Professional Writing - Primary Major
In addition to satisfying all of the Dietrich College degree requirements for B.A. candidates, which include , 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.)