Academic Programs in Writing & Rhetoric
Sharpen your thinking. Strengthen your voice.
Earn a Degree in an Accessible and Strategic Field
By studying Writing, Rhetoric, and Speech Communication, you will gain the effective writing and speaking skills sought by all employers. You will leave college with a portfolio of well-crafted projects and marketable skills for every aspect of professional life—from interviews and emails to business plans and reports.
Combined with another major—in anything from the humanities to business or pre-med—Rhetoric can prepare you to communicate specialized subjects in a variety of contexts. And, at only 33 credit hours, Writing, Rhetoric, and Speech Communication is an accessible double major. You will hone your communication skills while staying on track to graduate in four years.
The minor in professional writing prepares students to become effective written, spoken, visual, and electronic communicators in a variety of digital, disciplinary, and workplace environments.
Why Minor In Professional Writing?
Whether planning to enter the job market or pursue another degree after graduating with their B.A. or B.S., students across the university can gain a competitive edge by completing the Professional Writing Minor (PWM). Strong writing, speaking, teamwork, problem-solving, and analysis skills are consistently in high demand among employers and graduate programs. Our courses focus on helping students develop these skills and more. Along with small class sizes, dedicated faculty, flexibility to customize coursework, and the option to complete the minor entirely online, the PWM offers students individualized attention, extensive feedback, and opportunities to explore their professional interests in ways that meet their unique needs.
Karla M Lyles
Senior Lecturer in Writing and Rhetoric
Professional Writing Minor FAQs
The minor in professional writing prepares students to become effective written, spoken, visual, and electronic communicators in a variety of digital, disciplinary, and workplace environments. Students choose their emphases in many classroom projects to complement and extend the knowledge acquired in any major and meet their intended career goals. Special emphasis is given to navigating the terrain of electronic writing environments and social media through portfolio projects and allowing students to develop reflective practices to direct their learning beyond the academy. The minor is offered in traditional face-to-face and entirely-online formats.
- Written and oral communication
- Teamwork
- Project management
- Research and analysis
- Critical thinking/Problem-solving
The Professional Writing Minor can benefit all students, and our minors represent a wide range of degree programs (e.g., Biology, Business, Communication Sciences & Disorders, Engineering, Exercise Science, General Studies, Integrated Marketing Communications, Journalism, Law Studies, Psychology, etc.). Students in the PWM often enjoy writing and pursue the minor to strengthen that skill, along with others necessary for their future careers.
- Fall 2018 and later catalog years: WRIT 300 + WRIT 310 + 12 remaining hours of WRIT courses at 200-level and above (can also count SPCH 305)
- Fall 2017: WRIT 300 + WRIT 310 + 12 remaining hours of WRIT courses at 200-level and above
- Prior to Fall 2017: 18 hours of WRIT courses that can include WRIT 100/101, ENGL 101, or HON 101 and WRIT/LIBA 102, ENGL 102, or HON 102
To add the minor, contact your academic advisor or visit the Dean’s office for your academic program and ask to add the minor to your program of study.
Yes! Any of our courses can be taken without declaring the minor. You may also opt to complete a course or courses before declaring the minor.
We recommend starting your coursework early to better distribute the required hours and choose from more course options. We strategically rotate courses to ensure that students can complete the minor within three semesters, if necessary/preferred, but some courses are offered only once a year or every 2-3 years. We also advise taking no more than two upper-level WRIT courses concurrently to ensure greater likelihood of academic success.
The Minor in Professional Writing can be competed entirely online! Most of the courses in the minor are available online and we have developed a rotation schedule to ensure that students can complete the minor online in two years.
Typically, online Professional Writing Minor courses are offered in the following rotation:
| WRIT 250: Advanced Composition | Fall, Spring, Summer |
| WRIT 300: Rhetoric of Professional Communication | Fall |
| WRIT 301: Responding to Writers | Spring, Summer |
| WRIT 310: Writing in Professional Contexts | Spring |
| WRIT 320: Technical Writing | Fall |
| WRIT 350: Writing for Digital Media | Fall, Summer |
| WRIT 410: Grant Writing | Spring |
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Academic Advising
Except for students in the FASTrack program, Rhetoric, Writing, and Speech Comm majors are advised by Karen Forgette, Assistant Chair in the Department of Writing and Rhetoric. Students in the Professional Writing Minor are advised by Karla Lyles, Coordinator of Professional Writing.
