Minor in Business Writing

Revised June 2007

Business and Technical Writing Minor

The business and technical writing minor prepares you to write in business, government, nonprofit, and technical settings. It provides excellent preparation for the demands of clear and effective communication in the workplace. A flexible minor, it will enhance your background whether you plan a career in communication or seek a concentrated study of strategies for professional writing in a business, scientific, or technical discipline. Past students have gone on to work in technical writing, public relations for nonprofit agencies, and publishing. Others have begun careers in fields such as marketing and biological research, where the minor enhances their communication skills. Still other students have entered law school or graduate programs in technical communication or English. Courses in the minor and a writing internship incorporate current teaching methods in the use of technology and collaborative writing groups.

Requirements

The business and technical writing minor is an 18-semester-hour program that includes four required writing courses, one elective developing your individual career interests, and a professional writing internship in which you put communication skills to work. You can combine the minor with any undergraduate major. The writing courses develop your confidence to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences within and outside organizations. Your work in the minor will culminate in a challenging internship in a corporation or small business, a university office, or within a nonprofit organization.

Courses in the Minor

Four required writing courses: 12 credits
Writing and Computers
Business and Organizational Writing
Technical Writing
Strategies for Writing in the Workplace

One elective: 3 credits
Computer Art I
Multi-Media Communications
Business and Professional Speech
Computer science course at level 141 or higher
Publishing
Public Relations Principles
Introduction to Business
Introduction to Management Information Systems
Survey of Marketing

Internship: 3 credits
Department of English Internship

Participating Faculty

A complete listing is available in the current Undergraduate Catalog and on the department Web site at http://www.wcupa.edu/_academics/sch_cas.eng/.

For More Information

Dr. Judith Scheffler, Director
Department of English
530 Main Hall
West Chester University
West Chester, PA 19383
610-436-3101
jscheffler@wcupa.edu