College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences > Academics > Writing, Rhetoric and Discourse > Undergraduate > Writing and Rhetoric (BA) > Major Requirements

Major Requirements

We offer the Writing and Rhetoric BA in two modalities: on-campus and fully online.

Major requirements for each modality are unique. On-campus major requirements are listed below, and online major requirements are listed in the Academic Catalog.

View online requirements in the Catalog

Major Requirements

Course Requirements

Fifty-six quarter hours distributed as follows:

Core (4 courses)

Course Title Quarter Hours
WRD 201DIGITAL WRITING4
WRD 203STYLE FOR WRITERS4
WRD 210CULTURAL RHETORICS4
WRD 264LANGUAGE, SELF AND SOCIETY4

WRD Elective Categories

One course is required from each of the two following WRD elective categories:

Writing in Communities and Professions
Course Title Quarter Hours
Select one of the following:4
WRD 204
TECHNICAL WRITING
WRD 205
HISTORY OF LITERACIES AND WRITING
WRD 206
PROFESSIONAL WRITING
WRD 240
ARGUMENTATIVE WRITING
WRD 241
THE ESSAY FROM PRINT TO NEW MEDIA
WRD 242
WRITING WITH AI
WRD 280
WRITING IN THE SCIENCES
WRD 282
ETHICS OF PUBLIC AND PROFESSIONAL WRITING
WRD 283
ENVIRONMENTAL WRITING
WRD 284
SPORTS WRITING IN AMERICA: MYTHS, MEMORIES, HEROES AND VILLAINS
WRD 286
WRITING WITH PHOTOGRAPHS
WRD 300
COMPOSITION AND STYLE
WRD 301
WORKPLACE WRITING: THEORY AND PRACTICE
WRD 309
TOPICS IN WRITING, RHETORIC AND DISCOURSE 1
WRD 320
TOPICS IN PROFESSIONAL WRITING 1
WRD 321
WRITING IN THE LEGAL PROFESSION
WRD 322
WRITING AND METADATA
WRD 323
EDITING
WRD 324
WRITING FOR PUBLIC HEALTH AND HEALTH CARE
WRD 325
RHETORIC IN CRISIS CONTEXTS
WRD 326
GRANT AND PROPOSAL WRITING
WRD 327
CONTENT WRITING
WRD 340
WRITING AND REVISING
WRD 345
GHOSTWRITING
WRD 371
MENTORING YOUTH IN COMMUNITY WRITING GROUPS (EL/LSP EL)
WRD 372
DIGITAL STORYTELLING
WRD 376
FIELDWORK IN ARTS WRITING (EL/LSP EL)
WRD 377
WRITING AND SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT (EL/LSP EL) 1
WRD 395
WRITING CENTER THEORY & PEDAGOGY (EL/LSP EL)
WRD 396
WRITING FELLOWS THEORY AND PRACTICE (EL)
1

May be repeated for credit when the topic is different.

Rhetorical History, Theory, and Analysis

Course Title Quarter Hours
Select one of the following:4
WRD 208
INTRODUCTION TO REASONED DISCOURSE
WRD 209
GENRE AND DISCOURSE
WRD 220
HOW LANGUAGE WORKS
WRD 231
GOOGLING GOD: RELIGIOUS PRACTICES IN DIGITAL CULTURE
WRD 232
THE LANGUAGE OF DISABILITY
WRD 260
RHETORICAL ANALYSIS
WRD 261
DIGITAL CULTURE
WRD 262
THE RHETORIC OF EVERYDAY TEXTS
WRD 263
READING BETWEEN THE GROOVES: THE RHETORICAL POWER OF POPULAR MUSIC
WRD 265
SOCIAL MOVEMENT, SOCIAL MEDIA, AND AMERICAN IDENTITIES
WRD 266
LEVELING UP: THE SOCIAL RHETORIC OF VIDEO GAMES
WRD 281
WRITING CENSORSHIP
WRD 285
TRUTH IN DISGUISE: THE RHETORIC OF SATIRE
WRD 287
THE COMIC BOOK AS VISUAL ARGUMENT
WRD 288
RHETORIC AND POPULAR CULTURE
WRD 289
WRITING ABOUT RIGHTS
WRD 306
RHETORICAL TRADITIONS
WRD 330
LANGUAGE AND LINGUISTICS
WRD 360
TOPICS IN RHETORIC 1
WRD 361
TOPICS IN ALTERNATIVE RHETORICS 1
WRD 362
SEMIOTICS
WRD 363
VISUAL RHETORIC
WRD 364
CHICAGO WOMEN RHETORS
WRD 365
MIGRATION & STORYTELLING
WRD 368
GLOBAL ENGLISHES
WRD 378
TEACHING ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE IN CHICAGO (EL/LSP EL)
WRD 390
RHETORIC AND PUBLIC WRITING
1

May be repeated for credit when the topic is different.

Major Field Electives

The equivalent of eight additional four-hour electives may be drawn from either of the elective categories above and from the following:

Course Title Quarter Hours
WRD 207
INTRODUCTION TO WRITING AND RHETORIC
WRD 290
WRITER'S TOOLS WORKSHOP (2 hr course, may be repeated for major-field elective credit as long as topic differs)
WRD 291
THE SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH POSTER
WRD 398
INTERNSHIP (EL/LSP EL)
WRD 399
INDEPENDENT STUDY

Experiential Learning (EL) Requirement

All Writing and Rhetoric majors are required to take one EL-designated course within the major. WRD courses designated both EL and LSP EL will fulfill the major’s EL requirement and the Liberal Studies Experiential Learning requirement simultaneously. A LSP EL course taken outside of WRD will not count toward the EL major requirement.

Open Electives

Open elective credit also is required to meet the minimum graduation requirement of 192 hours.

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