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A person sits with their feet up, holding a pillow that defines the word “Writer”

Professional Writing Certificate

Increase Your Employability with an Extra Credential
  • 12%

    Job Outlook for Technical Writers, 2020-30 per U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

  • $74.6 K

    Median 2020 Pay for Technical Writers in the U.S. Was $74,650 per U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

  • 107

    Among Public National Universities, U.S. News & World Report

Find your career in:

Use your writing skills to report news in a variety of formats.

Determine the content for a publication.

Write proposals, reports, and other corporate communications.

Communicate scientific research to the public or a professional audience.

Create content for digital platforms.

Learn To

Adapt information to the needs of specific audiences

Create a variety of usable texts that respond to specific organizational needs

Describe and assess your own development as a producer and consumer of texts

Professional Writing Certificate Program Overview

Develop Skills to Advance Your Career

Skill with written communication is crucial to career advancement in business, technology fields, the sciences, and other professional environments. A graduate in any discipline who is credentialed as a professional writer has greatly increased employability. The Certificate in Professional Writing advances writing skills by providing foundational education in rhetoric, design, and editing, and offering courses in areas including:

  • Business Writing
  • Science Writing
  • Multimedia Writing
  • Journalism
  • Publishing

The Certificate in Professional Writing is a separate credential that does not replace your major or minor. Any UNCW undergraduate may earn the certificate by completing 21 hours of coursework, including a writing internship (which requires a 3.0 major GPA). Your transcript will list the certificate along with other degrees earned.

Sample Courses

Table shows sample courses for this program
ENG 204 Intro to Professional Writing
ENG 309 Technical Editing
ENG 310 Editing for Journalism & Mass Media
ENG 314 Digital Composing
ENG 319 Document Design
ENG 498 Internship in Writing
See The Full Curriculum

How Do I Register for the Program?

  1. Login to UNCWSeaPort.
  2. Click the "Student" tab and locate the Academics" column. 
  3. Click on "Major declaration/Curricular updates."
  4. Select "Add new degree."
  5. Under "Add new degree," select the following four drop-down options:
    • Valid Catalogs: current semester
    • Valid Colleges: College of Humanities, Social Sciences, and the Arts
    • Valid Degrees: Certificate
    • Valid Majors: Certificate-Prof Writing
  6. Click "Add Degree.

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