Department of Writing Studies
Welcome to the web site for the Department of Writing Studies. Part of the University of Minnesota’s College of Liberal Arts, we are an academic department with nationally recognized strengths in teaching and scholarship in rhetoric, writing, and technical communication. With 15 tenured or tenure-track faculty, over 20 full-time instructors, and degrees from the bachelor's to the doctorate, we offer a diverse set of research, teaching, and learning opportunities.
The department touches the lives of every undergraduate on campus, teaching over 170 sections of first-year writing as well as courses in technical writing and communication, rhetorical theory, composition, and professional communication. Graduates from our B.S., M.S., and certificate programs are prepared for successful careers in scientific and technical communication and are in high demand by companies both local and national. Our M.A. and Ph.D. graduates pursue careers primarily in academic settings, becoming college professors and instructors.
We are also the administrative home of the Center for Writing, which provides face-to-face and online writing assistance as well as other programs of interest. Faculty and staff in both the center and the department enjoy many collaborative relationships including funded research to study how writing is most effectively taught in different academic disciplines.
We hope you find what you are looking for on our web site. If you have any questions, please email or call us. Or stop in and visit us in Wesbrook Hall, located on the Minneapolis campus.
Sincerely,
Laura J. Gurak, Ph.D.
Professor and Chair
Featured Items
Krista Kennedy wins Kairos Award
Krista Kennedy was recently selected to receive the Kairos Graduate Student and Adjunct Scholarship Award for 2008.
As noted on the Kairos web site, "The Scholarship Award is given to a person whose research and scholarship is already excellent and/or also shows future promise for having an impact on our field. Three $500 awards will be given to graduate students and/or adjuncts in the field of computers and writing. These awards are based upon the three areas that guide our professional lives: Service, Scholarship, and Teaching."
Congratulations, Krista!
Kairos: A Journal of Rhetoric, Technology, and Pedagogy
June 22nd, 2009
(http://www.technorhetoric.net/awards/gradadjunctnom.html)Congrats to Greg Schneider, winner of the COGS Leadership Award Honorable Mention!
Congratulations to Greg Schneider, winner of the COGS Leadership Award Honorable Mention! Greg is honored for his leadership on behalf of the graduate students in the Department of Writing Studies. Greg has served as a graduate student representative to the DGS Advisory Committee, instituted a graduate student assembly, worked to redesign and expand the Writing Studies Parlors, ensured that graduate students’ perspective is represented well in the curriculum, and helped redesign the way the department conducts preliminary doctoral examinations.
Thank you Greg, for your leadership and service to the department!
April 2nd, 2009