Professional Writing, MAPW

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Contact Information

Website: https://chss.kennesaw.edu/mapw/
Phone: (470) 578-6440

Program Description

The Master of Arts in Professional Writing (MAPW) degree is an interdisciplinary professional graduate degree program that prepares candidates for a wide variety of writing‑related positions in academia, business, publishing, screenwriting and the literary arts. Course work in three concentrations–applied writing, composition and rhetoric, and creative writing–allows students to gain theoretical and practical knowledge in various fields of professional writing. As students become experienced in producing and analyzing the business, technical, journalistic, and creative texts in these three concentrations, they develop a sophisticated understanding of style, structure, and audience. MAPW students will become writing professionals who can move in many directions during their careers; they will become flexible writers who can tune into the writing conventions of a given genre, adapting their writing style to the requirements of various rhetorical contexts in today’s print, electronic and multimodal environments.

Additional resources of special importance to the program faculty and students are the Kennesaw State University Writing Center, the Kennesaw Mountain National Writing Project and the Georgia Writers Association.

Admission Requirements

To be considered for MAPW admission, applicants must submit the following credentials to the KSU Admission Office in addition to the general Graduate Admissions requirements:

“Statement of Purpose” addressing their preparation for and goals for the MAPW program and a rationale for the choice of concentration and support areas;
One copy of representative writing samples from both the concentration and the support area, not to exceed 25 pages;
Have earned or be in the process of completing a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university with a minimum 3.0 grade point average on a 4.0 scale;
The General Test of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is optional. Applicants who opt to take the test must show a total score of 520 (verbal) and a minimum 4.5 (analytic writing). Applicants who opt not to take the GRE must show evidence in the “Statement of Purpose” of one of the following:
- having substantially published or produced with an established professional or non-profit venue; or having substantially participated in writing a significant document with an established business, non-profit or government agency; or
- having had entry-level experiences in the professional fields as a writer, editor, script coordinator, writing teacher, or the like; or
- having received a recommendation after either a face to face, telephone or tele-conference interview with a panel of three outside reviewers who are MAPW alumni or MAPW Community Board members or a combination of these selected by the program director;

An applicant who has been previously accepted into or completed a graduate program at an accredited college or university (including previous acceptance in the MAPW), as evidenced by official transcripts is exempt from the GRE and the optional requirements.

Applicants may submit up to 3 optional letters of recommendation.

*International applicants have additional requirements. See Graduate Admission section of this catalog.

Admission Criteria for Unique Cases

Currently, there are no exceptions to the admission requirements.

Transfer Credit

Up to nine hours of graduate work from other accredited institutions may be transferred. To be transferred, course work from other institutions must correspond to Kennesaw State’s MAPW curriculum. Students will need to provide course descriptions and syllabi wherever possible, and the amount of credit granted will be at the discretion of the program director. A minimum grade of “B” is required for any course transferred. Such course work may be no more than five years old.

Petition to Graduate

MAPW candidates must petition to graduate at least one semester prior to completion of program requirements. Before MAPW students can petition to graduate, they must have a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0. The student should print the form located on the MAPW web site at: www.mapw.hss.kennesaw.edu.

The student must obtain the MAPW graduate director’s signature before submitting the petition to the business office and registrar.

For more information, please view the corresponding section of Academic Policies .

Program of Study

The Master of Arts in Professional Writing Degree Program consists of 36 hours of course work. The MAPW Program is organized in three distinct parts:

Core Course (3 Credit Hours)

The core course gives MAPW students the necessary tools to acquire both practical and theoretical knowledge about writing, writers, and graduate-level study skills. Students must complete the core course within their first semester in the MAPW program:

PRWR 6000:Intro to Professional Writing

Major Concentration and Support Area (27 Credit Hours)

The Major Concentration and Support Area (27 hours) allows candidates to concentrate on two areas of interest. In the Major (15 hours), each student selects one concentration from the three offered below and takes five courses from this concentration, and in the Support Area (9 hours), each student also selects one of the remaining two concentrations as the support area. The student must take three courses from this second concentration to satisfy the support area requirement. In addition, the student will take one elective (3 hours)

Major concentration (15 hours) and two courses from each of the other two concentrations (12 hours) allow students to study all three areas of professional writing offered in the MAPW program.

Applied Writing

Composition and Rhetoric

Creative Writing

MAPW Capstone Project (6 Credit Hours)

The MAPW Capstone project is designated as a thesis, portfolio, or practicum, accompanied by a rationale for its purpose and design that involves electronic and/or print media and is relevant to the student’s concentration in professional writing. After submitting an approved capstone proposal, the candidate works under the direction and advice of two faculty members to produce the project. The candidate must submit the capstone project at least two weeks before either 1) a discussion about the project with the faculty committee, or 2) a public presentation about the project or a reading from the project for an audience of faculty and peers. The candidate will consult with the capstone committee about which option to choose.

PRWR 7960:MAPW Capstone Project