To prepare students for careers as professional writers, the Department of Writing, Linguistics and Creative Process focuses on the following objectives:

• Engaging students — through innovative and cutting-edge writing programs — in writing as a process of making form and meaning.
• Training professional writing students for work in business, publishing in all its facets, and teaching.
• Immersing students in the rich environment of professional writing activities and talent available in New York City and author-endowed Fairfield and Litchfield counties.
• Emphasizing writing as key to critical thinking.
• Highlighting the importance of linguistics and understanding the basic components of language and texts to professional writers.
• Assisting students with the development of style, voice and attunement to genre.
• Creating a community of writers at Western that fosters an awareness of the importance of writing across the curriculum.

Students who earn degrees in Professional Writing will:

1. Demonstrate strong critical thinking skills through writing for a variety of audiences, purposes, and situations.
2. Demonstrate an extensive ability to identify, assess, and perform—in both academic and professional settings—the types of writing for the chosen area of focus, such as creative writing, professional writing, and journalism.
3. Demonstrate a working ability to identify and perform types of writing outside of the specific area of focus.
4. Produce a senior portfolio that demonstrates an increasing level of professionalism in writing in terms of choice of topic, application of style, and ability to produce error-free texts.

Minor Program Sheets:

• Minor in Broadcast Journalism opens PDF file
• Minor in Creative Writing opens PDF file
• Minor in Journalism opens PDF file
• Minor in Professional Writing opens PDF file

To learn more about the Professional Writing degree, please follow the links below:

• Catalog entry
• Writing department website
• SVPA