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 2110 | 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
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 3985 | INTERNSHIP IN PROFESSIONAL WRITING | 1-4 sh |
| PWS 4999 | RESEARCH IN PROFESSIONAL WRITING STUDIES | 1-4 sh |
| PWR 3130 | PUBLISHING AND EDITING II | 4 sh |
| PWR 3120 | 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