UNIVERSITY GRADUATE COMMITTEE
GRADUATE CURRICULUM
PROPOSAL FOR
NEW PLAN, PLAN CHANGE, OR PLAN DELETION
1. College: Arts and Letters
2. Department: English
3. Academic Plan: M.A. in English: Literacy, Technology, and Professional Writing
Change to: M.A. in English: Professional Writing
4. Term and year when proposal becomes effective (i.e., Fall 2008): Fall, 2011
5. Plan Proposal is [please underline]: New
Change
Deletion
6. Plan text as it will appear in the academic catalog.
New Plan text.
M.A. in English: Professional Writing
The M.A. in English with emphasis in Professional Writing reflects the expertise of our faculty and the
career ambitions of our students, who are either already working in, or desire to work in, professional
positions involving writing and documentation, in business, industry, and government. The professional
writing emphasis focuses on students mastering procedures and techniques to create and publish
reader-driven writing typical of the workplace, such as proposals, specifications, procedures, reports,
formal correspondence, and white papers. With this degree and the skills acquired in getting it, our
graduates are well prepared to succeed in securing high-paying jobs in a variety of corporate and
government settings.
The M.A. in English: Professional Writing consists of the following 36-unit program, all of which are
exclusively online courses:
Foundations—select one of the following courses (3 units):
ENG 502: Advanced Technical Writing
ENG 522: Rhetoric and Writing in Professional Communities
Technical Editing—select one of the following courses (3 units):
ENG 517: Professional Editing
ENG 549: Document Design and Usability Testing
Workplace Environment—select one of the following courses (3 units):
ENG 569: Document Project Management
ENG 605: Writing Effective Proposals
ENG 606: Issues in Technical and Professional Writing
Research and Application Project (6 hours)—one required course (ENG526), plus one other directed
project (ENG599, ENG608, ENG685):
ENG 526: Advanced Professional Writing (required course)
ENG 599: Special Topics (directed project)
ENG 608: Fieldwork Experience (directed project)
ENG 685: Graduate Research (directed project)
The directed project (599, 608, or 685) must be completed under the direction of a member of
the Professional Writing faculty. The project is not a faculty-designed course, but a studentdesigned project in which the student identifies a problem, proposes a course of action to solve
that problem, and designs a plan of study to research, develop, and support the solution to the
problem. This is written up as a formal capstone project. The methods for designing,
developing, and writing the capstone project are taught in ENG 526. These 15 units constitute
the Professional Writing core.
Elective Courses (21 units):
The remaining 21 units to earn the M.A. are chosen with advisor approval and are based upon
the professional goals of the student. A wide range of other ENG courses, as well as courses in
Communication, Education, and a host of other disciplines can be used as electives in a coherent
program of study, with the advisor’s approval.
Click here for more information about English graduate courses and English faculty.
7. Please list here the Learning Outcomes of the Plan/Subplan:
NAU’s MA in English: Professional Writing focuses on three learning outcomes. Every
graduating student will be able to:



Analyze professional writing situations as a preparation to do the research necessary
to develop effective documents.
Apply professional writing standards and practices to develop documents for
business, industry, and government.
Write publishable on-the-job documents, such as proposals, memos, procedures,
specifications, reports, and white papers.
8. Justification for proposal. How past assessments of student learning prompted proposal.
For the past several years, area faculty have noticed differences between the career
ambitions, and the associated skills, of professional writing students and students with
other career ambitions typically located in academe and teaching. The Professional
Writing Certificate has been awarded to over 100 students. Many of these certificate
graduates wish to continue their education to earn an MA in the same field using the
same professional writing skills. Currently, other English MA tracks focus on writing for
academic audiences, creative writing, or teaching English. In contrast, the Professional
Writing MA emphasis focuses on meeting the needs of mid-career professionals already
working in business, industry, and government.
9. If this proposal requires additional faculty, space, or equipment, how will these
requirements be satisfied?
No new faculty, space, or equipment will be needed.
10. Will this proposal affect other programs, plans, curricula, or enrollment?
[please underline]
Yes
No
Letters of support from each unit affected must accompany this form.
11. Will library holdings support this proposal?
[please underline]
Yes
No
12. Approvals
_____________________________________________________________________
Department Chair (if appropriate)
Date
_____________________________________________________________________
Chair of college curriculum committee
Date
_____________________________________________________________________
Dean of College
Date
For University Graduate Committee use only
Approved: ___________________________________________________________
MA in English: Professional Writing
PROGRAM OF STUDY
Emphasis in Professional Writing
English Department
Student Name: ________________________________________
_________________________
Date:
I. FOCUS COURSES (18 hours)
Course
Units
Term Taken
Institution/Grade
Foundations:
(3 units)
Choose 1 course from: ENG 502, ENG 522
Technical Editing:
(3 units)
Choose 1 course from: ENG 517, ENG 549
Workplace Environment: (3 units) Choose 1 course from: ENG 569, ENG 605, ENG 606
Course Electives:
(21 units)
Choose 7 courses, not already taken, from:
ENG 502, 517, 522, 549, 569, 605, 606, 697, 699, or other advisor-approved courses
II. RESEARCH AND APPLICATION PROJECT (6 hours)
Required: ENG 526; research course (3 hrs.).
Application Project (3 units): Choose one of the following: ENG 599, 608, or 685.
Students should contact their faculty advisor after completing their sixth class to begin
planning their individual application project.
Eng 526
3
NAU
TOTAL
UNITS