Professional Writing - Primary Major
In addition to satisfying all of the Dietrich College degree requirements for B.A. candidates, which include the General Education curriculum, Professional Writing majors must complete coursework in the following areas below.
Learn how to declare your primary major in Professional Writing.
Curriculum: 13 courses, 111 units minimum
All courses are 9.0 units each, unless otherwise noted.
Introductory Genre Writing Course (1 course, 9 units):
76-260 Intro to Writing Fiction
76-261 Intro to Writing Creative Nonfiction
76-265 Intro to Writing Poetry
76-269 Intro to Screenwriting
PW Core Requirements (4 courses, 30 units):
76-271 Introduction to Professional & Technical Writing
76-300 Professional Seminar (3 units)
76-373 Argument
76-390 Style
Rhetoric/Language Studies Requirement (1 course, 9-12 units):
Course options include but are not limited to:
76-318 Communicating in the Global Marketplace
76-319 Environmental Rhetoric
76-325 Intertexuality
76-355 Leadership, Dialogue, and Change
76-371 Innovation in Teamwork
76-378 Literacy: Educational Theory and Community Practice
76-384 Race, Nation, and the Enemy
76-389 Rhetorical Grammar
76-476 Rhetoric of Science
76-485 The New Public Sphere
76-491 Rhetorical Analysis
76-492 Rhetoric of Public Policy
Advanced Writing/Rhetoric Requirements (4 courses, 36-48 units):
Course options include but are not limited to:
76-301 Internship (variable units)
76-302 Global Communication Center Practicum (6 units)
76-354 Watchdog Journalism
76-359 User Experience Methods for Documents
76-360 Literary Journalism Workshop
76-372 News Writing
76-375 Magazine Writing
76-378 Literacy: Educational Theory and Community Practice
76-389 Rhetorical Grammar
76-391 Document & Information Design
76-395 Science Writing
76-396 Non-Profit Message Creation
76-415 Mediated Power and Propaganda
76-425 Science in the Public Sphere
76-474 Software Documentation
76-476 Rhetoric of Science
76-481 Introduction to Multimedia Design (12 units)
76-487 Web Design (12 units)
76-491 Rhetorical Analysis
76-494 Healthcare Communications
English Electives (3 courses, 27 units):
Complete three additional courses from the English Department’s offerings.
- Only one of the three English Electives may be at the 200 level. The remaining English Electives must be at the 300 or 400 level.
- Two of the three English Electives must be courses that focus on the relationships between texts and their cultural and historical contexts. (We call these Text/Context courses.)