Towson University’s Outreach Blog

Susan

It’s that time of year again! As the summer days come to an end, classroom doors are opening across the country.   Since I’ve graduated from college and joined the working world, I haven’t had to think much about this.  The only thing affecting me has been the increased traffic on my commute to work in the morning.  However, this fall I’m dealing with more than just traffic.  I’ve returned to the classroom to work on my masters in Professional Writing at Towson University.

What is the Professional Writing Program? The Professional Writing Program at Towson University is part of the College of Liberal Arts, and most of the professors are members of the English Department.  However, you don’t have to have an English background to be a part of the program.  The Professional Writing program is for all professionals who have a desire to improve their writing skills.

Professional Writing offers two main concentrations:

• Writing for the Public and Private Sectors – this concentration is for people who would rather take classes in a variety of fields
• Writing for the Professions – this concentration is for people who want to specialize in one of the  following writing fields: Biomedical Writing, Technical Writing and Informational Design, Scientific Writing, Journalistic Writing, Teaching Writing, or Creative Writing

I chose to specialize in the field of Technical Writing and Information Design, which is also the newest addition to the program.  As a Business Analyst, this field is especially appealing to me.  Technical writing is already a huge part of my job, and I’m eager to take classes that will help me learn more about my field and improve my skills.

I’m starting off with just once class this semester, and I decided to take one of the core classes, Rhetorical Grammar, that everyone has to take regardless of his/her concentration.   As I progress through the program, I will take more tailored classes such as Technical Writing and Informational Design, Designing Content for the Web, and Design, Layout and Production.

Furthermore, I have the option of taking classes outside of the actual Professional Writing Program.  I can take more technical classes from the Applied Information Technology (AIT) program such as IT and Business Strategy or IT Project Management.  I like having these options since I work with software developers, network engineers, and project managers on a daily basis.  Additionally, I can take an Instructional Technology class like Instructional Design and Development.  I think this class will be beneficial since I am becoming more involved in training clients on how to use the websites we design for them.

So as you can see, I have several options with this program.  I’m very excited to get started but also a little nervous since it’s been awhile since I’ve been in the college mode.  Wish me luck as I begin my journey in grad school.  And hopefully by the end of the semester, you’ll notice an improvement in my writing (or at least my grammar).

This entry was posted on Monday, September 21st, 2009 at 11:53 am and is filed under Business Analysis, Education, Students. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.