Professional Writing celebrates 100 majors

York College’s professional writing program celebrated – complete with cake – a milestone on Dec. 15.  The program now has 100 majors.

From Dominic Delli Carpini, program administrator and associate professor of English:

The professional writing major first became available to students in Fall 2002; at the time, the College had about 30 majors. The major was developed in response to the growing need for skilled writers and communicators within various organizations, both nationally and locally.  York College was one of the early leaders in this developing undergraduate field, as the number of writing majors nationally continues to grow. As a result, others have called on our faculty to consult as they develop their own program.

The program has been successful by a number of measures. Our graduates have found their writing skills have been particularly valued by potential employers in various professional fields.  With the program is in its eighth year, we find that some of our alumni, now in positions of leadership, are beginning to hire new York College graduates and seek our current students for internships. This network of York College “Pro Writers,” as we call them, is quite encouraging.

 The program has also continued to develop its offerings and faculty. With the addition, in the last two years, of two full-time specialists in rhetoric and technology, we can offer more specialized courses in new media writing.  And with the addition of a full-time creative writer who joins the talented group of current teachers in creative writing, that area is also expanding rapidly.  The addition of these faculty members to those who originally built and developed the program offers a bright future for both the major and its graduates.

Our program offers a liberal arts curriculum, which also offers professional skills. We believe that that those two goals are NOT mutually exclusive.  Students learn through the classic liberal arts educational methods of the “trivium:” they learn “grammar” (facts), “logic” (how to use the facts to support critical thinking), and the highest skill, “rhetoric,” the ability to use those facts and that logic to effect change.  So, the “critical thinking” that we offer is quite specific and quite in keeping with the liberal arts tradition, which offered an education for future leaders.  This education also translates well into application in the professional and civic worlds, making our students thoughtful and skilled in both their careers and in their duties to the wider culture. We take all of these facets of our program quite seriously.  Our program has shown itself to be adaptable to a wide variety of career paths and post-graduate education.

The curriculum helps students recognize that good writing is always grounded in rhetorical situations—it is always writing “about” something and writing “to” someone. As such, the program is designed to nurture students’ general critical thinking and problem-solving skills, while also asking them to consider the needs of specific professional writing situations and sites. The program also requires students to study a single field or discipline more intensively; students are required to complete a minor related to their proposed career path, giving them essential experience with the way that various occupational fields communicate.  So a student interested in writing for industry may minor in business; a student interested in web-based writing may choose visual communication; and a student interested in writing for pharmaceutical firms might choose biology or chemistry.  Students interested in creative or freelance writing also have the opportunity to work with one of our published authors on the skills necessary to revise, submit, and market their writing.   Then, all students complete at least one, and in many cases, two internships, giving them the job experience and references that often gets their career off to a strong start. 

 In the end, students completing this program have a number of career and educational options:

·      They are prepared for a variety of entry-level positions as writing specialists with various organizations and businesses.

·      They have the solid background in rhetoric and composition that makes them attractive candidates for graduate study in these areas: toward the Ph.D. in Rhetoric/Composition (the fastest growing area of English studies); an M.A. in Rhetoric /Composition; an M.A. in Professional/Technical Writing; or an MFA in Creative Writing.

·      They have a strong background toward the practical applications of writing skills in both freelance and organizationally based writing, and so may find work as an independent contractor, editor, or consultant.