Requirements & Courses
Requirements for All Incoming Students
To welcome all incoming students, an orientation is held the week prior to the commencement of the Fall Semester. At this time, department regulations and procedures are reviewed, students are introduced to faculty members, and questions about the department are addressed.
Students are required to enroll in WRTG 6200: Introduction to the Field (1 credit) their incoming semester. The course provides a theoretical and practical orientation to the field and expectations for graduate performance toward a career.
Requirements for MA/MS Students
In order to complete the MA or the MS degrees students complete 10 courses (30 credit hours). The culmination of the degree requires students to either take a written exam, complete a project, or complete a thesis.
Students enrolled in the MA/MS programs must complete two of the following core courses:
Course description coming soon.
A survey of rhetorical theories, starting from Greek antiquity and continuing into the early modern period. Readings, assignments, and class discussions trace the developments of classical and medieval rhetorical theories through primary texts and provide familiarity with recent secondary scholarship responding to those developments. Course emphases may vary by instructor/semester.
A survey of early modern and post-modern rhetorical theories, beginning in the 17th Century and working through to contemporary rhetorical theories. Readings, assignments, and class discussions trace the developments of early-modern to contemporary rhetorical theories through primary texts. Contemporary applications of previous rhetorical theories are also covered. Course emphases may vary by instructor/semester.
A survey of the various methodologies used in rhetoric and writing studies. Critical reading and examination of different methodological approaches, with attention to their assumptions, strengths and weaknesses. Also provides a foundation for research design; appropriate questions, processes, analyses, and interpretative strategies for the various approaches.
Course description coming soon.
Students may satisfy elective requirements by taking other courses in Writing and Rhetoric Studies or in other departments. Elective courses in other departments must align with students’ research interests. MA students are required to demonstrate a language proficiency.
All MA/MS students are required to complete the degree with a written examination, a project, or a thesis.
Requirements for PhD Students
In order to complete the PHD degree students complete 10 courses (30 credit hours). Students enrolled in the PhD program must complete the following core courses:
Course decription coming soon.
A survey of rhetorical theories, starting from Greek antiquity and continuing into the early modern period. Readings, assignments, and class discussions trace the developments of classical and medieval rhetorical theories through primary texts and provide familiarity with recent secondary scholarship responding to those developments. Course emphases may vary by instructor/semester.
A survey of early modern and post-modern rhetorical theories, beginning in the 17th Century and working through to contemporary rhetorical theories. Readings, assignments, and class discussions trace the developments of early-modern to contemporary rhetorical theories through primary texts. Contemporary applications of previous rhetorical theories are also covered. Course emphases may vary by instructor/semester.
A survey of the various methodologies used in rhetoric and writing studies. Critical reading and examination of different methodological approaches, with attention to their assumptions, strengths and weaknesses. Also provides a foundation for research design; appropriate questions, processes, analyses, and interpretative strategies for the various approaches.
Students may satisfy elective requirements by taking other courses in Writing & Rhetoric Studies or in other departments. Elective courses in other departments must align with students’ research interests. All PhD students are required to do original research that culminates in the completion and submission of a dissertation.
Language Requirement
There is no foreign language requirement for the PhD.
Course Offerings
Required Courses
- WRTG 6350: Composition Theory & Research
- WRTG 7740: Rhetoric I: Early Rhetorics
- WRTG 7750: Rhetoric II: Contemporary Rhetorics
- WRTG 7770: Research in Rhetoric & Writing
Elective Courses (offered 2021-2022)
- WRTG 6020: Responding to Student Writing
- WRTG 6050: Online Writing Pedagogy
- WRTG 6400: Theories and Pedagogies of Multilingual Writing
- WRTG 6770: Discourse Analysis
- WRTG 7760: Comparative/Cultural Rhetorics
- WRTG 7910: Independent Study
List of Future Electives
Comparative & cultural rhetorics, critical science studies, decolonial studies, digital divide, digital & sonic rhetorics, discourse analysis, gender & queer studies, multilingual theories & pedagogies, online instruction, writing assessment, writing center theories & practices, and writing-across-the curriculum.
Courses (offered 2022-2023)
Fall 2022
- *WRTG 6200: Introduction to the Field
- WRTG 6050: Online Teaching Pedagogy
- *WRTG 7840: 2010 Colloquium
- *WRTG 7740: Rhetoric I
- WRTG 7760: Seminar on Writing & Rhetoric’s Multimodalities
Spring 2023
- WRTG 6350: Composition Theory & Research
- *WRTG 7060: Scientific Writing (required for MS students)
- WRTG 7760: Seminar on Topics in Decolonial Theory & Practice
- *WRTG 7770: Research in Writing & Rhetoric
- WRTG XXXX: Apprenticeship in Teaching (class number coming soon)
*Required course
List of Potential seminars coming in 2023-2024
Contemporary Ethnographies, Discourse Analysis, Feminist Rhetorics, Rhetoric & Hope, Writing in & Within the Disciplines