Creative and Professional Writing Graduate Certificate

Students who enroll in this certificate program may take courses within the existing Writing Studies M.A. program, housed in the English Department. The 15-credit certificate program takes half the time of the M.A. and does not require a thesis. Certificate students who wish to continue on to the M.A. are welcome to do so. 

 
 

Learning Goals and Outcomes

Goal 1: Acquire knowledge of the writing process (addressed specifically in ENG 550)

Students will be able to:

Objective 1.1: Exercise patterns of invention for creating original work by following a process-oriented approach to writing that includes brainstorming, drafting, and revision.

Goal 2: Develop editorial skills (addressed in all our offerings)

Students will be able to:

Objective 2.1: Formulate constructive responses to the work of their peers regarding stylistic choices and organizational principles in one or more creative literary forms, such as poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. (Addressed specifically in ENG 550 and all our workshop offerings)

Objective 2.2: Practice editing skills through examining their own writing. (Addressed specifically in ENG 550 and all our workshop offerings.)

Goal 3: Acquire knowledge of the publishing process (addressed specifically in ENG 550)

Students will be able to:

Objective 3.1: Locate publishing venues and prepare a manuscript for submission in one or more genres, such as fiction, nonfiction, poetry, journalism, academic writing, or online content.

Goal 4: Develop rhetorical skills through analysis and practice (addressed in all our course offerings)

Students will be able to:

Objective 4.1: Demonstrate knowledge of rhetorical concepts, such as audience, purpose, and medium.

Objective 4.2: Practice analyzing appeals to character, emotion, and logic in persuasive discourse.

Certificate Requirements

ENG 550The Practice of Writing3
Choose 4 Electives:12
Four elective courses of level ENG 600 or above within Writing Studies. Such courses include but are not limited to the following:
Poetry Today
Biography
The Short Story
Road to Revolution in 1960s
Writing and Inciting
Writing and the Other Arts
Reading & Writing Y.A. Novels
Special Topics in Lit/Culture
Horror in Literature & Film
Composition Theory
The Writing Teacher Writing
Writing & Empowerment
Experiments in Narrative
RhetoricalTheory:SpecialTopics
Style
Special Topics in Essay
Multimedia Writing Workshop
Memoir
Creative Nonfiction Workshop
Poetry Writing Workshop
Fiction Writing Workshop
Fiction Writing Workshop II
Screenwriting Workshop
Special Topics Writing Wkshop
Writing for Publication
Case Study:Public Relations
Case Study: MagazinePublishing
Special Topics in Journalism
Writing for Nonprofits
Writers at Work
New Media
Editing Practicum
Health Writing
Total Hours15