Public & Professional Writing Minor

The Public & Professional Writing (PPW) minor is designed for students who write extensively in their public, civic, and professional lives, equipping them with critical and rhetorical skills for analyzing and producing written, digital, and visual texts for real-world purposes and audiences. Housed in the English Department, it is designed for English majors who wish to hone their prose-writing, augment their knowledge of literary genres and theories with knowledge of professional and public writing genres and theories, and gain familiarity with a range of critical approaches to reading and producing texts. At the same time, it attracts students from across majors who foresee futures in communication-centric fields, including media, public policy, international relations, business, social work, law, medicine, and more. Attentive to questions of justice in the diverse local, national, and global contexts in which professional communicators work, it also appeals to students with interests in nonprofit, advocacy, and activist work.

Six (6) courses are required for the minor:

Course List
Course	Title	Credits
Texts and Contexts course ¹		3
ENGL 3003	Introduction to Professional Writing	4
PPW-Focused course ²		4
Three PPW-Designated courses ²		Varies

¹: A list of courses fulfilling the Texts and Contexts requirement can be seen on the core curriculum page. Texts and Contexts courses have the TC attribute.
²: See below for a list of courses fulfilling this requirement.

PPW-Focused courses

Courses in this group have the PPWF attribute.

Course List
Course	Title	Credits
ENGL 3006	Nonprofit and Advocacy Writing	4
ENGL 3046	Writing for Digital Spaces	4
ENGL 3047	Rhetorics of Resistance and Social Movements	4
ENGL 3076	Public Argumentation	4
ENGL 3077	Writing for Public Policy	4
ENGL 5650	Special Topics in Writing Studies	3

PPW-Designated courses

Courses in this group have the PPWD attribute.

Course List
Course	Title	Credits
CISC 3010	Scientific Communication	4
COMC 3240	Photography, Identity, Power	4
DTEM 3475	Digital Media and Advocacy	4
ENGL 3006	Nonprofit and Advocacy Writing	4
ENGL 3032	Publishing: Theory and Practice	4
ENGL 3046	Writing for Digital Spaces	4
ENGL 3047	Rhetorics of Resistance and Social Movements	4
ENGL 3057	Performance Criticism	4
ENGL 3076	Public Argumentation	4
ENGL 3077	Writing for Public Policy	4
ENGL 3637	The Rhetoric of Social Movements	4
ENGL 5650	Special Topics in Writing Studies	3
HIST 3220	Medieval Hollywood	4
HIST 4011	Why America Fights	4
JOUR 3723	Interviews and Profiles	4
JOUR 3727	Writing for Magazines	4
JOUR 3734	Explorations in Climate Storytelling	4
JOUR 3783	Theater Journalism	4
MATH 3010	Scientific Communication	4
MVST 4010	Medieval Franciscans and the Dream of a Just Economy	4
MVST 4040	Exploring Medieval New York	4
NMDD 3350	Advocacy Design Lab	4
POSC 3622	Politics of the European Union	4
POSC 4040	Seminar: Sustainable Development	4

Additionally, select sections of ENGL 3019 Writer's Workshop may be offered with the PPWF and/or PPWD attributes.

Program Policies

Policy on Double Counting

Students may double count up to two (2) courses towards the PPW minor and their major, or another minor. For PPW minors majoring in English or in English with a Creative Writing Concentration, one of those courses will be Texts and Contexts. Students may count no more than two PPW-Designated courses from outside of English toward the minor.

Study Abroad Policy

Students are not required to study abroad. However, students who choose to study abroad may apply up to two (2) pre-approved courses to the PPW minor.

Foreign Language Policy

There is no foreign language requirement for the PPW minor. However, students may fulfill elective requirements for the minor with appropriate courses in a language other than English.

Grades

Courses in which a student receives a grade of D or F will not count toward the minor.

Additional Information

For students who transfer from another school to Fordham, the department will consider counting up to two courses taken prior to arrival at Fordham toward the minor.
Credits earned for internships do not count for credit toward the Public & Professional Writing minor. Internship credits do count for general credits toward graduation. In order to receive academic credit for an internship, you must have completed 60 academic credits, have a minimum 3.0 GPA, and register for a tutorial with a faculty member who agrees to serve as your academic adviser. Depending on the amount of academic work involved in the tutorial, your faculty mentor will suggest that you register for a one- or two-credit tutorial. Internships are graded on a Pass/Fail basis.
Advanced Placement credits in English Literature and in English Language count toward a student’s total number of credits in the college but not within the minor. A score of 4 or 5 in AP English Literature will count toward college elective credits.
Courses taken on a Pass/Fail basis cannot be counted towards Public & Professional Writing minor requirements.

Availability

The minor in public & professional writing is available at Fordham College at Rose Hill and at Fordham College at Lincoln Center. Students in Fordham's School of Professional and Continuing Studies may minor in public & professional writing only if they receive the approval of their advising dean and/or department, and their schedules are sufficiently flexible to permit them to take day courses at the Rose Hill or Lincoln Center campuses.