New Professional Writing Certificate designed to help students stand out in job market

The University of Wisconsin-Platteville is offering a Professional Writing Certificate. The certificate, designed to complement a broad range of majors, provides students with professional writing, editing and communication skills needed to excel in many careers.

"The professional writing certificate came from a need to expand our offerings to students who may not be able to major or minor in English but would like to enhance their writing and communication skills," said Dr. Laura Roberts, assistant professor of Englishand professional writing at UW-Platteville. "Our campus has many students majoring in engineering and computer science who may be considering how to stand out as they enter the job market. The professional writing certificate is a way to indicate that a student not only has technical knowledge but also has soft skills, which many companies look for."

The certificate is customizable to a student's interests and the courses encompass several different aspects of professional writing. Earning the certificate demonstrates students' ability to write clearly and effectively in a variety of workplace genres, gain knowledge of formal elements of writing and the ability to explain complex and technical information and/or concepts to a wide variety of audiences.

Certificate requirements include one required three credit course, Technical Writing or Writing for Science and Research, and three additional electives. Elective options include Literary Magazines; Intro to Creative Writing; Technical Writing; Writing for Science and Research; Designing for Usability; Advanced Writing; Writing, Editing and Publishing in Multiple Media; Advanced Topics in Writing Studies; and History and Theory of Rhetoric.

For more information about the professional writing certificate, contact Dr. Laura Roberts at [email protected].