2022-2023 University Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]
Professional Writing, BA
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 Return to: College of Liberal Arts
About the ProgramWhile pursuing a BA in Professional Writing, students explore strands in technical writing or writing and publishing. The Professional Writing student is a multimedia-writing specialist. The major is perfect for those who enjoy organizing and presenting information in multiple formats. Professional Writing cultivates writing for the digital workplace; specializes in multimedia writing, visual rhetoric, usability, and emergent technologies, as well as print and digital publishing; and emphasizes collaboration, community service, and open-source development and documentation. It also requires a minor outside the English department to cultivate further expertise in a related area of interest. 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 DegreesThe College of Liberal Arts offers the opportunity for students to complete their degree in three years. Degree in 3 majors allow students to enter the work force or graduate school a year earlier than traditional plans of study while also providing a cost-effective way to complete an undergraduate degree. Students can complete the three-year option with or without AP credit by adding summer sessions to traditional coursework in Fall and Spring semesters. Degree in 3 offers a great combination of cost-savings and the opportunity to accelerate your future and achieve your goals.
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Degree Requirements
120 Credits RequiredLiberal Arts 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. Departmental/Program Major Course Requirements (33 credits)
Professional Writing students must also fulfill all the requirements for a minor outside the English Department. Area A - English Literature 20000-Level (3 credits)
Choose one. Area B - Background (9 credits)
Area C - Advanced Writing Courses (21 credits)
Track 1: Writing And Publishing (18 credits)
Required Course (3 credits)
Track 2: Technical Writing (18 credits)
Required Course (3 credits)
Required Minor (12-15 credits)
A minor outside of the English Department is required. Other Departmental (31-55 credits)
The College of Liberal Arts Other Departmental area is designed to be experiential, informative, and relevant to life in a rapidly changing universe. It combines courses that fulfill University Core foundational outcomes, discipline diversity, social diversity, and other languages to produce a well-rounded background for students. Coursework is integrative and collaborative and fosters insight, understanding, independence, initiative, and the desire to reach across divides and redefine our relationship to the peoples and the worlds that surround us. Core I: Disciplinary Diversity (6-18 credits)
Choose 1 course in 6 different disciplines within the College of Liberal Arts. Note: Disciplines are differentiated by course prefix. Undistributed credit does not count to satisfy this requirement. Core II: Social Diversity (1-3 credits)
Culture, religion, disability, gender, sexual orientation, race and ethnicity all play a role in how others perceive us and how we experience the world, and as such, are meaningful categories for analyzing social change and social problems past and present. The purpose of this category is to acquaint students with the pluralistic nature of the world and foster an appreciation and awareness of the diverse range of lived human experience. Courses in this list will expose students to important aspects of human diversity and foster understanding about different world views. Choose one course from the Social Diversity Selective List . Core III: Linguistic Diversity (3-4 credits)
Proficiency through Level IV in one world language. Courses may be required to reach Level IV proficiency; these courses will be counted toward electives. Foundational Requirements (21-30 credits)
Students must complete approved coursework that meet the following foundational outcomes. Many of these can also be used to fulfill Core I, Core II, or Core III. - Humanities - all approved courses accepted.
- Behavioral/Social Science - all approved courses accepted.
- Information Literacy - all approved courses accepted.
- Science #1 - all approved courses accepted.
- Science #2 - all approved courses accepted.
- Science, Technology, and Society - all approved courses accepted.
- Written Communication - all approved courses accepted.
- Oral Communication - all approved courses accepted.
- Quantitative Reasoning - all approved courses accepted.
Notes
- Double counting of courses is allowed across the various categories.
- All accredited programs whose accreditation is threatened by CLA Core requirement, both professional BAs and BFAs, are exempt from Liberal Arts Core I & II in order to meet accreditation standards and requirements. Liberal Arts Core III: Linguistic Diversity is still required for such programs.
- “Degree +” students (students with a second major outside of Liberal Arts) are exempt from the CLA Core.
