About Professional Writing

Professional Writing at Purdue University includes undergraduate major areas in Technical Writing and Writing and Publishing, Multimedia Writing (ENGL 419), Business Writing (ENGL 420) and Technical Writing (ENGL 421) courses for students across the University, and PhD Secondary Areas in Technical and Professional Writing and Rhetoric, Technology, and Digital Writing.

Our area, part of the Rhetoric and Composition Program in the Department of English, is noted for cultivating expertise in writing for the digital workplace, for teaching and researching multimedia writing and visual rhetoric, for digital and print publishing, and for emphasizing collaboration and community service. Professional Writing at Purdue is known nationally for its innovative and productive faculty, the doctoral research of its graduate students, and its creative and cutting-edge approach to writing and publishing in the digital age.

Professional Writing also publishes the ejournals, The Writing Instructor and the Kenneth Burke Journal and houses small but state-of-the-art multimedia production and gaming lab. Students also have opportunities for internships with a wide variety of local companies, including Parlor Press, which has strong ties to Purdue. In May 2010, we will once again host the international Computers and Writing Conference. The theme is Virtual Worlds." We also hosted Computers and Writing 2003 ("Discovering Digital Dimensions" (3-D @ Purdue), which brought hundreds of teachers, writers, and scholars to campus.

The Purdue alumni network in Professional Writing and Rhetoric and Composition is wide and has binding ties to important sites in academia and industry. On our Website, we feature some outstanding work by current and former undergraduate students: e-portfolios and course projects. We also feature the professional portfolios of current and former graduate students.

In the spring of each year, Undergraduate Professional Writing majors and graduate students can apply for one of six $5,000 Crouse Scholarships in Writing and Publishing, Technical Writing, Print and Electronic Publishing, and Writing Lab Collaboration. Two of the scholarships honor graduate students at the beginning and end of their graduate work. Students also have ample opportunities to gain valuable experience in Professional Writing Internships in the community.

If you have questions about Professional Writing, please email the Director, Dr. David Blakesley, the Assistant Director, Mark Hannah, or the PW Mentor, Karen Kaiser Lee.

To apply for a teaching position, see "Teaching Positions in Professional Writing."