Professional Writing Certificate

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Description

The Graduate Certificate in Professional Writing is designed for working professionals and Radford University graduate students preparing to enter the workforce in any discipline who seek to strengthen their professional, technical, and business writing skills and enhance their knowledge of how to use digital media to remain competitive and viable in today’s diverse workplace and rapidly changing employment landscape. The courses are taught entirely online by faculty experienced in applying online learning and workplace communication best practices. Students can complete the flexible five-course program of study in one calendar year, when courses are taken in five consecutive terms. The curriculum is designed for immediate use and relevance in the workplace. Each course blends theory and practice, providing students with opportunities to apply writing, editing, and design strategies, in both print and digital formats, to a wide range of organizational contexts and audiences. By completing workplace-based projects, students gain valuable experience and skills in collaborating across disciplines and thinking rhetorically to solve a variety of real-world organizational problems.

Admissions Criteria:

As per the College of Graduate Studies and Research admissions policy stated in the 2015-2016 Graduate Catalog, “an applicant who is currently a matriculated graduate-degree-seeking student at Radford University may apply for a certificate by submitting an approved ‘Add a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate Form’ to the Graduate College. Applicants who are not in a degree program and are seeking only the certificate should apply as ‘Certificate Students’ and must meet the established criteria for admission as well as other requirements indicated by the specific certificate. Certificate-seeking applications may be submitted online on a rolling admissions basis for all terms …”

No course prerequisites are required for entry into the professional writing graduate certificate program. No GRE score is required.

Established criteria for admission into the professional writing graduate certificate program are as follows:

A bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution.
Minimum grade point average of 2.75.
A TOEFL minimum score of 550 on the paper-based test, 79-80 on the Internet-based test, or 213 on the computer-based test; or an IELTS minimum score of 6.5 (for international students).

A complete application for applicants seeking a graduate certificate in professional writing includes:

An official application completed and submitted with a nonrefundable application fee of $50.
Official transcripts from all institutions from which the applicant has earned a degree or course credit following a degree conferral.
Resume.
500-word statement of interest (required by the program).

As per the College of Graduate Studies and Research retention policy stated in the 2015-2016 Graduate Catalog, students seeking a graduate certificate in professional writing “are subject to all established policies of probation and suspension,” and “any student who maintains a minimum grade point average of 3.00 in graduate courses will be in good standing.”

Course Listing:

The graduate certificate program in professional writing is 13 credit hours and consists of five online courses that can be completed in a year when the courses are taken in five consecutive terms, including Maymester, Augustmester, and Wintermester. All five courses are proposed to be new courses. The proposed courses are as follows:

ENGL 607 - Business Writing & Editing Credits: (3)
ENGL 608 - Professional & Technical Writing Credits: (3)
ENGL 609 - Writing in Digital Spaces Credits: (3)
ENGL 610 - Proposal & Grant Writing Credits: (3)
ENGL 612 - Electronic Writing Portfolio Credits: (1) (offered Maymester, Augustmester, and Wintermester)

Note:

ENGL 607, 608, 609, and 610 can be taken in any order when the courses are offered, but ENGL 612 must be taken as the final course, as it is the capstone course for the entire certificate program and results in a culminating ePortfolio. To accommodate rolling enrollment, ENGL 612 may be offered as many as three times a year.