As a student in the IU Online Graduate Certificate in Composition Studies, you explore the core principles of writing and literature. You learn to teach students to craft sound arguments using close attention to logic, context, and audience. You also develop a fluency with the current debates, schools, and theories of writing instruction. 

Areas of focus include:  

• Contemporary theory on the pedagogy of composition and literature 
• Linguistic structures and history of the English language 
• Reading strategies and literary analysis, with attention to close reading, style, form, genre, and rhetorical practices 
• Approaches to composition and writing instruction, including the identification and evaluation of sources, use of evidence, generation of ideas, and the development and organization of argument 
• Developing archival research skills and facility with electronic resources 
• Developments, trends, and frontiers in the digital humanities 

Of Special Interest for Dual-Credit and Community College Instructors Needing to Meet HLC Standards  

The Graduate Certificate in Composition Studies is ideal for those who want to teach dual-credit courses and who need to meet Higher Learning Commission dual-credit qualification standards. These standards require teachers wanting to teach dual-credit courses to hold either a master's degree in their area of instruction or a master's degree in another discipline (such as education), plus at least 18 credit hours of discipline-specific graduate coursework. 

• If you hold a master's degree in another discipline, you can meet HLC standards by completing the 20 credit hour Graduate Certificate in Composition Studies.  
• If you plan to pursue the IU Online MA in English, you may apply the 20 credit hours from the Graduate Certificate in Composition Studies toward the master's degree.   

Your IU Online Graduate Certificate in Composition Studies prepares you for such careers as: 

• Composition dual-credit teacher (high school)  
• Composition instructor (community college) 

This 100 percent online, consortial program is taught by IU Bloomington, IUPUI, IU East, IU Kokomo, IU Northwest, IU South Bend, and IU Southeast. This consortial model allows you to take coursework from several campuses and learn from a wide range of faculty.  

Certificate Requirements 

To enroll in this program, you must possess either a BA in English (or related bachelor's degree in education with an English specialization, concentration, or outside area) or two years of secondary teaching experience in literature or composition classes. To earn the Graduate Certificate in Composition Studies, you must complete five graduate courses for 20 credit hours. 

NOTE: If you choose to pursue the IU Online MA in English, these certificate courses may apply to ("stack into") your degree requirements. Admission to the Certificate in Composition Studies does not constitute admission into any of the face-to-face graduate programs in English at the participating campuses.  

Admissions 

To be accepted to this program, you must have: 

2.  3.0 GPA or above on a 4.0 scale 

NOTE: This program is authorized, exempt, or not subject to state regulatory compliance and may enroll students from all 50 states 

To apply to this program: 

• Transcripts  
• 250-word personal statement explaining background and reasons for entering the program 
• TOEFL scores (international students only)  

Course Requirements - Complete one from each category. (20 cr.)

1.  Introductory Course 

• ENG-W 500 Teaching Composition (4 cr.)
• ENG-W 509 Introduction to Writing and Literacy Studies (4 cr.)

2.  Stylistics 

• ENG-G 660 Stylistics (4 cr.)
• ENG-L 646 Readings in Media, Literature, and Culture (4 cr.)

3.  Applied Writing Pedagogy

• ENG-W 510 Computers in Composition (4 cr.)
• ENG-W 553 Theory and Practice of Exposition (4 cr.)
• ENG-W 590 Teaching Composition: Theories and Applications (4 cr.)
• ENG-W 620 Advanced Argumentative Writing (4 cr.)

4.  Writing Pedagogy for College Instructors

• ENG-W 501 Practicum on Teaching of Composition in College (4 cr.)
• ENG-W 600 Topics in Rhetoric and Composition (4 cr.)

5.  Rhetoric Seminar or Capstone

• ENG-R 546 Rhetoric and Public Culture (4 cr.)
• ENG-W 600 Topics in Rhetoric and Composition (4 cr.)
• ENG-W 682 Special Topics in Rhetoric and Composition (4 cr.)