ChooseWhy Choose This Program?
Why Study Professional Writing at Goucher?
Goucher’s professional writing minor features different disciplines in professional writing, including creative nonfiction and journalism as well as business, professional, and technical writing. Our professional writing courses prepare students to excel in the workplace by developing rhetorical skills to write and compose in different genres. Students learn to recognize and reach the many different audiences they will encounter in professional and public contexts.
LearnWhat Will You Learn?
What Will You Learn?
Goucher’s minor in professional writing offers students the flexibility to major in any field yet still emphasize their writing. Students working toward a minor in professional writing will develop advanced writing and rhetorical skills by working with a wide range of documents in print and digital environments. In our professional writing courses, students learn to write grants, blogs, research studies, feature stories, investigative reports, and more. In addition, students produce and present multimedia projects with an eye toward reaching diverse audiences. Learn More
DoWhat Will You Do?
What Will You Do?
Students with professional writing training can find work in publishing, editing, journalism, writing (grant writing and writing for social media), tutoring, communication, marketing, management, and business. Furthermore, this minor prepares students for graduate work in English, rhetoric, business, writing, law, and communication.
Course Curriculum
Students can also major in Professional Writing within the Professional and Creative Writing program.
Faculty
Program Contact
Lana Oweidat, Department Chair
Full-Time & Half-Time Faculty
Katherine Cottle, Assistant Professor: writing studies, creative writing
Susan Garrett, Assistant Professor: linguistics, academic and professional writing, writing studies, dialects and variation, phonology
Lana Oweidat, Assistant Professor of English: writing studies
Phaye Poliakoff-Chen, Assistant Professor: writing studies
Charlee Sterling, Assistant Professor: writing studies
Kate Welch, Assistant Professor: writing studies
Mary Jo Wiese, Instructor: writing studies
Part-Time Faculty
Kelly Causey
Michelle DeMarco
Arthur Hirsch
Opportunities & Internships
Internships
Internships help students explore possibilities, apply classroom learning, and gain experience. Explore internships and credit options.
Student Employment
Student employment connects students to both on and off-campus opportunities. The Career Education Office provides resources and support to students with or without Federal Work Study to find jobs, submit applications, and learn more about the job search process. Students have access to Handshake — a website for job postings, events, resumes/cover letters, and career management.
Major & Career Exploration
Exploring career options, choosing a major, and making career decisions is a multi-step process in which all students are encouraged to engage early and often. Goucher students have a variety of resources available through the Majors and Career page to assist them in this process.
Job Search
A Goucher education prepares students for today’s job market and beyond. Students can explore job opportunities and access job search resources through the CEO Job Search page.
Graduate & Professional School
Students access resources for searching and applying to graduate and professional school through the CEO Graduate and Professional School page, through faculty and staff members, or utilizing their own resources, network and tools.
Johns Hopkins Carey Business School 4+1 BA/MS Program
Goucher College and Johns Hopkins Carey Business School are offering Goucher students a combined bachelor’s and master’s degree program. This 4+1 program combines a bachelor’s degree from Goucher with a master of science degree from Johns Hopkins in business analytics and risk management, information systems, health care management, finance, or marketing. Students can apply during their junior year. GRE or GMAT tests have been waived but applicants must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.25 or better and have passed some quantitative reasoning courses with a grade of B or better.
Kratz Center for Creative Writing
A premier academic program, the Kratz Center for Creative Writing is proud to produce talented and distinguished writers. The Kratz Center offers students many valuable opportunities, like the Fall Visiting Authors Series and its Spring Writer-in-Residence Series, during which nationally and internationally recognized authors come to campus to work closely with students. Additionally, the Blueprint Reading Series introduces students to young authors, who share their perspectives on publishing today. The center also offers annual Summer Writing Fellowships to select students at Goucher and hosts an array of master classes and symposia each semester. To learn more about Goucher’s distinguished Kratz Center, numerous student fellowship opportunities, and mentoring by award-winning authors, please visit the Kratz Center for Creative Writing website.
“My future employer was very interested in my professional writing minor. This minor made my resume stand out from the other business majors’ resumes. During the interview, the hiring committee asked many questions about my professional writing minor, and then they hired me.”
Andrew Marcantonio-Fields
Class of 2017
News
- August 31, 2023
Creative Writing Assistant Professor Edgar Kunz released his second book of poetry, Fixer, with Ecco/HarperCollins on August 22.
- June 1, 2023
Each year, the Kratz Center for Creative Writing at Goucher College offers summer writing fellowships that range from between $2,000 to $4,000.