Professional Writing- Bachelor of Arts

For information, contact the Department of English, 356 Bachelor Hall, 513-529-5221.

The English department offers four majors: creative writingliteraturelinguistics, and professional writing. These concentrations lead to an A.B.

Program Requirements

(36 semester hours)

The Bachelor of Arts with a major in Professional Writing is designed for students who wish to engage with the theory and practice of writing for various purposes and in different print and digital media. Students may choose one of four tracks:

  1. Digital and Technical Communication
  2. Editing in Professional Contexts
  3. Public Writing and Rhetoric
  4. Intercultural Rhetoric and Writing

The major requires 36 hours: five core courses (15 hours); five track courses, one of which is required (15 hours); and two elective courses in any 200-level or above course in the English Department (6 hours). (Note: You may not “double-dip” a course as both a track-elective and an open-elective.)

Core courses
ENG/IMS 171Humanities and Technology3
ENG 223Rhetorical Strategies for Writers3
ENG/IMS 224Professional Communication & Digital Rhetoric3
ENG/IMS 411Visual Rhetoric3
ENG Capstone:
ENG 415Capstone in Professional Writing 13
Track
Select one of four tracks15
Open Electives
Select two courses from any 200-level or above course in the English Department. 26
Total Credit Hours36
1

ENG 495R may be substituted for ENG 415.

2

 This may include 200-level and above ENG courses from the tracks.

Tracks

Editing in Professional Contexts

Required course
ENG 412Print and Digital Editing3
Elective courses
Select four courses from the following, two of which must be at the 300 or 400 level:12
Medical Writing
Style: Strategies for Editing and Writing
The Rhetoric of Information and Data Visualization
Introduction to Creative Writing: Short Fiction and Poetry
Special Topics in Rhetoric and Persuasion
Business Writing
The Literary Marketplace
Intermediate Creative Writing: Creative Nonfiction
Internship
Interactive Business Communication
Grant and Proposal Writing
Writing for Global Audiences
Ethics and Digital Media
Developing & Publishing Digital Books
Writing Center Theory and Practice
Editing and Design
American Dialects, Culture, and Identity
Structure of Modern English
Total Credit Hours15

Public Writing and Rhetoric

Required course
ENG 310Special Topics in Rhetoric and Persuasion3
or ENG 413 Grant and Proposal Writing
Elective courses
Select four courses from the following, two of which must be at the 300 or 400 level:12
Writing with Purpose: Interdisciplinary Inquiry and Communication
Medical Writing
Writing for Film and TV
Style: Strategies for Editing and Writing
The Rhetoric of Information and Data Visualization
Professional Communication for Data Analytics
Backgrounds to Composition Theory and Research
Business Writing
Legal Writing and Reasoning
Internship
Interactive Business Communication
Print and Digital Editing
Writing for Global Audiences
Ethics and Digital Media
Developing & Publishing Digital Books
Environmental Communication
Writing Center Theory and Practice
Advanced Storytelling in Journalism
Data Journalism
Special Topics in Language Awareness
Total Credit Hours15

Digital and Technical Communication

Required course
ENG 313Technical Writing3
Elective courses
Select four courses from the following, two of which must be at the 300 or 400 level12
Medical Writing
Style: Strategies for Editing and Writing
The Rhetoric of Information and Data Visualization
Professional Communication for Data Analytics
Special Topics in Rhetoric and Persuasion
Internship
Interactive Business Communication
Print and Digital Editing
Grant and Proposal Writing
Usability and User Experience
Writing for Global Audiences
Ethics and Digital Media
Developing & Publishing Digital Books
Introduction to Interaction Design and Development
User Experience Research
Social Media Marketing and Online Community Management
Digital Branding
Advanced Interaction Design and Development
Total Credit Hours15

Intercultural Rhetoric and Writing

Required course
ENG/IMS 416Writing for Global Audiences3
Elective courses
Choose four, two of which must be at the 300 or 400 level12
Writing with Purpose: Interdisciplinary Inquiry and Communication
America: Global and Intercultural Perspectives
Disability and Literature
Style: Strategies for Editing and Writing
GLBTQ Literature
Native American Literature
Asian American Literature
Caribbean, Latin American, and Latinx Literatures
Colonial & Postcolonial Literature
Introduction to Literary and Cultural Studies
Special Topics in Rhetoric and Persuasion
African American Writing, 1746-1877
African American Writing, 1878-1945
African American Writing, 1946-Present
Ethnic American Literatures
Cultural Politics of Gender and Sexuality in Asian/America
Women and Gender in Film
Ethics and Digital Media
Feminism and the Diaspora: U.S. Women of Color
Queer Theory
Black Feminist Theory
Approaches to Global and Intercultural Studies: Globalization and Belonging
American Dialects, Culture, and Identity
Special Topics in Language Awareness
Intercultural Communication
Introduction to Women's Studies
Indigenous Peoples and Their Sacred Lands
Total Credit Hours15

In consultation with your advisor and with administrative approval, you may design your own track. Your track (1) must have a coherent and clearly identified identity or theme in professional writing, and (2) must include at least three courses at the 300 level or above from the above list. 

Students seeking the Bachelor of Arts in Professional Writing meet the College of Arts and Science writing in the major requirement by completing the following course: ENG 223 and either ENG 415 or ENG 495R.