students with a broad understanding of the technical, professional, and intellectual foundations of the diverse field of professional writing while providing them with an opportunity to focus their education, in consultation with their advisors, to best serve their particular professional goals.

Some of our students are very interested in creative writing and intend to pursue graduate degrees in that area. For those students, our program allows enough freedom to take several creative writing workshops. Other students are more interested in editing or professional communication or technical writing. Those students also have an opportunity to take more advanced courses in their areas and pursue more in-depth internships, including study-abroad internships.

Required Courses for Minor

PWR 295: Introduction to Professional Writing
15 hours of PWR electives, with at least nine credits at the 300-level or higher

Like our major, our minor offers students a high degree of flexibility. Some students come to us to take creative writing courses. Others want to hone their writing skills for a competitive job market or broaden those skills by learning to write in a variety of genres or in the context of emerging technologies. We highly value students who minor in our program as they bring with them an enriching range of interests and knowledge that enliven our writing community.