Professional Writing

General Information
A major in Professional Writing provides an education firmly grounded in the liberal arts, while preparing students for a wide range of careers as writers or communications specialists in fields such as publishing, government and non-governmental organization (NGOs), corporate communications, information technology, social service organizations, healthcare, finance, and the arts. A Professional Writing major is also excellent preparation for students who wish to pursue law school or graduate work in professional or technical writing, creative writing, rhetoric and composition, media studies, communication, and other fields.

Objectives
The Bachelor of Arts degree in Professional Writing provides students with a deep understanding of the varied techniques and versatility necessary to find satisfying careers in fields where communication skills are valued. (And, after all, what fields don't value communication skills?) Our majors share an affection for language and what it can do, and a deep commitment to the creativity inherent in all uses of writing.

The program emphasizes the "professional" in Professional Writing, providing students with the ability to produce the kinds of writing that are valued in varied fields from technical and business writing, to creative writing and journalism. More specifically, the Professional Writing major provides students with the following:
  • Marketable communication skills such as editing, web design, and business writing
  • Experiential learning through an on-site internship in professional writing
  • A wide range of critical thinking and problem-solving skills
  • A professional portfolio of print- and web-based writing
  • A liberal-arts based foundation in the history and theory of language
  • Guided experience in writing for a wide range of situations using a variety of stylistic options.
Special Facilities
The writing program is housed in a brand-new, state of the art Humanities Center. This newest building on campus offers computerized classrooms equipped with appropriate software programs for writing, document and web design, screenwriting, and collaborative writing activities. It also features a networked writing production studio to which professional writing majors have access from early morning to late at night-because writing happens all the time. This site also provides a place for our flourishing community of writers can work together to hone their craft, collaborate on projects, and share their writing with one another.

Special Opportunities
Students in the Professional Writing program enjoy many opportunities to work closely with one another, with departmental faculty, with visiting authors, and with the local community.

Each year, the department sponsors a Writer in Residence-a well-published author who visits campus to do a public reading and to work closely in workshops with writing majors. This annual event allows our writers to learn more about the craft-and the profession-of writing from successful poets, fiction writers, and writers of non-fiction.

The department also publishes an annual student literary journal, The York Review, which includes poetry, fiction, essays, photography, and art. The journal is staffed by a student editorial board under the guidance of a faculty member. In addition, the department sponsors an annual campus-wide creative writing contest, funded by the Bob Hoffman Foundation, providing awards for poetry, fiction, and non-fiction., and partners with Central PA Magazine to sponsor its annual area-wide Writing Contest. Many of our majors serve as editors and staff writers for our college newspaper, The Spartan.

Our writing program also helps develop successful teachers of writing, a skill that is invaluable not only for future secondary education teachers, but also for those interested in graduate education in Rhetoric and Composition-the fastest-growing area of English studies. Students who successfully complete WRT 290, Teaching and Tutoring in Writing, may work as paid writing tutors in the College's Learning Resource Center, where they can further hone their abilities as writers and as teachers of writing.

The department offers a number of scholarships to its majors, including the Trevethan Scholarship (for students demonstrating excellence in their academic studies) and the Carraway Scholarship, which offers a financial reward-and a prestigious title-for Professional Writing majors.

