Mar 28, 2024  
2017-2018 University Catalog 
    
2017-2018 University Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Professional Writing, BA


Return to {$returnto_text} Return to: Undergraduate & Graduate Programs

About the Program

The professional writing major includes strands in technical writing and writing and publishing. It is a good major for students who love to write and who enjoy organizing and presenting information in multiple media. The professional writing major is noted for cultivating expertise in writing for the digital workplace; in teaching and researching multimedia writing, visual rhetoric, usability, and emergent technologies; in print and digital publishing; and for emphasizing collaboration, community service, and open-source development and documentation. Skills learned include the ability to communicate effectively orally and in writing; to edit, revise and design professional documents; to analyze, interpret, and present data; to present information clearly and creatively; and to understand how people use writing to teach, delight, and persuade. Students may focus on writing for the arts or writing for industry, and they must choose a minor that will give them additional expertise.

Professional writing offers two major scholarships annually to undergraduates, each currently worth $5,000, and focused on Technical Writing and Writing and Publishing.

All professional writing majors have opportunities to work with journals and magazines published in the English Department and two scholarly presses.

The Purdue Exponent student newspaper provides ample opportunity to hone journalism skills and get published on a regular basis. Professional writing majors often work as interns or in part-time positions with the newspaper.

Please visit Professional Writing for more information.

3 Year Degrees

A variety of majors in Liberal Arts offer students the opportunity to complete a bachelor’s degree in three years, allowing students to enter the work force or graduate school a year earlier than traditional plans of study.

Degree Requirements


120 Credits Required

Liberal Arts Core Curriculum


Each liberal arts major is designed as a four-year plan of study and includes three types of courses: Major, Core, and Elective. Most students take five courses per semester, with some of each type.

Professional academic advisors meet individually with each of our students on a regular basis to help with course selection, academic planning, and career development, as well as to help students find additional resources on campus.

For the Liberal Arts Core Curriculum click here .

Departmental/Program Major Requirements (33 credits)


Please note: English majors must take ENGL 10600 - First-Year Composition  or ENGL 10800 - Accelerated First-Year Composition  and ENGL 22700 - Elements Of Linguistics  or equivalent to fulfill the requirements for the CLA Core areas Written Communication and Individual and Society. Professional Writing students must also fulfill all the requirements for a minor outside the English Department.

Area A - English Literature 2000-Level (3 credits)


Area C - Advanced Writing Courses (21 credits)


Group 1: Writing and Publishing


One of the following required (3 credits)

(courses listed in recommended sequence)

Options (15 credits)

Choose 15 credits

Group 2: Technical Writing


Two of the following required (6 credits)

Options

Choose 12 credits

Other Departmental/Program Course Requirements (57 credits)


  • (UCC: Written Communication)
  • or

  • (UCC: Written Communication)
  •  

  • (UCC: Oral Communication)  
  • Other Languages (Proficiency through Level IV in one language) (UCC: Humanities) - Credits Hours: 12.00
  • Mathematics (UCC: Quantitative Reasoning) - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Statistics (UCC: Quantitative Reasoning) - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Western Heritage - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • United States Tradition (UCC: Behavioral Social Science - if POL 10100  was taken) - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Other Cultures (UCC: Behavioral Social Science - if ANTH 20500 was taken) - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Aesthetic Awareness - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Racial and Ethnic Diversity - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Gender Issues - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Social Ethics (UCC: Science, Technology & Society - if PHIL 27000  or POL 22300  was taken) - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Individual and Society - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Global Perspective (UCC: Science, Technology & Society - if HIST 38400  or HIST 38700  was taken) - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Natural Sciences (UCC: Science - requires 6 credits) - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Natural Sciences Lab - Credit Hours: 3.00

A Minor Outside the English Department (12-15 credits)


Electives (15-18 credits)


University Core Requirements


  • Human Cultures Humanities
  • Human Cultures Behavioral/Social Science
  • Information Literacy
  • Science #1
  • Science #2
  • Science, Technology, and Society
  • Written Communication
  • Oral Communication
  • Quantitative Reasoning
  • For a complete listing of course selectives, visit the Provost’s Website.

Prerequisite Information:


For current pre-requisites for courses, click here.

Program Requirements


Fall 1st Year


15 Credits


Spring 1st Year


15 Credits


Fall 2nd Year


15 Credits


Spring 2nd Year


  • ENGL 30900 - Computer-Aided Publishing  
  • REQ A (English Lit 20000-Level) - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Natural Science Lab - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • SLC 20200 - Credit Hours: 3.00 
  • US Traditions - Credit Hours: 3.00

15 Credits


Fall 3rd Year


  • REQ C - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • REQ C - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Racial & Ethnic Diversity - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Global Perspectives - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • MINOR - Credit Hours: 3.00

15 Credits


Spring 3rd Year


  • REQ C - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • REQ C - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Gender Issues - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Aesthetic Awareness - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Elective - Credit Hours: 3.00

15 Credits


Fall 4th Year


  • REQ C - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Other Cultures - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Elective - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Elective - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • MINOR - Credit Hours: 3.00

15 Credits


Spring 4th Year


  • REQ C - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Social Ethics - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Elective - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Elective - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • MINOR - Credit Hours: 3.00

15 Credits


Notes


2.5 GPA in courses is required for prerequisite and background section.

2.0 Graduation GPA required for Bachelor of Arts degree.

32 credit hours at 30000 level or higher required for Bachelor of Arts degree.

Foreign Language Courses


Foreign Language proficiency requirements vary by program.  For acceptable languages and proficiency levels, see your advisor:

American Sign Language, Arabic, Chinese, French, German, (ancient) Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish

Critical Course


The ♦ course is considered critical. A Critical Course is one that a student must be able to pass to persist and succeed in a particular major.

Disclaimer


The student is ultimately responsible for knowing and completing all degree requirements.

The myPurduePlan powered by DegreeWorks is the knowledge source for specific requirements and completion.

Return to {$returnto_text} Return to: Undergraduate & Graduate Programs