Professional Writing

Apply Now! Accepting Applications for Fall Semester

Application Deadline: August 1

The graduate Professional Writing Certificate can add value to your career and education by improving your ability to write in the workplace. It offers a high-quality, applied-learning experience for:

• Working professionals in any field and workplace type
• Radford University graduate students in any discipline as an add-on to their major program of study
• Radford University staff wanting to improve their writing skills

You’ll learn how to:

• Interpret business communication situations and respond clearly, correctly, and quickly
• Convey complex information to various audiences in writing, orally, and visually
• Write and design for readers in digital environments, including social media
• Develop competitive proposals that make a difference

Value

• Supplement your degree with marketable skills
• Enhance your attractiveness to potential employers through a web-based portfolio

Convenience

• Learn online and set your own schedule
• Finish the program in one academic year

Excellence

• Work with dedicated, supportive, and experienced faculty
• Solve real-world problems in innovative ways

Courses

Each course lasts for seven weeks. The final course includes an ePortfolio capstone project. There are no prerequisites. All courses are online asynchronous using Desire 2 Learn. However, some instructors may use Zoom, Teams, or other technologies to facilitate course communication.

• ENGL 607: Business Writing & Editing (Fall A)
• ENGL 608: Professional Writing (Fall B)
• ENGL 610: Proposal Writing (Spring A)
• ENGL 609: Digital Writing (Spring B)

Admission Criteria

Criteria for admission into the Professional Writing Certificate program for students not currently enrolled at Radford University are:

• A bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution
• Minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.75
• Transcripts from all institutions from which the applicant has earned a degree or course credit following a degree conferral
• An official application completed and submitted with a nonrefundable application fee of $50
• A TOEFL minimum score of 550 on the paper-based test, 79-80 on the Internet-based test, or 213 on the computer-based test; or an IELTS minimum score of 6.5 (for international students)
• A résumé
• A 500-word statement of interest in the certificate program

Criteria for admission into the certificate program for students already enrolled in other post-baccalaureate degree or certificate program at Radford University are:

• Completion of a graduate certificate add-on form
• A résumé
• A 500-word statement of interest in the certificate program

GRE scores are not required for admission to the Professional Writing Certificate program.

Financial Aid

Financial aid may be available to those who qualify. For more information, contact Shaunda Macomber in the Financial Aid Office at smacomber@radford.edu or (540) 831-2550.

Radford University staff may be eligible for tuition waivers. For more information, contact your supervisor or Human Resources at hr@radford.edu or 540-831-5008.

Tuition and Fees

The total cost of the certificate program depends on a number of factors. The Office of the Bursar is your best point of contact. However, the Tuition and Fees website is a good place to start.

Experiences of Certificate Graduates

“As an MFA Design Thinking student, I enrolled in the Professional Writing Certificate program because of the importance of workplace communication in my career. The best part is that all the skills I learned in the program were immediately applicable to my work and helped me become confident as a workplace writer and communicator.” (J. Rodriguez)

“The Professional Writing Certificate program had an amazing impact on my writing ability. The program was very flexible with my schedule of working full-time and having a family, while still being informative and in-depth. I use the skills I learned in this program every day in my workplace and am very thankful to have completed the program.” (D. Spurlin)

“The Radford University Professional Writing Certificate focuses on expanding and sharpening the skills necessary to succeed in any professional writing field. I have utilized these lessons in my career as a content writer for a real estate appraisal company and was recently accepted to a master’s program due in large part to my written prowess. I am very grateful for Radford’s professional writing program.” (S. Dodd)

"Through the certificate program, I gained knowledge in a broad range of professional writing skills from document design and website usability to editing and organization of information. Though I had a few years of proposal writing experience prior to starting the certificate program, participating in the program enhanced my credentials and helped to round out and compliment my experience and degrees. I was immediately able to apply many of the skills in the workplace and have continued to utilize course resources like the e-portfolio as my career progresses." (M. Barberet)

“Writing is a skill that is often taken for granted; however, my ability to communicate effectively through this avenue has become even more crucial. I am grateful to have completed the graduate Professional Writing Certificate program, as it honed my skills in many aspects. Thanks to intentional faculty, the projects in these classes provided me with the confidence and capability to be efficient and professional in all areas of writing, including daily email correspondence, program reports, and grant proposals.” (V. Conner)

Contacts

Prospective students can learn more about the Professional Writing Certificate by contacting Dr. Laura Vernon, Program Coordinator, at lvernon@radford.edu.

Alternatively, interested applicants may contact Dr. Sean Keck, Director of Graduate Studies for the School of Writing, Language, and Literature, at skeck@radford.edu.