Electives (17-44 credits)
University Requirements
University Core Requirements
For a complete listing of University Core Course Selectives, visit the University Senate Website.
- Human Cultures: Behavioral/Social Science (BSS)
- Human Cultures: Humanities (HUM)
- Information Literacy (IL)
- Oral Communication (OC)
- Quantitative Reasoning (QR)
- Science #1 (SCI)
- Science #2 (SCI)
- Science, Technology, and Society (STS)
- Written Communication (WC)
Civics Literacy Proficiency Requirement:
The Civics Literacy Proficiency activities are designed to develop civic knowledge of Purdue students in an effort to graduate a more informed citizenry.Students will complete the Proficiency by passing a test of civic knowledge, and completing one of three paths:
- Attending six approved civics-related events and completing an assessment for each; or
- Completing 12 podcasts created by the Purdue Center for C-SPAN Scholarship and Engagement that use C-SPAN material and completing an assessment for each; or
- Earning a passing grade for one of these approved courses (or transferring in approved AP or departmental credit in lieu of taking a course)
For more information visit the Civics Literacy Proficiency website.
Prerequisite Information:
For current pre-requisites for courses, click here.
Fall 1st Year
- Written Communication - Credit Hours: 3.00-4.00
- Area A English Literature Selective - Credit Hours 3.00
- Quantitative Reasoning - Credit Hours: 3.00
- World Language Level I - Credit Hours: 3.00
- Required Minor Course- Credit Hours 3.00
Spring 1st Year
- Oral Communication - Credit Hours: 3.00
- Science - Credit Hours: 3.00
- World Language Level II - Credit Hours: 3.00
- CLA Core II: Diversity Selective - Credit Hours: 3.00
- Required Minor Course - Credit Hours: 3.00
Fall 3rd Year
- ENGL 30900 - Digital Design And Production
- Area C Advanced Writing Track Selective - Credit Hours 3.00
- Area C Advanced Writing Track Selective - Credit Hours 3.00
- CLA Core I: 5 of 6 - Credit Hours: 3.00
- Required Minor Course - Credit Hours 3.00
Spring 3rd Year
- Area C Advanced Writing Track Selective - Credit Hours: 3.00
- Area C Advanced Writing Track Selective - Credit Hours: 3.00
- CLA Core I: 6 of 6 - Credit Hours: 3.00
- Required Minor Course - Credit Hours: 3.00
- Elective - Credit Hours: 3.00
Notes
2.5 GPA in courses is required for Area B.
2.0 Graduation GPA required for Bachelor of Arts degree. 32 credit hours of Purdue coursework at the 30000 level or higher required for Bachelor of Arts degree.
Liberal Arts offers a streamlined plan of study for students pursuing a second degree outside CLA. Contact the CLA Advising Office for more information.
College of Liberal Arts Pass/No Pass Option Policy
- P/NP cannot be used to satisfy Liberal Arts Core, Liberal Arts major, minor, or certificate requirements.
World Language Courses
World Language proficiency requirements vary by program. The following list is inclusive of all world languages PWL offers for credit; for acceptable languages and proficiency levels, see your advisor.
| ASL-American Sign Language |
ARAB-Arabic |
CHNS-Chinese |
FR-French |
| GER-German |
GREK-Greek (Ancient) |
HEBR-Hebrew (Biblical) |
HEBR-Hebrew (modern) |
| ITAL-Italian |
JPNS-Japanese |
KOR-Korean |
LATN-Latin |
| PTGS-Portuguese |
RUSS-Russian |
SPAN-Spanish |
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Critical Course
The ♦ course is considered critical.
In alignment with the Degree Map Guidance for Indiana’s Public Colleges and Universities, published by the Commission for Higher Education (pursuant to HEA 1348-2013), a Critical Course is identified as “one that a student must be able to pass to persist and succeed in a particular major. Students who want to be nurses, for example, should know that they are expected to be proficient in courses like biology in order to be successful. These would be identified by the institutions for each degree program”.
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.
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Return to: College of Liberal Arts
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