Professional Writing
Welcome to Professional Writing, one of the fastest growing fields in English, and one that can lead to careers in almost every field of industry and public life, including high-technology, science, education, business, government, and the non-profit sector.
Our Professional Writing program offers a broad range of experiential learning opportunities to meet the needs of English majors who want to make writing a career and English minors who want to supplement their work in another area with highly marketable skills in writing.
Students in the program combine coursework with practical experience. You'll learn how to analyze audience and purpose as well as how to create brochures, proposals, web sites, reports, computer manuals, educational materials, fund-raising publications, and more. The program emphasizes using rhetorical principles to solve communication problems. Most important, all courses emphasize practical applications, and many include service-learning or client-based work to give you real-world experience and build your portfolio.
Professional writing students have a wide range of career goals, and they
learn quickly that their coursework prepares them for the workplace. Recent
graduates of our program have gone on to become web designers, technical writers,
grant proposal writers, documentation specialists, and marketing specialists
in companies and organizations ranging from Northrup Grumman to the Government
Accounting Office (GAO) to the Salvation Army. In addition, many have
chosen to go on to graduate programs in law, journalism, and, of course, rhetoric
and professional communication. Regardless of the path they choose after
graduation, our students exclaim how they are often viewed by their colleagues
and superiors. One exuberant student said, “Everyone on the IT
team is awed that I have an English degree. At GAO, if you can write,
you are almost
declared a saint!”
If you are interested in learning more about writing and editing or perhaps in being considered for sainthood (!), we have the courses and faculty who can help you. Join us today for an exciting journey toward rewarding careers.