Professional Writing Studies Minor

Coordinator: Assistant Professor Li

Professional Writing Studies is an interdisciplinary minor designed for students across the disciplines who would like to add focused study and practice in applied writing to their major studies. This minor is intended not only to strengthen the writing instruction offered to students across the disciplines, but also to responsibly prepare students for the steadily increasing numbers of specialized professional, technical and medical writing positions in government agencies, industry and nonprofit organizations.

The minor is broad and flexible enough that students can formulate course sequences appealing to their specific interests. It is also structured tightly enough to effectively guide students’ curricular decisions.

A required introductory course prepares students to see writing broadly as a complex, highly situated form of social action and production. Three required practice courses engage students in hands-on projects where they learn to apply advanced practical writing skills within specific contexts. Finally, students may choose among Capstone Experience options to best fulfill their goals to apply their theoretical learning and practical strategies in actual disciplinary or professional contexts.

The minor requires a minimum of 20-28 semester hours, depending on prerequisites. Practice/applied courses must be chosen from at least two disciplines.

Minor Requirements

Required course: 4 sh

PWR 215PROFESSIONAL WRITING AND RHETORIC

4 sh

ENG 304, Understanding Rhetoric, may be substituted for ENG 215 with approval of the coordinator.

Select twelve semester hours from the following: 12 sh

ART 260INTRODUCTION TO INTERMEDIA AND PHOTOGRAPHY

4 sh

ART 360THE ALTERED IMAGE IN DIGITAL ART

4 sh

ART 361INTERNET ART

4 sh

BUS 202BUSINESS COMMUNICATIONS

4 sh

COM 110MEDIA WRITING

4 sh

COM 310REPORTING FOR THE PUBLIC GOOD

4 sh

COM 311BROADCAST NEWS WRITING

4 sh

COM 312STRATEGIC WRITING

4 sh

COM 316WRITING FOR TELEVISION AND CINEMA

4 sh

COM 340FEATURE WRITING

4 sh

PWR 211PUBLISHING AND EDITING I

4 sh

PWR 212MULTIMEDIA AND VISUAL RHETORICS I

4 sh

ENG 219WRITING STUDIES SURVEY

4 sh

PWR 304UNDERSTANDING RHETORIC

4 sh

PWR 311PUBLISHING AND EDITING II

4 sh

PWR 312MULTIMEDIA AND VISUAL RHETORICS II

4 sh

PWR 313SPECIAL TOPICS IN PROFESSIONAL WRITING AND RHETORIC

4 sh

PWR 322WRITING SCIENCE

4 sh

ENG 319WRITING CENTER WORKSHOP

4 sh

HST 301RESEARCH METHODS

4 sh

PHS 202RESEARCH METHODS IN PUBLIC HEALTH

4 sh

SPT 351SPORT MARKETING

4 sh

ANT 215/SOC 215QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS

4 sh

ANT 216/SOC 216QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS

4 sh

Courses must be selected from at least two disciplines.

Students may consult with coordinator on other possible electives on a case-by-case basis.

Capstone - select four semester hours from the following: 4 sh

PWS 381INTERNSHIP IN PROFESSIONAL WRITING

1-4 sh

PWS 499RESEARCH IN PROFESSIONAL WRITING STUDIES

1-4 sh

Capstone selection should be made by the student in conjunction with the PWS coordinator.

Students may take a combination of PWS 381 and PWS 499 that totals 4 sh to fulfill the Capstone.

Total Credit Hours: 20

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