Our majors also have a wide range of opportunities for experiential learning, giving them opportunities to work as writers in real-world settings. As students work as writers in a variety of job sites-sites that we arrange based upon individual students' career interest-they become prepared for the job search. Professional Writing faculty help students to obtain just the right internship for their career and personal interests. Our majors have recently completed internships at the following sites:
  • Amnesty International, York, PA
  • BAE Systems, York, PA
  • Baltimore Magazine, Baltimore, MD
  • Brandylane Publishers, Richmond, VA
  • Center for Community Engagement, York, PA
  • Central PA Magazine, Harrisburg, PA
  • Datum Filing Systems, Emigsville, PA
  • Digital Infuzion, Gaithersburg, MD
  • Dylfin Publications, Dublin, Ireland
  • The Evening Sun, Hanover, PA
  • Harrisburg Magazine, Harrisburg, PA
  • Humanities and Technology Association, Potsdam, NY
  • Huntington Learning Center, Cupertino, CA
  • Make-A-Wish Foundation, York, PA
  • Manufacturers' Association of South Central Pennsylvania, York, PA
  • Momentum Fitness Center, Mechanicsburg, PA
  • New York Arts Magazine, New York, NY
  • Olivia's House, York, PA
  • Pennsylvania Dental Association, Harrisburg, PA
  • Pennsylvania Landscape and Nursery
  • Association, Harrisburg, PA
  • Pennsylvania Musician, Millersburg, PA
  • Planned Parenthood, York, PA
  • Professional Inline Hockey Association, Lancaster, PA
  • Red Cross, York, PA
  • Smith Brothers, Shrewsbury, PA
  • United States House of Representatives, Washington, DC
  • Valley Green Golf Course, Etters, PA
  • WGAL-TV (NBC 8), Lancaster, PA
  • WAM Enterprises, Harrisburg, PA
  • WPMT-TV (Fox 43), York, PA
  • YMCA, York PA
  • York Country Day School, York, PA
Career Opportunities
We live in an Information Age, and the need for skilled writers and communicators in many different kinds of organizations continues to grow at the local, national, and international levels. As a result, Professional Writing has become one of the fastest growing areas of English studies. A major in Professional Writing combines the broad-based education of all of the English and Humanities Department's programs with the practical skills, web and document design skills, and career opportunities that can lead to a fulfilling and successful future. Careers in writing include the following:
  • Advertising
  • Business Writing
  • Communications Specialist
  • Editing
  • Freelance Writing
  • Government Writing
  • Grant Writing
  • Law School
  • Management Positions
  • Music Industry
  • Political Speech Writing
  • Print and Television Journalism
  • Public Relations
  • Social Services Writing
  • Sports Writing
  • Technical Writing
  • Web Design
  • Writing Professor
Courses Offered
Courses in the Professional Writing major are divided into five areas as shown below, giving students a substantive education in all areas of the field. An asterisk (*) indicates that the course is required for the major; other courses are electives. Each student must complete at least two Professional Writing electives.

1. Writing Applications Courses (courses that provide specific experiences in a wide range of writing areas)
  • Writing in Professional Cultures*
  • Playwriting
  • Creative Writing
  • Advanced Composition*
  • Writing for the Web*
  • Advanced Creative Writing
  • Advanced Non-Fiction
  • Writing Children's Literature
  • Screenwriting
  • Freelance Writing
  • Professional Editing*
  • Special Topics Courses:
    • Nature Writing
    • Medical Writing
    • The Personal Essay
    • Document Design
    • American Argument
    • Rhetoric and Poetics
2. Writing Theory Courses (courses that provide reflection on the English language and on the ways that writers compose)
  • Interdisciplinary Writing*
  • Teaching/Tutoring Writing
  • Rhetorical Theory*
  • Language and Linguistics*
3. Minor
In addition to the above required courses and Professional Writing electives, students are required to complete a minor as part of the Professional Writing major. This minor is chosen to help writers specialize in an area of expertise related to their career plans. Students choose minors such as creative writing, business administration, the sciences, visual communication, journalism, photography, music, film studies, and the fine arts, just to name a few.

4. English and Humanities Departmental Electives
In keeping with our liberal arts traditions, students complete four English and Humanities departmental electives, giving them the opportunity to study foreign languages, philosophy, film, religious studies, theatre, women and gender studies, and literature.

5. Capstone Courses
  • Experiential Learning internship*
  • Senior Seminar in Writing *
Student Spotlight
Richard Rabil, a 2007 Honors Program graduate and our Carraway Scholarship recipient in 2005, exemplifies the combination of talent and initiative of our Professional Writing majors. While a student at York College, Richard has worked as a technical writer and editor for Digital Infuzion, Inc., as a web content developer for Connectivity Group, as a freelance content developer for Slice, a graphic design firm, and as a proposal editor for R + B Design. He has served as editor of our college newspaper, The Spartan, and is a founding member of Stylus, an extra-curricular literature society. Richard notes that "there are two major things I love about YCP's Professional Writing program: the professors and the close-knit community of students. The writing professors aren't just passionate about language; they're passionate about education, which means they're eager to connect with the students. They're so personable, in fact, that I've never hesitated to approach them with questions, concerns, or even casual conversation about life. Their excellent teaching and personal input throughout my years at York-on both professional and informal levels-has undoubtedly prepared me to excel in the world as a writer."

Faculty Highlights
Writing Program
Dominic DelliCarpini is the Writing Program Director. He holds a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and a Ph.D. from The Pennsylvania State University. He is an Executive Board member of the National Council of Writing Program Administrators. He has recently published two books, Composing a Life's Work: Writing, Citizenship and Your Occupation (Longman, 2005) and Conversations: Readings for Writing (Longman, 2006) and is a frequent presenter at national conferences on composition pedagogy and civic participation. He also does work on early modern literature, focusing especially upon Shakespeare, Milton, and Spenser.

Julie S. Amberg, B.A., Boston University, Ph.D., Tulane University, has research interests in early American literature, women's literature, and linguistics. She is currently completing work on a textbook under contract on language and linguistics.

Heather McGrane, B.A., University of Central Florida, M.A., Stetson University, and Ph.d., University of Central Florida is a rhetoric and composition expert with expertise in writing and technology.

