Program Overview
Introduction to the Writing and Rhetoric Program
The Writing and Rhetoric program at DePaul University is designed to study literate activity across time and culture, and produce effective writing in contemporary settings. This program allows students to explore what it means to live and work as a digital writer and learn to think critically to produce communication that truly reaches audiences and creates change.
Program Overview
The Writing and Rhetoric major is offered as a Bachelor of Arts degree in the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences. The program can be completed in person or fully online, and students also have the option to pursue a combined B.S. degree in Computer Science + Writing and Rhetoric. Additionally, students can earn a combined bachelor's + master's degree with a master's in Writing, Rhetoric, and Discourse or in Secondary Education in English.
Career Options
Graduates of the Writing and Rhetoric program thrive in various careers, including:
- Content development, strategy, management, and administration
- Publishing and editing
- Social media writing and management
- Technical writing
- Digital marketing
- Legal, technical, medical/health writing
- Ghostwriting
- Non-profit communications
Major Requirements
The Writing and Rhetoric BA requires 56 quarter hours distributed as follows:
Core Requirements
- WRD 201: Digital Writing
- WRD 203: Style for Writers
- WRD 210: Cultural Rhetorics
- WRD 264: Language, Self, and Society
WRD Elective Categories
Students must select one course from each of the two following WRD elective categories:
Writing in Communities and Professions
- WRD 204: Technical Writing
- WRD 205: History of Literacies and Writing
- WRD 206: Professional Writing
- WRD 240: Argumentative Writing
- WRD 241: The Essay from Print to New Media
- WRD 242: Writing with AI
- WRD 280: Writing in the Sciences
- WRD 282: Ethics of Public and Professional Writing
- WRD 283: Environmental Writing
- WRD 284: Sports Writing in America: Myths, Memories, Heroes, and Villains
- WRD 286: Writing with Photographs
- WRD 300: Composition and Style
- WRD 301: Workplace Writing: Theory and Practice
- WRD 309: Topics in Writing, Rhetoric, and Discourse
- WRD 320: Topics in Professional Writing
- WRD 321: Writing in the Legal Profession
- WRD 322: Writing and Metadata
- WRD 323: Editing
- WRD 324: Writing for Public Health and Healthcare
- WRD 325: Rhetoric in Crisis Contexts
- WRD 326: Grant and Proposal Writing
- WRD 327: Content Writing
- WRD 340: Writing and Revising
- WRD 371: Mentoring Youth in Community Writing Groups
- WRD 372: Digital Storytelling
- WRD 376: Fieldwork in Arts Writing
- WRD 377: Writing and Social Engagement
- WRD 395: Writing Center Theory & Pedagogy
Rhetorical History, Theory, and Analysis
- WRD 209: Genre and Discourse
- WRD 220: How Language Works
- WRD 231: Googling God: Religious Practices in Digital Culture
- WRD 232: The Language of Disability
- WRD 260: Rhetorical Analysis
- WRD 261: Digital Culture
- WRD 262: The Rhetoric of Everyday Texts
- WRD 263: Reading Between the Grooves: The Rhetorical Power of Popular Music
- WRD 265: Social Movement, Social Media, and American Identities
- WRD 266: Leveling Up: The Social Rhetoric of Video Games
- WRD 281: Writing Censorship
- WRD 285: Truth in Disguise: The Rhetoric of Satire
- WRD 287: The Comic Book as Visual Argument
- WRD 288: Rhetoric and Popular Culture
- WRD 289: Writing About Rights
- WRD 306: Rhetorical Traditions
- WRD 360: Topics in Rhetoric
- WRD 361: Topics in Alternative Rhetorics
- WRD 362: Semiotics
- WRD 363: Visual Rhetoric
- WRD 364: Chicago Women Rhetors
- WRD 365: Migration & Storytelling
- WRD 368: Global Englishes
- WRD 378: Teaching English as a Second Language in Chicago
- WRD 390: Rhetoric and Public Writing
Major Field Electives
The equivalent of eight additional four-hour electives may be drawn from either of the elective categories above and from the following:
- WRD 207: Introduction to Writing and Rhetoric
- WRD 290: Writer's Tools Workshop
- WRD 291: The Scientific Research Poster
- WRD 398: Internship
- WRD 399: Independent Study
Experiential Learning Requirement
All Writing and Rhetoric majors are required to take one EL-designated course within the major.
Open Electives
Open elective credit is also required to meet the minimum graduation requirement of 192 hours.
Program Outcomes
85% of Writing and Rhetoric graduates were employed, continuing their education, or not seeking employment after graduation. The program is designed to help students develop critical thinking and writing skills that can be applied in a variety of professional settings.