University of Arkansas at Little Rock's Department of Rhetoric and Writing - Online Master of Arts in Professional and Technical Writing

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR) offers an online Master of Arts (MA) in Professional and Technical Writing with concentrations in Editing and Publishing, Nonfiction Writing, and Technical Writing. All of the program’s coursework is offered via online instruction and students are not required to attend any campus visits. The program is comprised of 36 credit hours, divided across 9 hours of core classes, 15 hours of concentration coursework, 6 hours of cognate courses, and 6 hours devoted to students’ culminating experience, which can be a master’s thesis, a capstone project, or a professional portfolio. Full-time students are typically able to graduate from the program in roughly two years; part-time enrollment extends the time to complete by one to two years.

UALR’s online MA in Professional and Technical Writing program is designed to provide theoretical and applied training in professional communication, rhetoric, nonfiction writing and publishing, specialized writing and composition, writing instruction, and other skills that have applications in writing intensive fields. The core curriculum for this program consists of two courses in Introduction to Research Methods and Rhetorical Theory, followed by students’ choice of one of four courses in Composition Theory, Language Theory, Foundations of Creative Nonfiction, and Theory of Technical Communication.

From there, students take courses according to their concentration. For example, the Technical Writing concentration allows students to choose from a variety of electives such as Writing for Business and Government, Document Design, Introduction to Online Writing Instruction, Grant Writing, and Technology of the Book. Meanwhile, the Nonfiction Writing concentration features courses in Memoir, Digital Nonfiction, The Personal Essay, and Advanced Persuasive Writing. Finally, students who choose the Editing and Publishing Concentration are required to take courses in Technical Style and Editing, Editing for Publication, Advanced Editing, Production for Editors, and Publishing Inside Out; they are also required to complete an Editing Internship (which fulfills their cognate course requirement). For students of the Nonfiction Writing and Technical Writing concentrations, their cognate course choices should complement their program of study, and they select these classes in consultation with their program advisor.

For their culminating experience, students complete their choice of a master’s thesis, a capstone project, or a professional portfolio. During their work on their final graduation requirement, students receive guidance, support, and feedback from a committee of faculty advisors.

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.