Degree Requirements
- Credit Hours: Students are required to complete a minimum of 30 credit hours in English at the graduate level.
- Grade Point Average: Students must earn a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.75. Students must also earn a minimum GPA of 2.75 and a minimum grade of B- in all courses applied to the degree.
- Graduation Requirement: Students must complete coursework and practical experience.
- Professional Writing and Editing Electives: In consultation with the advisor, students will individualize their plan of study by choosing two 500 or 600-level courses that develop a specific focus within the general field of professional writing and editing. Students must work with an advisor to file an approved plan of study by the end of their first semester.
- General Distribution English Coursework: In addition to specific required English courses, students must complete a minimum of nine credits in general English studies. Courses may include literature, writing, and/or linguistics courses offered by the Department of English and are chosen in consultation with the advisor. General distribution hours may often include requirements dictated by graduate teaching status, prior coursework, and departmental guidelines. Students may not use the same course(s) to fulfill the general distribution and the professional writing electives requirements.
- Practical Experience: Students typically complete a workplace internship while enrolling in ENGL 610 (three hours). With approval from the program a thesis option can substitute for the internship.
- Benchmarks: PWE students typically complete an internship in their final semester of the program. At a minimum, students must first complete at least 12 credit hours of coursework before pursuing the internship option. Students pursuing the thesis option should work with their advisor to approve a research topic. To complete the thesis option, students typically register for a section of English 698 in their last two semesters in the program.
- Additional Requirements: A student should state in the plan of study the means by which he or she plans to satisfy the language requirement. The M.A. in PWE requires that students demonstrate proficiency in foreign language, statistics, or computer programming, in one of following ways:
- Earning a B or above in the second-year level of foreign language study at an accredited college or university (or its international equivalent) within the last five years
- Passing the Graduate Student Foreign Language Exam administered by the Department of World Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics
- Participating in a University-approved study abroad program of four or more weeks in a non-English-speaking host country will also fulfill the language requirement if, as part of the experience, students are required to study the language and culture of the host country. As part of the study abroad program, students must enroll in at least one three-credit-hour course and earn a grade of B or above
- Completing STAT 111 or STAT 211 with a grade of B or above
- Completing CS 110 Introduction to Computer Science and its accompanying one credit hour lab with a grade of B or above
Curriculum Requirements
Code | Title | Hours |
---|---|---|
Professional Writing and Editing Courses: | ||
ENGL 601 | Studies in Composition and Rhetoric | 3 |
ENGL 602 | Editing | 3 |
ENGL 605 | Professional Writing Theory | 3 |
ENGL 609 | College Composition Pedagogy * | 3 |
Internship: ** | 3 | |
Professional Writing Internship | ||
Professional Writing and Editing 500 or 600-level electives and General Distribution English Coursework | 15 | |
Select two PWE 500 or 600 level electives and three graduate level English courses in consultation with advisor *** | ||
Total Hours | 30 |
- *
Students who do not hold an assistantship will substitute three additional hours of electives.
- **
With program approval, a thesis option can be substituted for the internship.
- ***
Additional courses may accepted with Professional Writing Coordinator approval, excluding ENGL 698, 790, and 798.
Major Learning Outcomes
Professional Writing and Editing
The learning outcomes for the M.A. in PWE reflect the program’s mixture of theory and practice:
- Recognize and evaluate a variety of ethical, social, legal, and political values intertwined in the production and consumption of technical communications.
- Analyze the uses and applications of new communication technologies.
- Acquire historical and critical understanding of rhetorical theories and practices.
- Master a variety of research and analytical methods, especially as these apply to the study and practical application of oral, written, and visual communication in professional contexts.
- Acquire a practical and theoretical understanding of workplace dynamics including client relations and project management skills.