Department of English & Communication

The Professional Writing & Communication Program

The Professional Writing & Communication program is focused on a growing need for professional communicators in the workplace, people who can develop digital and multi-modal texts for a variety of purposes and audiences. Our students take classes in document design, rhetorical theory, web development & design, stylistics, and user experience. They also complete internships and develop a portfolio of work to demonstrate their expertise within a specific area of interest—corporate communications, information design, plain language, access and social justice, social media, technical communication, grant writing, and/or public communication of science.

Our program includes a range of students:

Undergraduates in the accelerated Master of Arts degree program
Recent undergraduates in the Master of Arts degree program
Working professionals taking classes to earn a Certificate or a Master of Arts degree

All have an interest in writing and thinking critically about the ways in which we design and develop content for people to use across digital and print platforms. All bring a range of interests and experiences to the classroom and to their thesis portfolios.

Admission Requirements

Submit your application materials to the University. Your application should include:

Official transcripts
2 Letters of Recommendation
A personal statement explaining your professional goals and background
Current resume
A writing sample: 10–30 pages from academic papers and/or your professional experience

Transferring Credits from Another Institution

You may request to transfer up to six credits from another program if the credits meet these criteria:

The courses are at the graduate level
They resemble courses in our professional writing program
They were taken within three years of your request
The course grades are A or B
The courses were not used toward any credential.

Registering as a Non-Degree Student

When space permits, individuals may enroll in graduate courses as non-degree special students without applying for admission to the graduate program. If you would like to register for a course as a special student, get an approval form signed by the English & Communication Department’s Graduate Program Director or the Chairperson.

If you later apply and are accepted into the program, up to four courses you have taken as a non-degree student will be credited toward your degree.

Financial Assistance

The English & Communication Department offers teaching assistantships each year. To apply for an assistantship, check the applicable box on your application for admission form and describe your qualifications and interest for this position in your personal statement.

Candidates awarded teaching assistantships are required to take ENL 631: Teaching Technical and Business Communication.

Teaching assistantships may be renewed with the approval of the Graduate Committee. Assistants should submit their renewal requests to the Graduate Program Director by November 10 for the spring semester, and March 15 for the following fall.

Professional Writing graduate students have also been placed in graduate assistantships in other campus offices. Other assistance, such as loans or work study, may be available to you. Refer to the section on “Expenses and Financial Assistance.”

Faculty and Fields of Interest

Elisabeth Buck writing center/writing program administration, digital literacies, critical pedagogy, pop culture studies

Katherine DeLuca composition theory and pedagogy, digital media studies, rhetorical history and theory, feminist rhetorics

Christopher Eisenhart rhetorical criticism and theory, professional and political communication, discourse studies

Karen Gulbrandsen technical communication, rhetoric of science and technology, rhetorical theory

Stanley Harrison rhetoric, professional writing, advanced computer applications

Lucas Mann literary non-fiction, literary journalism

Caitlin O’Neil composition, rhetoric, journalism, popular culture

Current faculty projects, including research and recent/working publications, are posted on the department’s faculty website at https://www.umassd.edu/cas/faculty/englishfaculty/

Contact

Karen Gulbrandsen
Graduate Program Director, Professional Writing & Communication
University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
285 Old Westport Road
North Dartmouth, MA 02747-2300
508 910-6932
kgulbrandsent@umassd.edu