Professional Writing & Rhetoric

Professional writers are in demand to link ideas, technologies and products with people who need to understand those developments or to use them. San Francisco State’s Professional Writing and Rhetoric (PWR) program can prepare you for that critical communications role through our major, minor and certificate programs.

Professional writers work in almost every field of industry and public life, including high-technology industries, business, government, research and nonprofit organizations. The work that PWR graduates go on to do might involve technical writing and documentation, editing, graphic and document design, training, research, information management, promotional writing, grant writing or other forms of proposal- and report-writing.

After completing the PWR program, you can begin your writing career with important advantages: an academic degree or certificate in the field, improved and focused skills, an understanding of professional expectations for writers, and a portfolio of relevant writing samples.

PWR was TPW

Note: Starting Fall 2019, the Technical and Professional Writing (TPW) program was replaced by the Professional Writing and Rhetoric (PWR) program. With a few exceptions, students who declared TPW as their major prior to Fall 2019 are not affected by this change and can continue as TPW majors. Please contact PWR coordinator Neil Lindeman with any questions.

Program Contacts

Neil Lindeman, PWR Coordinator
Email: lindeman@sfsu.edu
Phone: (415) 405-0493
Office: HUM 423

Prospective Undergraduates: Request Information

Two students sitting outside at a table with their laptops

Advising

Please get in touch anytime you have questions about your course of study and career planning. In addition, if you can, please arrange for an advising session during the semester you enter the program. At this session, we will set up an advising worksheet for your file, review program requirements, discuss your career interests, and identify a tentative course schedule for you.

- For PWR students with last names A-L, contact Bridget Gelms at bgelms@sfsu.edu
- For PWR students with last names M-Z, contact Neil Lindeman at lindeman@sfsu.edu

Requirements for an English Degree with Professional Writing & Rhetoric Concentration

Core Requirements (24 Units)
- Lower-Division (6 Units)
  - ENG 218 - Writing the First Year: The World, the Text, and You (3 units)
  - ENG 250 - Topics in Literature and Culture (3 units)
- Upper-Division (18 Units)
  - ENG 402 - Introduction to Professional Writing and Rhetoric (3 units)
  - ENG 420 - Introduction to the Study of Language (3 units)
  - ENG 461 - Literature in English Since 1800 (3 units)
  - ENG 480GW - Junior Seminar - GWAR (3 units)
  - ENG 583 - Shakespeare: Representative Plays (3 units)
  - ENG 640 - Global Texts and Practices (3 units)
Requirements (21 Units)
- Required Courses (9 units)
  - ENG 540 - Professional Editing (3 units)
  - ENG 545 - Visual Rhetoric and Document Design (3 units)
  - ENG 618 - Individual and Team Writing (3 units)
- Electives (9 units) [Select three:]
  - ENG 200 - Writing Practices in Professional Contexts (3 units)
  - ENG 470 - Writing Professional Promotions (3 units)
  - ENG 471 - Writing Technical Documentation (3 units)
  - ENG 490 - Grant Writing (3 units)
  - ENG 585 - Professional Writing for Digital Audiences (3 units)
  - Other courses with the approval of an advisor.
- Capstone Experience (3 units)
  - ENG 695 - Internship in Professional Writing and Rhetoric (3 units)

Review the current Bulletin for further information.

- For PWR students with last names A-L, contact Bridget Gelms at bgelms@sfsu.edu
- For PWR students with last names M-Z, contact Neil Lindeman at lindeman@sfsu.edu

Campus Resources

Professional Organizations

Regional Scholarship

The Gordon Memorial Scholarship is sponsored by the Northern California chapters of the Society for Technical Communication. Please see below for more information and for the application. The deadline to apply is July 31, 2023.

Gordon Announcement 2023.pdf44.24 KB

Gordon Application 2023.pdf86.63 KB