E-mail: english@bgsu.edu
Offered entirely online, the MA in English with a specialization in Professional Writing and Rhetoric is designed to prepare students for successful employment as writers, editors, and writing instructors in various industries and institutions, including business, technology, science, and two-year colleges. This specialization allows students the flexibility of selecting a focus on Professional Writing or Rhetoric and Writing.
Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of the MA degree, students in the English with a specialization in Professional Writing and Rhetoric (Plan II, online) program are expected to be able to:
- Use writing, in print and in electronic environments, to communicate effectively with multiple audiences and to explore concepts central to the fields of technical communication and rhetoric and composition.
- Develop connections of subject matter to key underlying theoretical, and historical elements of the fields of rhetoric and composition and technical communication as well as to the cultural context of these fields.
- Develop connections between practice and theory in effective written and visual communication, the teaching of writing, and the culture of business and industry.
- Demonstrate creative approaches, critical thinking, and effective communication in the products of individual courses and in culminating program projects.
- Create a capstone portfolio reflecting what students have learned over the course of their program
Admission Requirements
Additional documents required:
- One of the following standardized test scores:
- GRE (Graduate Record Examination) general exam
- OAE (Ohio Assessments for Educators) English Language Arts Exam (020)
- Any of the following PRAXIS exams:
- English Language Arts: Content and Analysis (5039)
- English Language, Literature, and Composition (5041, 0041)
- Middle School English Language Arts (0049, 5047, or 5049)
- English Language, Literature, and Composition: Content and Analysis (0044, 5044)Core Academic Skills for Educators: Reading (5712) and Core Academic Skills for Educators: Writing (5722)*
- GRE/OAE/PRAXIS test score will be waived for applicants with an undergraduate GPA>=3.0 or an earned masters degree. Enter your GPA and GPA Scale with your academic institution under the Academic History tab.
- Three Letters of Recommendation from instructors who have taught you within the past five years, from employers, or from other individuals qualified to evaluate your potential for success in the program.
- A Statement of Purpose that explains the specific program to which you are applying, your academic preparation for the program, your purpose for enrolling in it, and your professional goals relevant to the program (roughly 2 pages, double-spaced).
- A Critical Writing Sample that demonstrates your writing ability and your preparation for graduate-level academic writing (roughly 15 pages, double-spaced).
* For those submitting Praxis Core Academic Skills scores, both the 5712 and 5722 scores are required.
Valid Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), Pearson English Language Test (PTE), International English Language Testing System (IELTS), English Language Services (ELS), or Duolingo English Test (DET) scores obtained within the last two years are required of all applying for admission whose first language is not English. Official TOEFL, PTE, IELTS, ELS, or DET score report recommended minimums are: 80 TOEFL iBT (old scale) or 4.0 (new scale); 53 PTE; 6.5 IELTS; 112 ELS; 110 DET.
Applicants are exempt from providing standardized language proficiency test scores if they are: US citizens; from a country whose population speaks English as its first language; or have a previous degree (associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s, or doctorate) from a US college/university or from a country in which instruction was delivered in English. A complete list of qualifying countries can be found here.
Application Requirements
Admissions Categories and Grade Point Average Requirements
International Application Information
Degree Requirements
Return to: