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 Title Credits
Texts and Contexts course 13
ENGL 3003Introduction to Professional Writing4
PPW-Focused course 24
Three PPW-Designated courses 2Varies
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 Title Credits
ENGL 3006Nonprofit and Advocacy Writing4
ENGL 3046Writing for Digital Spaces4
ENGL 3047Rhetorics of Resistance and Social Movements4
ENGL 3076Public Argumentation4

PPW-Designated courses

Courses in this group have the PPWD attribute.

Course Title Credits
ENGL 3006Nonprofit and Advocacy Writing4
ENGL 3047Rhetorics of Resistance and Social Movements4
ENGL 3057Performance Criticism4
ENGL 3076Public Argumentation4
NMDD 3350Advocacy Design Lab4
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

  1. 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.
  2. 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. 
  3. 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. 
  4. Courses taken on a Pass/Fail basis cannot be counted towards Public & Professional Writing minor requirements.