Certificates of Undergraduate Study in Writing for the Environment
Requirements: 12 Credits
Advising Sheet
This 12-hour Certificate of Undergrad Studies (CUGS) allows students to combine knowledge about and advocacy for environmental issues with the reading, writing, and communication skills necessary for success in a variety of academic fields and professional careers. Students will learn about the technical, professional, and scientific genres and forms of discourse, while learning to write for a wide range of audiences, including scientific peers, policy makers, and stakeholders in the public at large. Students will develop research, editing, and design skills, and learn how to use these skills in the service of environmental issues. In courses focused on issues relating to the environment and sustainability, students will develop a deeper understanding of the relationship between humans and the environment, focusing on how social norms, cultural attitudes, and political decisions shape the natural world. Further, this CUGS will enable students to forge connections between the sciences, social sciences, humanities, and creative arts and nurture the skills they need to advocate for environmental issues that are important to them and their communities.
Twelve Credits Required
Two courses from the Writing Arts courses:
Introduction to Technical Writing
WA 01302
College Comp I and 45 Credit Hours
This course introduces students to both the field of technical writing and the uses of technical writing within a variety of professions. Students will learn how technical writers use document design strategies based on rhetorical principles to respond to communication challenges. Through practice with a variety of genres, students will gain experience with audience analysis, communication ethics, research, collaboration, professional style, and editing. The course culminates in a writing project based on a professional, academic, or community issue of the student's choosing. Students are encouraged, and will be assisted, in designing projects that reflect their professional interests.
Writing for Nonprofit
WA 01326
College Comp I and 60 Credit Hours
This course that addresses the special technical and professional writing skills required for work in the nonprofit sector. Students will develop a broad understanding of the unique communication challenges faced by nonprofit organizations as they research and analyze the writing of various nonprofits and as they write for real-world situations. This course explores how nonprofits communicate with their many audiences, and students will compose writing typical of nonprofit organizations, including press releases and other public relations material, fundraising communications, reports, and grant proposals. Students may also have the opportunity to engage in service learning by working with and for a local area nonprofit.
Scientific Writing and Rhetoric
WA 01325
College Comp I and 60 Credit Hours
This course provides students with the tools to understand and critically analyze, evaluate, and communicate scientific information. Students will gain familiarity with various genres of scientific writing and will practice communicating scientific knowledge to specialized and non-specialized audiences, using a range of genres and mediums. Students will also gain an understanding of the rhetorical nature of scientific knowledge and the role of scientific writing in shaping public opinion, policy, and law.
Two courses from Environmental Studies:
WA 01335: Environmental Writing & Rhetoric
ENST 94102: Human Nature: Introduction to Environmental & Sustainability Studies
ENST 94303: Environmental Advocacy*
SOC 08400: Environment, Policy and Society
*While Environmental Advocacy (ENST 94303) has ENST 94102 as a prerequisite, for students enrolled in this CUGS, the Department of Geography, Planning, & Sustainability will waive major restrictions and prerequisite restrictions to ensure students are able to enroll in the course. Students should contact the Department of Geography, Planning, & Sustainability to ensure this requirement will be waive, enabling them to enroll in ENST 94303.
Introduction to Technical Writing
WA 01302
College Comp I and 45 Credit Hours
This course introduces students to both the field of technical writing and the uses of technical writing within a variety of professions. Students will learn how technical writers use document design strategies based on rhetorical principles to respond to communication challenges. Through practice with a variety of genres, students will gain experience with audience analysis, communication ethics, research, collaboration, professional style, and editing. The course culminates in a writing project based on a professional, academic, or community issue of the student's choosing. Students are encouraged, and will be assisted, in designing projects that reflect their professional interests.
Writing for Nonprofit
WA 01326
College Comp I and 60 Credit Hours
This course that addresses the special technical and professional writing skills required for work in the nonprofit sector. Students will develop a broad understanding of the unique communication challenges faced by nonprofit organizations as they research and analyze the writing of various nonprofits and as they write for real-world situations. This course explores how nonprofits communicate with their many audiences, and students will compose writing typical of nonprofit organizations, including press releases and other public relations material, fundraising communications, reports, and grant proposals. Students may also have the opportunity to engage in service learning by working with and for a local area nonprofit.
Scientific Writing and Rhetoric
WA 01325
College Comp I and 60 Credit Hours
This course provides students with the tools to understand and critically analyze, evaluate, and communicate scientific information. Students will gain familiarity with various genres of scientific writing and will practice communicating scientific knowledge to specialized and non-specialized audiences, using a range of genres and mediums. Students will also gain an understanding of the rhetorical nature of scientific knowledge and the role of scientific writing in shaping public opinion, policy, and law.
Two courses from Environmental Studies:
WA 01335: Environmental Writing & Rhetoric
ENST 94102: Human Nature: Introduction to Environmental & Sustainability Studies
ENST 94303: Environmental Advocacy*
SOC 08400: Environment, Policy and Society
*While Environmental Advocacy (ENST 94303) has ENST 94102 as a prerequisite, for students enrolled in this CUGS, the Department of Geography, Planning, & Sustainability will waive major restrictions and prerequisite restrictions to ensure students are able to enroll in the course. Students should contact the Department of Geography, Planning, & Sustainability to ensure this requirement will be waive, enabling them to enroll in ENST 94303.
