Professional and Technical Writing (Minor)

Important Notice: This minor program is currently under review for approval within the integrated Commonwealth curriculum. Students who have previously declared this minor should follow the pre-integration sequence for program completion by working with their minor advisor. At this time, new minor declarations are not being accepted. Interested students are encouraged to monitor this website for status updates.

This minor provides students with hands-on experience with actual projects in the 400 level courses as well as grounding their work in sound rhetorical strategies. If you're looking to develop your professional identity and web presence, take a look at all the minor as to offer.

Graduating with a degree in Biology, Business or English?

Then the Professional and Technical Writing Minor is something well worth considering. The minor supports and enhances the careers of students graduating from the Schools of the Sciences, Liberal Arts, Business and the College of Education. While the minor is the newest of the minors in the English Department, it was developed to support the major tracks as well as work with other majors and colleges. The minor is strongly interdisciplinary and helps students develop highly valued writing skills in the professional workplace. For example, if you’re majoring in Biology, there are opportunities to take courses in Medical Writing. If you’re a Communications Major, there is a list of courses ranging from linguistics to writing for multiple media. The minor, while relatively new on campus, has grown to over 100 students. Five of the first six students in the minor are in graduate programs.

The Professional and Technical Writing Minor

There’s no reason to fear that the Professional and Technical Writing Minor will slow down your race to graduation. The minor's flexible curriculum provides a variety of opportunities to complete the program with little scheduling difficulty. The minor is also focused through course selection to provide specific support for other majors across the university's colleges and programs. With only six courses to achieve the minor, students can find the right niche for their major.

Professional and Technical Writing Certificate Program

For those who are interested, but already in the workforce, there is a certificate available for Professional and Technical Writing. All classes are taught outside of the classroom in Center City, Philadelphia, and at Dixon University Center, Harrisburg. The certificate program is intended for working professionals to gain insight on ways to enhance your professional presence. Professional and Technical Writing classes are streamed live to the outside locations, giving the students and professionals the opportunity to work together. In addition, the certificate will teach the employee the most effective ways to write for different audiences, in different styles.

Program Requirements

The minor consists of 18 Credits (six courses) and students must select class from each of the three categories (in addition 9 of the 18 credit minor must be in classes from Bloomsburg University):

• Group One (6 credits): Includes some survey and disciplinary writing courses;
• Group Two (3 credits): Includes courses in Linguistics; and
• Group Three (6 credits): Includes upper level experiential-learning courses
• One additional 3 credit course must be completed from Group(s) 1 or 3

The Group One courses include Technical Writing (an interdisciplinary course) that is a prerequisite for a number of the upper level courses. Other classes include courses from the English, Communications, Art, History, Anthropology, and Biology majors.

The Group Two courses are English Department courses, which are offered most semesters and focus on the structure and usage of language, which a focus on both the history and present use of language.

The Group Three courses are all English Department courses, which a strong focus on theory and application. Courses, which include Writing in the Professions, Writing for the Internet, and Writing for Multiple Media as well as Theory and Practice of Writing work as capstone courses which require significant group work as well as portfolio ready projects. The importance of rhetorical awareness and project management are central to these course experiences.