Professional Writing Studies

Coordinator: Associate Professor Pope-Ruark

Professional Writing Studies is an interdisciplinary minor designed for students across the disciplines who would like to add to their major's focused study and practice in applied writing. 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 three 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. Practice/applied courses must be chosen from at least two disciplines.