PROFESSIONAL WRITING AND PUBLISHING
Bachelor’s Degree Programs
Invent. Arrange. Design. Change.
You love language — period — and you’re driven to learn how many things you can do with it. Students in the Professional Writing and Publishing program create and design information that helps people achieve what they need and want to do.
Language is powerful. It shapes — and is shaped by — culture, history, and technology. Professional Writing and Publishing blends a deep technical and rhetorical language core with a variety of project-based coursework. We’ll prepare you to write creatively and analytically in multiple genres and workplace settings, and you’ll develop highly flexible and practical problem-solving skills.
Graduates of the program prepare for a broad range of careers, including some of the fastest growing professions in the nation according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — writing, marketing, art and graphic design, technical and scientific communication, web content strategy, corporate training, educational gaming and instructional design, and project management.
CAN WE BRAG A LITTLE?
Write in our backyard.
Professional Writing and Publishing majors will have the opportunity to learn, work and play in one of the state’s best locations. UW-Whitewater is nestled within a 90-mile radius of Madison, Wisconsin’s state capital, Milwaukee, Wisconsin’s most populous city, and Chicago, making it a prime location to secure internships and other learning opportunities.
Why study Professional Writing and Publishing at UW-Whitewater?
Your future to write.
You can blend your Professional Writing and Publishing training with your minor and other interests to shape and pursue a career path that excites you most. Plus, you’ll be prepared to confidently adapt to — and be leaders in — the ever-changing landscape of information exchange.
Your home away from home.
The Professional Writing and Publishing program is a community with dedicated professors who get to know you through more than one class. We help you identify your strengths and goals and shape your course plans to reach them. Professional Writing and Publishing majors are a true cohort, supporting and complementing each other’s strengths and developing lifelong friendships as they work together to create usable solutions to complex challenges.
Your professional network.
Our Professional Writing and Publishing alumni network is a fantastic resource for students. Graduates regularly participate in alumni panels and are generous with their advice and support for students who are interested in following their paths.
What our Professional Writing and Publishing students do
Write clearly, creatively, and convincingly
Analyze different forms of communication
Research and shape content effectively and ethically
Design communications to improve user experience
Hands-on learning experiences
Building your portfolio is crucial to a career in Professional Writing and Publishing. At UW-Whitewater, you’ll have multiple opportunities to build a job-search-ready portfolio of projects and documents, which you’ll complete in your program capstone.
Community-based learning
Integrate meaningful community service into your Professional Writing and Publishing experience. Our faculty will assist you in finding the right opportunities.
Internships and research
Work with our faculty to discover undergraduate research opportunities and engaging internships on campus or beyond. Apply your knowledge outside of the classroom and dive deeper into your field of interest through UW-Whitewater’s Undergraduate Research Program (URP). Some of our students become published authors on research papers in prestigious journals.
Student publications
Build your editorial resumé and collaborate with fellow students on “Reading Film,” a journal of outstanding essays on film and television written by UW-Whitewater students, and on “The Muse,” UW-Whitewater’s literary and arts magazine. These opportunities allow Professional Writing and Publishing students to work closely with students in the Film Studies and Creative Writing programs. Many students also add journalistic publication experience to their repertoire on the staff of the Royal Purple, the university’s independent student newspaper.
Campus and community involvement
The Professional Writing CORE is a student organization whose mission is to provide professional writing services to clients on and off campus. CORE members create opportunities to help build their resumés as they plan and design a variety of documents. CORE members also host regular alumni panels for students interested in professional writing to learn more about career opportunities associated with a Professional Writing and Publishing degree.
Hired Before Graduation
Jaden Nickelsen from Elkhorn, Wisconsin, earned a B.A. in professional writing and publishing with minors in environmental studies and legal studies and was hired as a land protection specialist with the Geneva Lake Conservancy in Fontana, Wisconsin.
What our graduates do
Content strategy, production, and editing
Business, technical and scientific writing
Copywriting, communications, public relations and marketing
Careers: What can you do with a Professional Writing and Publishing degree?
After earning their Professional Writing and Publishing degree, UW-Whitewater graduates find a variety of positions in a variety of sectors or are admitted to prestigious postgraduate programs. They also find freelance writing jobs and other freelance opportunities.
Here’s a sample of positions held by our graduates:
- Brand journalist
- Communications coordinator
- Content specialist
- Copyeditor
- Copywriter
- Corporate instructional designer
- Creative director
- Documentation coordinator
- Editorial department manager
- Forms designer
- Grant writer
- International documentation assistant
- Literary agent
- Managing editor
- Marketing coordinator
- Production editor
- Project manager
- Proofreader
- Proposal writer
- Public relations coordinator
- Quality assurance manager
- Report coordinator
- Scientific writer
- SEO specialist
- Strategic communications lead
- Technical writer
- UX content developer
- Website editor
Here’s a sample of advanced degrees and certifications our graduates have pursued:
- Professional writing
- Publishing
- Rhetoric and composition
- UX design
- Law
- Library science
- Computational linguistics
- Higher education leadership
Our Professional Writing and Publishing faculty
Our dedicated faculty Dan Baumgardt, Jessica Lauer and Janine Tobeck are committed to preparing you for a prosperous Professional Writing and Publishing career. They’ll help mold your UW-Whitewater journey to fit your dreams and aspirations.
Want to learn more about earning a Professional Writing and Publishing degree?
262-472-5039 | tobeckj@uww.edu
UW-Whitewater offers the following Professional Writing and Publishing undergraduate options:
- Bachelor of Arts – Professional Writing and Publishing | 4-year plan
- Bachelor of Science – Professional Writing and Publishing | 4-year plan
Minors:
In addition to UW-Whitewater’s general education requirements, as a Professional Writing and Publishing major, you’ll take a variety of core and elective classes that will vary based on your chosen emphasis. Here’s an example of classes most Professional Writing and Publishing majors will take:
- Copyediting
- Critical Writing in Multimedia Contexts
- Documentary Project Development
- The Grammar of Standard Written English
- Grant/Proposal Writing
- Publication Development
- Portfolio Development
- Technical and Professional Writing
- Text and Image
- Writing for the Web
- Writing in the Sciences
To apply, you’ll complete the UW-Whitewater standard application for admission and indicate your interest in earning a degree in Professional Writing and Publishing.
To find the Professional Writing and Publishing major program, select Education and Training from the Select a Career Cluster dropdown and UW-Whitewater from the Select a UW Campus dropdown, then scroll down to Professional Writing and Publishing.
