English Department Faculty by Area of Specialization - English

English Department Faculty by Area of Specialization: Professional Writing

Professional Writing at NIU

The Department of English offers graduate study of professional and technical writing. This area of study is intended for students and practicing professionals who wish to develop their writing, communication, and information management expertise in order to seek or advance a career in professional writing and who wish to explore the rhetorical, linguistic, and technological contexts of professional writing. Students may also pursue advanced level graduate study of professional and technical writing.

Our department offers an M.A. in Rhetoric and Professional Writing and a Technical Writing certificate. In addition, the Ph.D. in English can be tailored toward individual students’ interests in professional and technical communication.

If you study Professional Writing at NIU

You will find a strong curriculum that connects theory with practice. A central goal for graduate studies in English is to better understand the social, cultural, and situational uses of language, discourse, and texts. Our professional writing programs prepare students to apply this study to professional and civic contexts, where writing and communication lead to important professional and social outcomes. Technical and professional writing is a profession that requires education and expertise in information design, content development, usability, writing, editing, and digital media. But it also requires a nuanced understanding of the power of rhetoric and language to contribute to change within organizational, corporate, and public environments.

A strength in our curriculum is the focus on the application of rhetoric and theory to contemporary civic and professional contexts. Our program connects theory and praxis by offering a wide range of courses on

Theories and principles foundational to technical communication, including the study of theories of communication, rhetoric, linguistics, and technology.
Professional writing and application of theoretical principles to document analysis, design, and production.
A variety of special topics, including writing for digital media, usability testing, and visual rhetoric.

Our professional writing students are also able to apply what they learn in the classroom in the NIU community, the local community, and to the workplace through internships. A wide range of internships are available both on and off-campus through the Internship Office < http://www.niu.edu/clas/Internships/index.shtml>.

Our department has an active student chapter of the Society for Technical Communication. This student-run organization coordinates guest lectures, professionalization workshops, and writing opportunities for students interested in professional and technical communication.

Assistantships for Graduate Students in Professional Writing

Our students at the M.A. and Ph.D. levels have opportunities to apply for graduate assistantships, which typically offer tuition waivers and stipends. Professional writing graduate students have held assistantships in teaching, research, college communications, and university web development, among others.

Nationally Recognized Faculty Who Care About Teaching

Our programs hold a strong reputation in northern Illinois, with locally and nationally recognized strengths in teaching and scholarship in rhetoric, writing, and technical communication. Faculty have authored scholarly books and articles, are leaders in local and national professional organizations, and have been the recipients of teaching and research awards.

Name & Position	Teaching & Research Interests	Key Publications & Awards	Contact Information
Michael Day Professor and Director of First-Year Composition	Rhetoric, technical communication, composition pedagogy, writing program administration, digital rhetoric	Conference on College Composition and Communication Outstanding Technology Innovator Award, 2011. Computers and Composition Charles Moran Award for Distinguished Contributions to the Field, 2005.	Reavis 215B 815-753-6603 mday@niu.edu
Philip Eubanks Professor	Rhetoric and composition, professional writing, metaphor, public discourse	Metaphor and Writing: Figurative Rhetoric in the Discourse of Writing. Cambridge University Press, 2011.	Reavis 232 815-753-6605 eubanks1@niu.edu
Brad Peters Professor, Undergraduate Program Director, and Coordinator of Writing Across the Curriculum	Rhetoric and composition, medieval rhetoric, program administration, assessment, and teacher training	“Situating a University Writing Center in a Living-Learning Environment.”Composing Other Spaces. Ed. John Tassoni and Doug Powell. Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press, 2009. 185-202. “Julian of Norwich’s Showings and the Ancrene Riwle: Two Rhetorical Configurations of Mysticism,” Rhetoric Review 27.4 (2008): 361-78.	Reavis 214 815-753-6601 bpeters@niu.edu
Jessica Reyman Associate Professor	Digital rhetoric, social media, law and ethics, copyright and authorship, technical communication, editing	“User Data on the Social Web: Authorship, Agency, and Appropriation.” College English 75(5): May 2013. 513-533. The Rhetoric of Intellectual Property: Copyright Law and the Regulation of Digital Culture. Routledge, 2010.	Reavis 333 815-753-6644 jreyman@niu.edu

Strong Placement for Recent Graduates

Our professional writing graduates are prepared for successful careers in professional writing and technical communication and for placement in Ph.D. programs.

Professional writing graduates have gone on to hold positions such as:

Senior Clinical Editor, Medscape
Web Support Specialist at Kalamazoo College
Instructional Designer at Career Education Corporation
Senior Writer/Editor at Be Found Online
Multimedia Content Developer, MorningStar Media Group
Marketing Writer, First Trust Portfolios
Web Developer, Harper College
Grants Manager, Harper College

For More Information

If you have any questions, please call (815-753-1608), email (valtmaier@niu.edu), or stop by the Department of English Graduate Studies office in Reavis 215.

M.A. in Rhetoric and Professional Writing program requirements < http://catalog.niu.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=19&poid=3300&returnto=454>

Technical Writing Certificate requirements < http://catalog.niu.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=19&poid=3389&returnto=582>

Ph.D. in English requirements < http://catalog.niu.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=19&poid=3254&returnto=582>

Admissions < http://www.engl.niu.edu/graduate/admissions.shtml#native>

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