Carnegie Mellon University

Customizing the MAPW Degree

Align your career aspirations with personalized program experiences through flexible elective options


Personalize your degree: You will build foundational skills in rhetoric, writing, document & information design, and research methods through the program’s core courses. These core courses are complemented through self-selected electives that allow you to personalize your degree to support your career path.

Our program offers electives in a diverse range of specialized areas of communication including
  • Science & Healthcare Communication
  • Technical Writing
  • Persuasion/Advocacy
  • Communicating Globally
  • Equity & Communication
  • News/Journalism
  • Creative Nonfiction

Your MAPW advisor will help you evaluate which electives best support your academic and professional goals.

MAPW students commonly enroll in these electives to develop their existing skills or build new ones:

  • Science Writing
  • Healthcare Communications
  • Rhetoric of Science
  • Rhetoric, Science, and the Public Sphere
  • Software Documentation
  • Coding for Humanists
  • Introduction to Multimedia Design
  • Argument
  • Communication in the Global Marketplace
  • Equity & Communication
  • Construction of Race
  • News Writing
  • Watchdog Journalism
  • Creative Nonfiction Workshop
  • Literary Journalism Workshop

Broaden your expertise with electives from departments and colleges across the university: In addition to the electives offered within the MAPW program, you can take courses in other Carnegie Mellon programs as electives. These electives provide you with the opportunity to explore various professional avenues and engage with a diverse range of professors and students.