Contact Karen Forgette Contact Karla Lyles FASTrack Learning Community -
Accelerated Law (3+3)
In a partnership with the UM School of Law, students admitted to the Accelerated Law Program may earn baccalaureate and law degrees in 6 years instead of 7 by using first year law school courses to complete their undergraduate degree. They start law school during their senior year.
Accelerated Law (3+3) -
Resources & Scholarships
Find out about the generous scholarships for writing and rhetoric students as well as awards for students in department courses. Discover the student success resources available at the department, college, and university levels.
Resources & Scholarships
Beyond the Classroom
TEDx
We are a group of students who find and share ideas worth spreading. We provide a platform for the innovators, creators, and thinkers on our campus and in the state of Mississippi. We also share ideas from speakers outside Mississippi, which can impact our community in a positive way. Annually, we share an evening of curated Talks to spark conversation in our community and beyond. A registered student organization, TEDxTeam volunteers are UMiss students who plan, fundraise, market, mount, and wrap a TED-like event, working under license from TED and with oversight from license holder Kate Hooper.
Travel Courses
Students earn credit for general education, major, or minor requirements studying abroad for as few as two weeks or as long as an academic year. Even better, travel with a CLA professor during a 2-week term. Other opportunities for faculty-led travel courses are through Study USA. Generous donors help many CLA students participate.
For Writing and Rhetoric, travel courses have included the rhetoric of early democracy in Athens, Greece; role of rhetoric in memorial sites and museums in different US cities; and travel writing in Austin, Texas.
Internships
According to employer surveys, internships are the #1 desired experience on college resumes. Employers want to know that students have experienced the professional world and have solidified their career goals. Take your sociological methods and knowledge into the workplace and enrich your community engagement after graduation.
Promote Development with the Grisham-McLean Institute
The Catalyzing Entrepreneurship and Economic Development (CEED) Initiative works with students and faculty to build actionable partnerships with Mississippi communities. These partnerships inspire a sense of entrepreneurship in our scholars while promoting economic development in rural Mississippi communities.
Volunteer with M-Partner
A program of the Grisham-McLean Institute for Public Service and Community Engagement, M Partner has completed nearly 120 projects and engaged over 50 faculty/staff and over 800 students with the partner MS communities of Charleston, Ecru, Lexington, New Albany, Pontotoc, and Oxford. These projects support small businesses, promote tourism, advance food security, offer educational enrichment, promote community health, elevate local history, and build capacity for nonprofit organizations.
Peer Consultants
The Writing Center hires talented undergraduate UM students who are organized, dependable, and friendly to work collaboratively with peers to develop writing skills and processes. We are a diverse, close-knit staff. Our consultants come from many different disciplines and majors across the University of Mississippi community. We value multiple perspectives on writing from different academic fields and encourage students from any program to join us. At the Writing Center, students can gain valuable professional experience and take advantage of opportunities to research, travel, and network with other writers across the country.
Warren Debate Union
Be intuitive, be creative, be brilliant.
The Ty R. Warren Debate Union, a body of undergraduate students, engages global communication through British Parliamentary/Worlds Style Debate on campus, within our region, nationally, and around the globe.
The Warren Debate Union has deep roots on campus. Speech and debate activities have occurred under the WDU since the 1970s, when the program was founded by Ty Warren. The team's trophy case on the third floor of Lamar Hall tells the story of the WDU's growth and success. Since its founding, the WDU has maintained a tradition of excellence for over forty years.
