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 215 | PROFESSIONAL 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 260 | INTRODUCTION TO INTERMEDIA AND PHOTOGRAPHY | 4 sh |
| ART 360 | THE ALTERED IMAGE IN DIGITAL ART | 4 sh |
| ART 361 | INTERNET ART | 4 sh |
| BUS 202 | BUSINESS COMMUNICATIONS | 4 sh |
| COM 110 | MEDIA WRITING | 4 sh |
| COM 310 | REPORTING FOR THE PUBLIC GOOD | 4 sh |
| COM 311 | BROADCAST NEWS WRITING | 4 sh |
| COM 312 | STRATEGIC WRITING | 4 sh |
| COM 316 | WRITING FOR TELEVISION AND CINEMA | 4 sh |
| COM 340 | FEATURE WRITING | 4 sh |
| PWR 211 | PUBLISHING AND EDITING I | 4 sh |
| PWR 212 | MULTIMEDIA AND VISUAL RHETORICS I | 4 sh |
| ENG 219 | WRITING STUDIES SURVEY | 4 sh |
| PWR 304 | UNDERSTANDING RHETORIC | 4 sh |
| PWR 311 | PUBLISHING AND EDITING II | 4 sh |
| PWR 312 | MULTIMEDIA AND VISUAL RHETORICS II | 4 sh |
| PWR 313 | SPECIAL TOPICS IN PROFESSIONAL WRITING AND RHETORIC | 4 sh |
| PWR 322 | WRITING SCIENCE | 4 sh |
| ENG 319 | WRITING CENTER WORKSHOP | 4 sh |
| HST 301 | RESEARCH METHODS | 4 sh |
| PHS 202 | RESEARCH METHODS IN PUBLIC HEALTH | 4 sh |
| SPT 351 | SPORT MARKETING | 4 sh |
| ANT 215/SOC 215 | QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS | 4 sh |
| ANT 216/SOC 216 | QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS | 4 sh |
| PWR 297 | WRITING AS INQUIRY | 4 sh |
| PWR 217 | PROFESSIONAL WRITING AND TECHNOLOGY STUDIO | 4 sh |
| PWR 321 | WRITING GRANTS | 4 sh |
| PWR 323 | WRITING CIVIC ACTION | 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 381 | INTERNSHIP IN PROFESSIONAL WRITING | 1-4 sh |
| PWS 499 | RESEARCH IN PROFESSIONAL WRITING STUDIES | 1-4 sh |
| PWR 311 | PUBLISHING AND EDITING II | 4 sh |
| PWR 312 | MULTIMEDIA AND VISUAL RHETORICS II | 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