By Justin Mallette
The Professional Writing Minor at UC Santa Barbara held its annual information session last week, marking a pivotal moment for its applicants: It’s time to start preparing to apply for the coming year. The info session launched a new Journalism track, and gave all of the now six different track leaders a chance to talk about the focus and requirements of each. The other tracks are Business Communication, Civic Engagement, Science Communication, Multimedia Communication, and Professional Editing.
The Professional Writing Minor is not a minor that a student simply picks up, does a couple of classes, and it gets added to their diploma. With this minor, any interested undergraduate student must first complete their A-1 and A-2 General Education requirements, then take an additional three upper-division Writing classes. After that, students must complete a portfolio with 20 pages of writing samples, which they submit during the Fall quarter of their final year. Capstone courses then take place during the Winter and Spring quarters of final year with an additional internship or class during the Spring.
When potential students apply, they pick their “top three” choices among the six track options. “Really pay attention to the track choices, as it’s the most important thing,” said Patrick McHugh, chair of the Minor committee and co-director of the Civic Engagement track. “The first choice is 90-95% of the time what they’re going to get into.”
Inaugurated in the 1995–96 academic year, the Minor now boasts at least 1400 alumni. The Professional Writing Minor has become increasingly popular among students—nearly 200 applied last year—as employers have made known they are seeking graduates with strong writing and critical thinking skills.
Each of the tracks has room for 25 student which means 150 students will join next year. Though there is some overlap, each track has a specific focus, drawing students looking for various skill sets that may be useful in their future careers.
Here is what each track leader has to say about the track:
Business Communication: "It's the type of writing we do in our organizations, like brochures, advertisements, business and communication plans,” said LeeAnne Kryder, director of the track. According to this track’s information page, “By using case studies, we expand students’ understanding of workplace issues, especially in areas of business ethics, corporate environmental sustainability, and crisis management.”
Journalism: “Journalism is a nice complement to almost any specialization. Writing for a mass audience and making complex ideas understandable are skills can be very good for your career options,” said Nomi Morris, director of the track. According to this track’s information page, ”This newest track gives students the knowledge and skills they need to practice evidence-based journalism in a quickly changing digital environment.”
Civic Engagement: “We focus on public narratives: how they are constructed, how they are framed, and include topics like health and the environment,” said Ljiljana Coklin, co-director of the track. According to this track’s website, ”Students practice communication that aims to influence public understanding of civic issues.”
Science Communication: “We try to cut through the static and find ways to explain scientific concepts to all different kinds of audiences,” said Doug Bradley, co-director of the track. According to this track’s information page, “Students will study and practice communication that targets both specialist and nonspecialist audiences.”
Multimedia Communication: “This track is responsive to the fact that writing is almost always in digital spaces, and that communication is very often multi-modal,” said Madeleine Sorapure, director of the track. According to this track’s information page, “Through tutorials, individualized help, and lots of practice, students develop familiarity with a range of software programs like Microsoft Office and Adobe Suite.”
Professional Editing: “Writing improves when a writer and an editor work collaboratively. We want students to be able to catch grammar, punctuation, usage, and style errors they see,” said Craig Cotich, director of the track. According to this track’s information page, “We apply the rules of grammar to real documents, determining when rules can or should be broken or tweaked for stylistic or rhetorical purposes.”
When it comes to starting the application process, McHugh recommends applicants “definitely start in their junior year.” This time stamp is for applicants to begin collecting their writing samples and start thinking about their answers for the application. For actually deciding on which track to choose, as well as getting the three upper-division Writing classes done, the earlier an applicant starts the better. As McHugh urged those in attendance, “Just keep thinking ahead.”
Patrick McHugh, chair of the Professional Writing Minor committee and co-director of the Civic Engagement track gave helpful advice to students who attended the annual information session.
Justin Mallette is a fourth-year UC Santa Barbara student majoring in Communication and minoring in both English and Professional Writing. He is a Web and Social Media Intern for the Division of Humanities and Fine Arts.