Professional Writing grads going on to grad school

October 11, 2005

1–2 minutes

We’ve been graduating students for two years now, and each year there’s a few folks who decide that they want to go on to graduate school. Some want to do the MFA thing. However others are looking for an MA. In most cases, their interests are not in traditional literature programs but in rhet/comp or possibly professional or technical writing.

Though we are in an English Department, our students don’t get "English" degrees. Our courses have a different prefix (PWR not ENG).

I’m going to have to figure out how that’s going to work. Obviously, we are not preparing our students to enter traditional literature graduate programs, and I wouldn’t expect our students to get into programs like that. However, I’m wondering about these other kinds of programs. Will they recognize the coursework our students are doing as suitable preparation for their curriculum?

4 responses to “Professional Writing grads going on to grad school”

collin

October 11, 2005 at 6:36 pm

I directed the Professional Writing program at ODU for a few years, which was both undergrad and grad, and our assumption was that most people were entering without any preparation whatsoever. If that holds true, then my guess would be that they’d appreciate any and all preparation that you might provide…
cgb

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Doc Mara

October 14, 2005 at 9:37 am

Point of clarification. When you say “I’m wondering about these other kinds of programs,” what is the referent for “these”? MFA? Lit? English? I have a little bit of experience with this (not a ton, mind you), and I don’t want to go off on an irrelevant tangent (!). Which programs are you referring to?

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Alex

October 14, 2005 at 9:57 am

Our students are interested in a range of graduate programs: MFA programs in creative writing, Professional and Technical Writing MA programs, and Rhetoric and Composition MA programs.
My particular concern is with English departments that offer an MA with a variety of concentrations: traditional literature, rhet/comp, creative writing, technical writing, etc. That was what my MA program was like when I went to New Mex. State.
I wonder how departments like that will evaluate our students. Will they see them as equally or even better prepared for a non-lit speciality? Or are they so in the habit of seeing traditional English BA transcripts that they will be puzzled by our program?

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Doc Mara

October 20, 2005 at 11:21 am

We have segmented our departmental programs (different applicant pipelines), but we actually don’t have any problem admitting people with PW or other English-y non-lit degrees into any of our programs. In fact, as time passes (and people like us inherit the reins), these candidates are seen as better picks.
New Mexico State? I guess I can be civil to an Aggie (kidding–I’m a Lobo).

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Alex Reid, professor of digital rhetoric, Media & Artificial Intelligence