Professional and Technical Writing Minor
The Professional and Technical Writing Minor (PTW) is a six-course (18-credit hour) program of study that can be combined with any undergraduate major. We prepare you for careers in writing and editing in business, industry, government, publishing, and technical settings. We also prepare you for graduate studies in writing, rhetoric, professional communication, and law. The minor complements other majors by enhancing your ability to communicate professionally.
Why Minor in Professional and Technical Writing?
- Prepare for an exciting career in professional writing
- Enhance your career preparation in any discipline
- Learn how to use technology to communicate effectively
- Add a highly relevant internship to your resume
- Get a taste of real-world communication while you gain college credit
Gain Real-World Experience
The PTW minor also provides you with unique opportunities for real-world experience in writing in the workplace. Our program requires a writing-intensive internship. You also have the opportunity to participate in community and university partnerships through service-oriented courses in workplace writing.
Our Curriculum
Like most minors at West Chester, the PTW minor requires you to take six courses, or 18 credits, to complete the program. You will take two required professional writing courses (WRH 225 and either ENG 368 or ENG 371) and choose three electives from our selection of approved courses. A required three-credit supervised writing internship (ENG 395), available in nonprofit or business organizations or on-campus offices, completes the minor. View our updated PTW Minor advising sheet.
To declare the PTW Minor, you must have completed a 200-level WRT course.
Our Courses
Our required introductory course, WRH 225 (Introduction to Professional and Technical Writing), is offered once a year (usually in the spring semester). We offer ENG 368 (Business and Organizational Writing) and ENG 371 (Technical Writing) every semester.
Elective course offerings vary by semester and include topics such as document design, editing, client-based writing, and more. We also offer occasional special topics courses focused on current issues in professional and technical writing. You should consult with your assigned minor advisor when you choose your elective courses. View the complete list of required and elective courses for the PTW Minor.
The Internship
We strongly recommend that you plan to take the internship in your final semester of the minor. Planning for the internship (ENG 395) should begin during the semester before you intend to schedule your internship, and you should consult with your assigned minor advisor throughout the process.
Program Coordinators
Kristin Kondrlik
Main Hall 508
KKondrlik@wcupa.edu
Kyle P. Vealey
Main Hall 530
KVealey@wcupa.edu
Affiliated Faculty
News and Updates
PTW Success Stories: Laura Blyton
Laura Blyton
WCU Class of 2012
Editorial Assistant, Wolters Kluwer Health (Publishing)
The skills I developed as a student in the Professional & Technical Writing Minor play a crucial role in my job in the Institutional Medicine (e-publishing) Department at Wolters Kluwer Health, a textbook publisher highly respected in the medical field. In this position, I write surveys and analyze medical student and resident feedback, shaping our digital resources. To gain even more editorial experience, I am also acting as product development editor and copyeditor on my own textbook project, the Handbook of Applied Therapeutics, 9th Edition. (I am proud to report that it will be in bookstores soon!) I am currently aspiring to be a full-time product development editor. With the practical content-development skills I learned from WCU's PTW Minor, I know I can make my goal a reality.
PTW Success Stories: Courtney McGinn
Courtney McGinn
WCU Class of 2014
Law Student, Widener University School of Law
I am a second-year law student at Widener University School of Law in Wilmington, DE. I plan to practice in the area of International Human Rights and hope to work with the United Nations Human Rights Council. The writing experience I gained from the PTW Minor prepared me for the writing-intensive atmosphere of law school and will continue to benefit me as I further my career. Thanks to the PTW Minor, I am now able to write persuasive and informative pieces that I can feel confident handing to a judge or prospective client. The minor has also given me the ability to discuss the contents of my writing with clarity and authority, whether I'm in a classroom setting or a courtroom.
Resources of Interest to PTW Minors
New Faculty
Dr. Kristin Kondrlik joined the English Department in Fall 2016 as an Assistant Professor of Health Communication, and she regularly teaches courses in the Professional and Technical Writing Minor. Her research interests include health communication and rhetoric, rhetorical history, women's writing, and print culture studies. Her work has appeared in the Victorian Periodicals Review, Composition Studies and Poroi: Project on Rhetoric of Inquiry. If you're interested in learning more about Dr. Kondrlik and her teaching and research interests, please visit her faculty page or her personal website, or email her at kkondrlik@wcupa.edu.
Dr. Kyle P. Vealey joined the English Department in Fall 2016 as an Assistant Professor of English where he teaches courses in the Business and Technical Writing Minor. His research interests include technical communication, rhetoric of science, science writing, visual rhetoric, and civic engagement. His scholarship has been published in Journal of Business and Technical Communication, Journal of Technical Writing and Communication, Programmatic Perspectives, IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, Business and Professional Communication Quarterly, Rhetoric Review, and Journal of Interactive Technology and Pedagogy. If you are interested in learning more about Dr. Vealey and his research and teaching interests, feel free to email him at kvealey@wcupa.edu. .
Declare the Minor
Interested in declaring the Professional and Technical Writing Minor? Visit the WCU Registrar's Registration page for instructions on how to submit an Academic Plan Change Request in myWCU.