William R. Miller, B.A., Eckerd College; Ph.D., State University of New York (Binghamton), is a nationally known poet and award-winning author of multicultural children's books.

Alexander Ian Olney, B.A., Rhodes College; Ph.D., University of Nebraska-Lincoln, is a film studies scholar who is interested in European cinema, horror cinema, film and literature, and dramatic literature. He teaches Screenwriting in the Writing Program.

Colbey Reid, B.A., University of Florida, M.A. and Ph.D., University of Washington, takes an interdisciplinary approach to American and British modern literature, exploring the connections in modernist literature between glamour, style, and the notion of  "mistake."

Gerald Siegel, B.A., Western Maryland College; M.A. Texas Christian University;
M.Phil, Ph.D., George Washington University. Interested in international education, he is a three-time Fulbright Scholar who has taught in Yugoslavia, Belgium, and, most recently, Macedonia. His research interests include American and popular literature, especially horror literature, about which he has written.

Victor Taylor, B.A., Lemoyne College; Ph.D., Syracuse University, is widely published in post modernism. He is the author of (Para) Inquiry: Postmodern Literature, Culture, and Theology (Routledge 1999).
Deborah Vause, B.A., North Carolina State University; Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, is a medievalist with wide-ranging interests in Arthurian and fantasy literature, as well as in the study of the English language.

Michael J. Zerbe, B.S., James Madison University; Ph.D., Purdue University, is a specialist in rhetoric and composition and has a research interest in the application of rhetorical theory to medical and scientific writing. He has recently published Composition and the Rhetoric of Science: Engaging the Dominant Discourse (Southern Illinois University Press).

English and Humanities
Gabriel Abudu, B.A., University of Ghana; Ph.D., Temple University, an authority on twentieth-century Afro-Cuban poetry, frequently publishes on Nancy Morejon, a major literary figure of our time.

Mary Boldt, B.A., Wilson College, M.A. and Ph.D. Brown University, teaches French and German and has interests in foreign language across the curriculum, second language acquisition, and international studies.

James McGhee, A.B., Montclair State College, Ph.D.; Bowling Green State University, is the Director of Theatre and has published Sonnets From the Surd as well as books on modern American dramatists Sam Shepard and Don Nigro.

Cindy Doutrich, B.A. and Ph.D., Penn State University, is coordinator for Foreign Languages and author of the McGraw-Hill text, Nuevos Destinos (New Destinations), now in its second edition.

Rory Kraft, B.A., Arizona State University, M.A., American University, Ph.D., Michigan State University, specializes in ethical theory and applied ethics and is interested in aesthetics and the history of western philosophy.

Dennis Weiss, B.A., Emory University; Ph.D., The University of Texas at Austin, has done major research in metaphysics, the philosophy of human nature, and the digital culture. He is the editor of Interpreting Man and has authored essays on science fiction, philosophical anthropology, and philosophy of technology. He is department chair.

Alumni Record
The wide range of career opportunities for Professional Writing majors is reflected in the diversity of positions held, and graduate programs attended, by our recent graduates.

Lindsay Anderson
Marketing Assistant
Tydings and Rosenberg
Baltimore, MD

April Breneman
Technical Writer and Editor International Logistics Systems
Glen Rock, PA

Shannon Eschette
Transportation Coordinator Sun Motor Cars
Camp Hill, PA

Christine Flok
Graduate Student
New College
San Francisco, CA

Vito Grippi
Features Editor
Fly Magazine
Lancaster, PA

Maribeth Harkins
Graduate Student
American University
Washington, DC

Kristin Heidelmark
Technical Writer
Centocor
Horsham, PA

Leslie Kelly
Graduate Student
College Misericordia
Dallas, PA

Jaclyn Keys
Technical Writer and Editor
GeoDecisions
Harrisburg, PA

Rachael Krall
Public Relations Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Harrisburg, PA

Jeri Litteral
Editorial Coordinator TechBooks
York, PA

Ben McKnight
Editor
HCPro
Boston, MA

Brian Nicoletti
Production Director Corporate Insight
New York, NY

Lynzy Oberholzer
Paralegal
Young, Conaway, Stargatt & Taylor LLP
New York, NY

Meghan Pierce
Graduate Student
West Chester University West Chester, PA

Cate Sacchi
Graduate Student
Ohio State University Columbus, OH

Molly Scanlon
Graduate Student
University of Maryland College Park, MD

Lindsay Snyder
Graduate Student
Drexel University
Philadelphia, PA

Erin Weber
Writer and Editor
United Concordia
Harrisburg, PA

Kelly Whitman
Real Estate Project Manager
City of Harrisburg
Harrisburg, PA

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