Certificate in Professional Writing

The goal of the certificate program is to produce highly skilled professional writers who are valued for their skills throughout their professional lives. The high academic standards of the program are established in recognition of the fact that good writing is difficult to produce. The program requires students to advance beyond mere competence and strives to enable them to perform well in professional settings, where the ability to plan and execute work independently is sometimes crucial.

Total Hours Required

Completion of the certificate program requires 18 credit hours of coursework from the following list of approved courses.

Certificate Requirements

All courses are 3 credit hours, unless otherwise designated.

Note | The courses below are offered on a regular basis. Additional courses may be developed for the program over time.

Select three to four of these courses:

• ENG-W 231 Professional Writing Skills; or
  ENG-W 232 Introduction to Business Writing

• ENG-W 250 Writing in Context (variable topics)
• ENG-W 315 Writing for the Web
• ENG-W 367 Writing for Multiple Media

Select up to two of the following:

• ENG-W 270 Argumentative Writing
• JOUR-J 200 Reporting, Writing, and Editing I
• TEL-T 211 Writing for the Electronic Media

Select one of the following:

• ENG-W 260 Film Criticism
• ENG-W 311 Writing Creative Nonfiction
• ENG-W 350 Advanced Expository Writing
• JOUR-J 413 Magazine Article Writing

Practicum/Internship Option

Students may, with permission of the chair of the Department of English, enroll in one supervised writing internship (ENG-W 398 Internship in Writing) or practicum after they have completed at least 12 of their 18 hours of course work in the program. Approval of an internship or practicum is based on the strength of the proposal and the value of the proposed work experience.

Approval of Substitute Courses

Certificate students may petition (only once, and in advance) to have an unlisted second-level writing course from another department applied to their certificate.

Academic Standards

A candidate for the certificate must earn a grade of B or higher in any course for which he or she seeks credit within the certificate program.

Means of Enrollment in the Program

At the time of enrollment in the certificate program, each candidate for the certificate must submit to the chair of the Department of English a brief formal declaration of intention.

Enrollment Eligibility

For Undergraduate Students | Because the Certificate in Professional Writing is a directed program and not merely a collection of writing courses, candidates for the program normally enroll and are assigned an adviser assigned an advisor prior to receiving credit for any course beyond the first six credit hours that are eligible to be counted toward completion of the certificate. Exceptions may be granted to this rule by the chair of the English Department.

For Returning IU South Bend Graduates | Returning IU South Bend graduates seeking to enroll in the certificate program must submit to the chair of the English Department a brief formal declaration of intention no later than the end of the second week of classes in the semester or session in which the student is taking his or her first class in the program.  Any returning IU South Bend graduate may count up to 6 credit hours of prior eligible coursework at IU South Bend (at a grade of B or higher) that was completed within the past two calendar years.  Enrollment may be granted to such students when the declaration of intention is submitted. Further credit hours may be granted by the chair of the English Department through written appeal.

For Other Graduate Students | Students who have at least a bachelor's degree from another accredited university may enroll in the certificate program on a probationary basis. To qualify for probationary enrollment, the candidate must submit to the chair of the Department of English a brief formal declaration of intention. Enrollment is considered probationary until the student has successfully completed 6 credit hours within the program.

Transter Credits

Students may, with the approval of the chair of the Department of English, transfer one course of no more than 4 credit hours from another university. They must supply the chair with copies of the course syllabus and their papers written for the course. Such course credit may not serve as the prerequisite for enrollment in the program.