Writing Minor
This program is available at the following locations:
- Corvallis
- Ecampus
The School of Writing, Literature, and Film offers a Writing Minor that is distinctive and flexible. Coursework toward a the Writing Minor may be taken on-campus or through Ecampus, or with a combination of on-campus and Ecampus courses. Writing minors may also participate in on-campus and off-campus internships for credit.
A distinctive feature of the Writing Minor at OSU (Ecampus and on-campus) is that courses are taught by writing specialists (including tenure-line faculty) in the areas of creative writing and scientific, technical and professional writing. The minor is flexible: you may elect to take courses that highlight your strengths and areas of interest within the writing field, prepare for applications in graduate writing programs (such as MFA in creative writing or professional/technical communication), and enhance communication skills for the workplace.
Some students with aspirations for graduate, law or medical school studies pursue the Writing Minor to better enable themselves to write more proficiently at higher academic levels, where work is more rigorous and written output is expected to be of a very high level. Others engage in the Writing Minor for the pure joy of expressing themselves, and working with ideas and words.
Many students in the writing minor publish works in student publications on campus and in external publications.
Minor Code: 891
Upon successful completion of the program, students will meet the following learning outcomes:
- Invent, draft, and revise processes as both writer and critic, through activities such as workshops, peer reviews, and group projects.
- Write capably in different genres, in different media, for different purposes, and for different audiences.
- Articulate, analyze, and justify features of their own compositions and the processes and theories followed in producing them.
Students must receive a grade of C– or better in any course applied toward the minor. Such courses cannot be taken with S/U grading.
The Writing minor requires a minimum of 27 credits, as follows: a minimum of 11 credits from 100- to 300-level writing courses, plus a minimum of 12 credits from 400-level upper-division writing courses, plus one elective upper-division (300/400) 4-credit course in writing or literature.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Part A. 100- to 300-level writing courses | ||
| Select a minimum of 11 credits from the following with at least one course at the 300 level: | 11 | |
| SPECIAL STUDIES | ||
| *WRITING FOR MEDIA | ||
| +*TECHNICAL WRITING | ||
| +*INTRODUCTION TO FICTION WRITING | ||
| +*INTRODUCTION TO CREATIVE NONFICTION WRITING | ||
| +*INTRODUCTION TO POETRY WRITING | ||
| *WRITING FOR THE WEB | ||
| +*WRITING IN BUSINESS | ||
| +*ADVANCED WRITING & ARGUMENTATION | ||
| SHORT STORY WRITING | ||
| *UNDERSTANDING GRAMMAR | ||
| CREATIVE NONFICTION WRITING | ||
| POETRY WRITING | ||
| +*SCIENCE WRITING | ||
| FOOD WRITING | ||
| Part B. 400-level upper-division writing courses | ||
| Select a minimum of 12 credits from the following: | 12 | |
| INTERNSHIP IN ENGLISH | ||
| PROJECTS | ||
| SEMINAR | ||
| WORKSHOP | ||
| ^THE TEACHING OF WRITING | ||
| ADVERTISING AND PUBLIC RELATIONS WRITING | ||
| STUDIES IN WRITING | ||
| ADVANCED FICTION WRITING | ||
| ADVANCED POETRY WRITING | ||
| MAGAZINE ARTICLE WRITING | ||
| CRITICAL REVIEWING | ||
| ^ENVIRONMENTAL WRITING | ||
| ^INTRODUCTION TO LITERACY STUDIES | ||
| DIGITAL LITERACY AND CULTURE | ||
| Part C. Electives | ||
| Select one upper-division 4-credit course in film, literature, or writing from the following which does not duplicate any course used in Parts A or B: | 4 | |
| Film Electives | ||
| ^STUDIES IN FILM | ||
| Literature Electives | ||
| ^STUDIES IN BRITISH PROSE | ||
| *THE AMERICAN NOVEL: BEGINNINGS TO CHOPIN | ||
| *THE AMERICAN NOVEL: MODERNIST PERIOD | ||
| *THE AMERICAN NOVEL: POST-WORLD WAR II | ||
| *STUDIES IN PAGE, STAGE, AND SCREEN | ||
| INTRODUCTION TO LITERARY CRITICISM AND THEORY | ||
| *NATIVE AMERICAN LITERATURE | ||
| *AMERICAN WOMEN WRITERS | ||
| A CULTURAL HISTORY OF AMERICAN ART AND LITERATURE: PART I | ||
| A CULTURAL HISTORY OF AMERICAN ART AND LITERATURE: PART II | ||
| A CULTURAL HISTORY OF AMERICAN ART AND LITERATURE: PART III | ||
| POWER AND REPRESENTATION | ||
| THE ENGLISH NOVEL: VICTORIAN PERIOD | ||
| STUDIES IN MEDIEVAL LITERATURE | ||
| STUDIES IN LITERATURE 1700-1900 | ||
| STUDIES IN SHAKESPEARE | ||
| STUDIES IN LITERATURE AFTER 1900 | ||
| STUDIES IN MODERN IRISH LITERATURE | ||
| ^STUDIES IN NONFICTION | ||
| MAJOR AUTHORS | ||
| STUDIES IN DRAMA | ||
| STUDIES IN THE NOVEL | ||
| ^STUDIES IN POETRY | ||
| STUDIES IN LITERATURE, CULTURE AND SOCIETY | ||
| STUDIES IN AMERICAN LITERATURE, CULTURE, AND THE ENVIRONMENT | ||
| ^STUDIES IN AMERICAN LITERATURE | ||
| LITERATURE AND PEDAGOGY | ||
| WRITING, LITERATURE AND MEDICINE | ||
| HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE | ||
| *INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S VOICES | ||
| SELECTED TOPICS | ||
| Writing Electives | ||
| SHORT STORY WRITING | ||
| POETRY WRITING | ||
| FOOD WRITING | ||
| SPECIAL TOPICS | ||
| RESEARCH AND SCHOLARSHIP | ||
| INDEPENDENT STUDY | ||
| THESIS | ||
| WRITING AND CONFERENCE | ||
| READING AND CONFERENCE | ||
| PROJECTS | ||
| SEMINAR | ||
| WORKSHOP | ||
| ^THE TEACHING OF WRITING | ||
| ADVERTISING AND PUBLIC RELATIONS WRITING | ||
| STUDIES IN WRITING | ||
| ADVANCED FICTION WRITING | ||
| ADVANCED POETRY WRITING | ||
| MAGAZINE ARTICLE WRITING | ||
| CRITICAL REVIEWING | ||
| ^ENVIRONMENTAL WRITING | ||
| ^INTRODUCTION TO LITERACY STUDIES | ||
| SPECIAL TOPICS | ||
| Total Credits | 27 | |
- *
Baccalaureate Core course. Applies to general education requirements for undergraduate students in a catalog year up to 2024-2025
- +
Core Education course. Applies to general education requirements for undergraduate students in catalog year 2025-2026 and beyond
- ^
Writing Intensive Curriculum (WIC) course
Minor Code: 891