In Short
The minor in Professional Writing offers courses in various forms of writing including journalism, creative writing, and technical writing that prepare students for the job market and expand their creativity.
The Professional Writing minor is particularly useful if you want to improve your written communication and storytelling skills. Writing can be an excellent secondary source of income for those working in business, the sciences, healthcare, education, or engineering to name a few, and is closely aligned with skills valued in public relations, communications, marketing, and publishing. Beyond considering career goals, being a good storyteller helps you communicate your story, know yourself, explore and explain our world, and connect with others.
This 15 credit minor is grounded in a foundational course on careers for professional writers and a literature course of the student’s choosing. With your three elective courses, you can customize coursework to your interests. A few examples of elective clusters you could construct include:
- Journalism – 2030 News Reporting and Writing, 2800 Journalism, 3830 College Newspaper Production
- Creative Writing – 3028 Research for Creative Writers, 2040 Introduction to Creative Writing 3026 Genres, Forms, and Themes in Creative Writing
- Fiction – 3015 Writing the Science Fiction and Fantasy Novel, 3028 Research for Creative Writers, 3510 Fiction Writing
- Freelance Writing – 2030 News Reporting and Writing, 3840 Online Magazine, 3870 Feature and Magazine Writing
- Genres of Creative Writing – 3510 Fiction Writing, 3520 Poetry Writing, 3015 Writing the Science Fiction and Fantasy Novel
- Nonfiction – 3890 Creative Nonfiction, 3860 Writing for Organizations, 3870 Feature and Magazine Writing
- Publishing – 2020 Style Studio, 3075 Editing and Publishing, 3830 College Newspaper Production
- Performance – 2320 Script Writing, 3035 Playwrighting, 3540 Writing Film Criticism
- Game Design – 3027 Experimental Writing, 3028 Research for Creative Writers, 3045 Media Conscious Storytelling
- Media – 3540 Writing Film Criticism, 3045 Media Conscious Storytelling, SPCH 3000 Speech Writing
- Language – 2020 Style Studio, 3055 Structure and Nature of Language, 3027 Experimental Writing
Curriculum and Requirements
Visit our University Catalog for more information about this minor.