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Department of English

Concentration in Rhetoric, Writing, and Communication (Bachelor of Arts in English)

Students on Summer 2024, Fall 2024, or Spring 2025 requirements ENGPPWRCON

The Concentration in Rhetoric, Writing, and Communication emphasizes the critical analysis and production of writing and written discourse in professional, academic, and civic contexts. This concentration provides English majors with a strong core of abilities in reading and writing, as well as an opportunity to build rhetorical knowledge in a variety of modes, sites, and genres of language use.

Successful completion of the Rhetoric, Writing, and Communication concentration will prepare students for effective participation in language-intensive professions. Its guiding aim is two-fold: 1) to foster critical literacy—the ability to see and intervene in the cultural forces that shape the conventions of language use in the many professions and fields that students will enter upon graduation; and 2) to encourage an understanding of how the expansiveness of language helps us describe the workings of written communication in different modes and contexts.

Requirements

The concentration requires at least 15 credit hours, including the requirements listed below.
  1. Introduction to Professional Writing. One (1) course:
    • ENG-W 231 Professional Writing Skills
  2. Advanced Expository Writing. One (1) course:
    • ENG-W 350 Advanced Expository Writing
  3. Advanced Public and Professional Writing Electives. Two (2) courses:
    • ENG-G 302 Structure of Modern English
    • ENG-G 405 Studies in English Language
    • ENG-R 301 Advocacy and Debate
    • ENG-R 305 Rhetorical Criticism
    • ENG-R 321 Rhetoric, Law, and Culture
    • ENG-R 323 Speech Composition
    • ENG-R 330 Science, Advocacy, and the Public
    • ENG-R 339 Freedom of Speech
    • ENG-R 340 The Rhetoric of Social Movements
    • ENG-R 342 Rhetoric and Race
    • ENG-R 348 Environmental Communication
    • ENG-R 355 Public Memory in Communication and Culture
    • ENG-R 396 The Study of Public Advocacy
    • ENG-R 397 Visual Rhetoric
    • ENG-R 398 Culture, Identity, and the Rhetoric of Place
    • ENG-W 321 Advanced Technical Writing
    • ENG-X 473 Internship in English (Up to 3 credit hours with approval of the Director of Undergraduate Studies)
  4. General English Elective. One (1) course:
    • Any ENG-G 200–299
    • Any ENG-G 300–399
    • Any ENG-G 400–499
    • Any ENG-L 200–299
    • Any ENG-L 300–399
    • Any ENG-L 400–499
    • Any ENG-R 200–299
    • Any ENG-R 300–399
    • Any ENG-R 400–499
    • Any ENG-W 200–299 except ENG-W 202; ENG-W 205
    • Any ENG-W 300–399
    • Any ENG-W 400–499
    • ENG-X 373 Professional Practice in English (Departmental consent required)
    • ENG-X 395 Global Experience in English (Departmental consent required)
    • ENG-X 471 Teaching Internship in English (Departmental consent required)
    • ENG-X 473 Internship in English (Departmental consent required)
    • ENG-X 490 Individual Reading in English (Departmental consent required)
  5. 400–499 Level Hours. At least three (3) credit hours from the concentration must be at the 400–499 level.
  6. Concentration GPA, Hours, and Minimum Grade Requirements.
    1. Concentration GPA. A GPA of at least 2.000 for all courses taken in the concentration—including those where a grade lower than C- is earned—is required.
    2. Concentration Minimum Grade. Except for the GPA requirement, a grade of C- or higher is required for a course to count toward a requirement in the concentration.
    3. Concentration Upper Division Credit Hours. At least 9 credit hours in the concentration must be completed at the 300–499 level.