
The Department of Writing Studies offers three graduate degrees and a post-baccalaureate certificate:
The Writing Studies faculty consists of thirteen members who explore and expand our understanding of writing and the ways people use written texts to shape the world. Our research and teaching interests range widely to include rhetorical theory and history, scientific and technical communication, writing pedagogy, textual analysis, digital literacies, and the relationships between writers, readers, and broader social and cultural contexts.
Our students benefit from being at a vital university that offers courses in related, supporting fields such as cultural studies, history, literature, and the social sciences, and to work with professional schools of education, law, engineering, and public health. This diversity of options also enables students to study with affiliated faculty with expertise in rhetoric of science, communication studies, journalism and mass communication, feminist studies, human-computer interaction, curriculum and instruction, and literacy and rhetorical studies, among others. The University also has a superb library system with extensive electronic resources and print holdings.
The number of graduate students in our programs is small, so students receive close, individual attention as they work through the course requirements, examinations, capstone projects, and for Ph.D. students, the dissertation.
The University of Minnesota is located in the Twin Cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis. This location combines the entertainment and recreational opportunities of a major city with a compact footprint that makes it convenient to get from school to home and beyond.
PhD student, Trent Kays had a conference proposal accepted for the Digital (De-)(Re-)Territorializations: New Theory for New Media conference, held and moderated by Bowling Green State University.
Trent had a six word memoir published in Six Words About Work, from SMITH Magazine and edited by Larry Smith.
And, Trent is also the new Open Essays Section Editor for the Writing About Writing Newsletter, which will be debuting for the 2012 CCCC.