Writing and Rhetoric

Write to make a difference in the world

As a Writing and Rhetoric major, you will study literate activity across time and culture, and produce effective writing in contemporary settings—from the personal to the professional.

Because our lives are increasingly mediated by digital technologies that combine writing, sound and image in interactive spaces, you’ll explore what it means to live and work as a digital writer.

You’ll learn to think critically to produce communication that truly reaches audiences and creates change. Our graduates thrive as writers, editors, digital content creators, social media managers, lawyers, nonprofit strategists, and teachers.

Faculty members are published specialists in writing studies, rhetoric, English as a second language (ESL), professional and technical writing, cultural studies, and digital media.

You can complete the Writing and Rhetoric B.A. degree in person or fully online. Or you can pursue a combined B.S. degree in Computer Science + Writing and Rhetoric. And, you can earn a combined bachelor’s + master’s degree with a master’s in Writing, Rhetoric, and Discourse or in Secondary Education in English. These programs allow you to complete a bachelor’s degree and a graduate degree in as few as five years.

We also offer the 3+3 BA/JD, which allows high-achieving first-year undergraduate students to be admitted simultaneously to the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (LAS) and the College of Law (LAW). You’ll complete your first three years in LAS and your final three years in LAW.