Joining the Warren Debate Union (WDU) is a fantastic way to:
- improve your speaking and research skills
- make friends with likeminded students that love arguing
- travel to amazing locations across the nation
- have fun
Now housed under the Department of Writing and Rhetoric at The University of Mississippi, the Warren Debate Union challenges students of all majors and backgrounds to think critically and improve their communication skills through debate and public speaking. Staging the debate on campus through their involvement and providing opportunities for public engagement annually, the Warren Debate Union is proud to host an annual high school invitational tournament recognized by the Mississippi High School Activities Association, the National Speech and Debate Association, and the National Individual Events Tournament of Champions; assist in the development and annual operation of Speaker’s Edge, a competitive speaking event for our MBA, Masters in Accountancy, and Juris Doctor Programs; and present public debates for the evaluation of the Lafayette-Oxford-University community.
In recent years, the WDU has represented the University proudly at competitions hosted in Anchorage (Alaska), Denver (Colorado), Miami (Florida), Nashville (Tennessee), Portland (Oregon), and Seattle (Washington). Encouraging others to speak to their passions, members of the Warren Debate Union lead by example. The WDU also holds joint events with other debate teams in our region, including Vanderbilt University and Rust College.
Debate FAQs
For further information about joining the WDU and our weekly meetings please contact Dr. Jacob Justice, Director of Forensics, at jwjustic@olemiss.edu or debate@olemiss.edu.
Any students, from freshmen to graduates, at the University of Mississippi—regardless of major or previous debate experience—is welcome. If you’re interested in public speaking, critical thinking, or just love a good argument, the WDU is a great place to start.
Speech 314 is offered every spring semester. This class teaches the fundamentals of decision-making and critical thinking through exploring debate, specifically Worlds Style British Parliamentary (BP) Debate. The focus of the class is on researching, organizing, preparing, and delivering oral presentations in a competitive and limited preparation environment. The class covers the basics of argumentation theory, provides numerous opportunities for practice debates, and dives into the details of important political debates in the United States (economics, foreign policy, social media, etc.).
SPCH 314 is a student-centered class that is tailored to the needs and goals of each individual student. Working closely with the instructor, students identify areas for improvement in their presentation skills and work to refine them throughout the semester, with many opportunities for tailored and personalized mentoring.
The class is highly recommended to anybody looking for a fun and rewarding elective class, to students interested in participating on the University of Mississippi debate team, and to anyone who enjoys arguing and debating. The research and presentation skills emphasized by SPCH 314 are helpful to students of all majors.
Members build strong research, communication, and critical thinking skills. You'll also learn how to present arguments clearly and confidently in competitive and public settings.
The team travels to debate tournaments across the country and hosts several major events throughout the year, including a high school invitational tournament and public debates for the local community. WDU also partners with other university debate teams for joint events.
No - the WDU welcomes students of all experience levels. The team includes a mixture of students who competed in high school speech/debate events and students that start their debate careers in college.
No, you don’t need to be enrolled in any specific class to join the Warren Debate Union. While there are courses like SPCH 314 that complement debate skills and are recommended for those who want to strengthen their argumentation and public speaking abilities, they are not a requirement.
Where Can Your Degree Take You?
Since graduating, Allison Clayton has been working at the digital marketing agency Lizard SEM. She began as a content writer just two months after graduation and has since advanced to the role of content and SEO specialist. In this position, she creates search engine-optimized blog content, manages social media for clients, writes copy for digital campaigns, and works to improve web visibility—often helping pest control companies land on the first page of Google search results. Though she never imagined writing about bugs would be part of her career, Allison has found a real passion for the field of SEO. She credits the Community Writing and Collaborative Communication courses in the Department of Writing and Rhetoric for preparing her to succeed in a fast-paced, client-focused industry. From creating engaging content to developing strong communication skills, she says the program gave her the tools she needed to thrive. Grateful for her time at UM, she proudly shares her Ole Miss experience with her remote coworkers and continues to be an enthusiastic advocate for the Writing and Rhetoric program.
Allison Clayton
B.A. in Rhetoric '22
Meet Our Alumni
Eliza Peters
- Greek Life
- Student Activities Association
What advice would you have for incoming rhetoric majors?
See Eliza’s Answer Allison Clayton
Why did you choose to major in rhetoric?
See Allison’s Answer
Kellie Smith
How do you use your rhetorical skills outside of the classroom?
See Kellie’s Answer