Certificate Description
This four-course graduate certificate (12 semester hours) is designed for students interested in strengthening their professional writing skills across many fields, including but not limited to:
- technical writing and editing;
- corporate communication and content development;
- grant and proposal writing.
This four-course certificate (12 semester hours) is designed to meet the needs of students preparing for careers as:
- technical writers and editors;
- company news and information directors;
- or grant and proposal writers for schools, hospitals, nonprofit organizations, and fine and performing arts groups.
Frequency of course offerings allows most students to finish the certificate within four semesters.
Certificate Director
Dr. Lucas Hardy
240 DeBartolo Hall
330-941-3420
lhardy01@ysu.edu
Admission Requirements
To be eligible for the Professional Writing graduate certificate, an undergraduate degree in English is not required, but students must have a B.A. or B.S. degree and meet the requirements for admission to Graduate Studies at YSU.
Course Requirements
Please select three or four of the courses in List A below. If you pick three, then you must select one course from List B.
List A (9-12 s.h.)
| COURSE | TITLE | S.H. |
|---|---|---|
| Course List Option A | 9-12 | |
| Writing With Data | ||
| Professional Writing | ||
| Document Design and Production | ||
| Grant Writing | ||
| Healthcare Writing | ||
| Copyediting | ||
| Professional Writing Special Topics | ||
| Course List Option B | 3-0 | |
| Sociolinguistics | ||
| Advanced Linguistics | ||
| English Grammar | ||
| Studies in Linguistics | ||
| Discourse Theory and Research | ||
| Total Semester Hours | 12 | |
Although ENGL 6998 Professional Writing Internship does not count toward the 12 semester hour requirement for the certificate, students are strongly urged to take this course or seek equivalent professional experience.
Learning Outcomes
Learning Outcome 1: PW students will WRITE documents to meet the demands, purpose, and interests of a specific client and audience, using relevant rhetorical strategies and concepts.
Learning Outcome 2: PW students will DESIGN documents to meet the demands, purpose, and interests of a specific client and audience, drawing on principles of visual rhetoric.
Learning Outcome 3: PW students will REFLECT on and REVISE their documents’ writing and design using concrete criteria set by a specific client and audience.
Learning Outcome 4: PW students will DELIVER ORAL PRESENTATIONS of their documents’ writing and design using professionally designed visual aids.