A Career Essential

Our interdisciplinary minor in Writing complements your existing major and signals your recognition that written (and oral) communication skills are essential to success in any career. Whether your major is in the natural sciences, social sciences, humanities, or a professional field, the writing minor enhances your career readiness and helps ensure you will succeed. 

Communication abilities consistently rank among the top ten skills employers seek from college graduates. For example, the National Association of Colleges and Employers’ 2014 employer survey found that written and oral communication ranked second and seventh, with leadership and teamwork tied for first. Our Writing minor, with its mix of foundational, professional, and discipline-specific writing components and emphasis on collaborative work, will enable you to build all four of these highly desirable skills. 

The interdisciplinary Writing minor is highly flexible, enabling you to complete most of the requirements while fulfilling Core and major requirements. By completing foundational, professional, and disciplinary writing courses, you gain both breadth and depth of experience writing in a range of contexts. We also encourage you to seek internship opportunities as part of the minor to gain hands-on experience using the new skills you are learning. We consider existing courses in a range of other UNE programs for inclusion in the Writing minor.

If you would like to add this valuable minor to your UNE transcript, please talk to a professor or your academic advisor about pursuing a minor in Writing.

Curriculum

The interdisciplinary minor in writing has a developmental writing sequence that remains flexible to maximize the options for students. The minor requires a minimum of eighteen (18) credits chosen from a list of foundational, professional, and discipline-specific writing courses.

Required Courses Credits
Creative Writing Foundation: Choose one (1) Credits
WRT 111 – Topics in Creative Writing 3
WRT 211 – Creative Writing: Poetry 3
WRT 212 – Creative Writing: Short Fiction 3
WRT 312 – Fiction Writing Workshop 3
Total Creative Writing Foundation credits 3
Professional Writing Foundation: Choose one (1) Credits
WRT 233 – Professional & Technical Writing 3
CMM 110 – Intro to Communications 3
CMM 122 – Oral Communication 3
SPC 100 – Effective Public Speaking 3
CMM 211 – Introduction to Journalism 3
Total Professional Writing Foundation credits 3
Elective Courses (see options below) Credits
Minimum of Six (6) Credits from Creative Writing Elective Courses or Six (6) credits from Professional Writing Elective Courses 6–7
Minimum of Six (6) Credits of Elective Courses 6–8
Total Credits 18–21

Electives

Creative Writing Elective Course Options Credits
WRT 111 – Topics in Creative Writing 3
WRT 211 – Creative Writing: Poetry 3
WRT 212 – Creative Writing: Short Fiction 3
WRT 312 – Fiction Writing Workshop 3
ART 124 – The Painted Book 3
CMM 225 – Topics in Digital Storytelling 3
CMM 410 – Writing for the Screen 3
ENG 208 – Narrative Medicine & Writing 3
ENV 333/333L – Nature Writers with Field Lab 4
Professional Writing Elective Course Options* Credits
WRT 233 – Professional and Technical Communication 3
WRT 304 – Read & Write in Digital Env. 3
WRT 317 – Proposal and Grant Writing or PUB 400 – PH Planning & Evaluation 3
CMM 211 – Introduction to Journalism 3
CMM 240 – Social Media: Theory & Practic 3
ENV 316/316L – Land Conserv Pract with Field Lab 4
ENV 321 – Env Comm: Expert Prac Eco 3
HIS 150 – Telling Tales of the Past 3
NSG 445 – Leadership 2
PUB 420 – Community Health Assessment 3
Elective Course Options* Credits
WRT 111 – Topics in Creative Writing 3
WRT 211 – Creative Writing: Poetry 3
WRT 212 – Creative Writing: Short Fiction 3
WRT 312 – Fiction Writing Workshop 3
WRT 233 – Professional and Technical Communication 3
WRT 304 – Read & Write in Digital Env. 3
WRT 317 – Proposal and Grant Writing or PUB 400 – PH Planning & Evaluation 3
ART 124 – The Painted Book 3
ART 395 – Studio Concentration Seminar 3
BUMK 310 – Advertising 3
CMM 122 – Oral Communication or SPC 100 – Effective Public Speaking 3
CMM 211 – Introduction to Journalism 3
CMM 225 – Topics in Digital Storytelling 3
CMM 240 – Social Media: Theory & Practic 3
CMM 410 – Writing for the Screen 3
ENG 110 – English Composition 4
ENG 208 – Narrative Medicine & Writing 3
ENG 209 – Introduction to Linguistics 3
ENG 220 – History of the English Language 3
ENG 334 – Methods of Literacy and Cultural Criticism 3
ENV 316/316L – Land Conserv Pract with Field Lab 4
ENV 321 – Env Comm: Expert Prac Eco 3
ENV 333/333L – Nature Writers with Field Lab 4
ENV 334 – Contemporary Nature Writers 3
HIST 150 – Telling Tales of the Past 3
LIL 420 – Arts & Humanities Capstone 3
MAF 400 – Marine Affairs Capstone 3
NEU 410 – Neurobiology of Mental Illness 3
NSG 332 – Evidence Based Pract (EBP) I 2
NSG 432 – Evidence Based Pract (EBP) II 2
NSG 445 – Leadership 2
PSY 405 – Special Topics Seminar 3
PSY 425 – Adv Methods in Animal Behavior 3
PUB 310 – Social, Behavior & Environmental 3
PUB 420 – Community Health Assessment 3

*Some courses have pre-requisites that may prevent registration

Changes were made to this program in an addendum to the 2022/23 academic calendar. Please see the 2022–2023 Catalog Addendum (PDF) for the most recent information. As always, it is recommended that students seek the guidance of Academic Advisors for course and program planning. In this way, you will be able to access all the most up-to-date information available.

Contact

For more information contact Michael J. Cripps, Ph.D., at (207) 602-2908 or mcripps@une.edu.