Professional Writing
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Degree Requirements

The professional writing major requires a minimum of 120 hours. For degree completion, at least 25 percent of the semester credit hours must be earned through instruction offered by UH-Downtown. The last 30 of the total hours and 18 of the upper-level hours toward the degree must be successfully completed in residence at UH-Downtown. An overall minimum grade point average of 2.0 at UH-Downtown is required for graduation, and a minimum average of 2.0 must be maintained in the upper-level hours in the major.

Common Core Requirements (42 hours)

See listing under General Education Requirements in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. COMM 3306 is recommended in fulfillment of the speech communication component.

Preparatory Requirements (9 hours)

Philosophy (3 hours Ethics)

Upper Level elective (3 hours)

Lower-level electives (3 hours)

Upper-Level Requirements (45 hours)

ENG 3302 Business and Technical Report Writing

ENG 3316 (History and Rhetoric) or ENG 3317 (Studies in the Theory of Rhetoric)

ENG 3330 Desktop Publishing

ENG 3331 Advanced Desktop Publishing or ENG 3335 Publishing for the Web

ENG 4099  Professional Writing Portfolio. Required in semester of graduation (0 hours)

ENG 4322 Editing, Rewriting and Copyreading (prerequisite ENG 3318) (3 hours)

ENG 4380 Field Experience

Other Requirements (27 hours)

Select 7-9 writing or publishing courses (21-27 hours) from:

ENG 3304, ENG 3308, ENG 3325, ENG 3326, ENG 3328, ENG 3329, ENG 3331 or ENG 3335, ENG 3333 or COMM 3311, ENG 3334 or COMM 3312, ENG 3336, ENG 3342, ENG 3371 or COMM 3301, ENG 3373 or COMM 3303, ENG 4306, ENG 4323, ENG 4360.

Select 0 - 2 language and writing courses (0-6 hours) from:

ENG 3305, ENG 3309, ENG 3316 or 3317, ENG 3318 (prerequisite for ENG 4322). ENG 3319, ENG 3320, ENG 4309, ENG 4318, ENG 4680 (4680 covers core requirement for 4380. May not take 4380 and 4680).

Electives (24 hours)

Lower- or upper-level electives. Electives are an important part of the degree program and should be selected in consultation with an academic advisor. A 24-hour block of electives may allow you to obtain a minor outside of Professional Writing.

Minor in Professional Writing (18 hours minimum)

Required Courses (9 hours)

ENG 3302 Business and Technical Report Writing
ENG 3330 Desktop Publishing
ENG 4322 Editing, Rewriting and Copyreading

Upper-Level Electives (9 Hours)

In consultation with an advisor, courses selected from Professional Writing Core or "Other Requirements" in Professional Writing.

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B.A. in English | B.S. in Professional Writing | Minors | Reading Center | Writing Center