Bachelor of Arts, Major in English with Emphasis in Professional Writing

at Pittsburg State University USA

The Department of Communication offers a Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Science in Education, and Master of Arts degrees within a collaborative and collegial environment. Our top-ranked faculty are highly active in their professions and emphasize the importance of fusing theory with applied skill. We have more than 250 majors across the five emphasis areas of human communication, media production, multimedia journalism, strategic communication, and theatre. The department stresses an integrated and active approach to learning. Please explore our website and let us know if you have any questions.

Strategic Communication - Emphasis
Strategic communication involves the applied research, creative development, and planned distribution of informational and persuasive communication messages across a wide variety of channels including: television, radio, print and digital journalism, mobile and social media platforms. Strategic communicators often work on behalf of public and private corporations and non-profit organizations, regionally and globally. Specialized career opportunities are available in many sectors such as: sports and entertainment, travel and tourism, health and wellness, policy and public affairs.

The Master of Arts Degree in English with an Emphasis in Professional Writing began in the fall of 2017. The program features classes in writing for the public, such as grant writing; writing for electronic environments, such as digital literacies and news media writing; writing for publication, such as editing and document design; and theories of writing. This degree will help you develop the flexibility necessary for a wide variety of writing occupations.

This is an interdisciplinary liberal arts degree with a foundation in social science inquiry. With an emphasis on law and the social sciences, this unique contemporary degree represents the current state-of-the-art setting for studying justice and provides a comprehensive degree. Students develop an understanding of the nature of justice and analyze controversial justice issues through critical inquiry and social science investigation. While primary focus is placed on theories of justice, legal studies, social and economic justice, students may elect a Criminal Justice emphasis that will allow them to pursue their interests in law enforcement, corrections, and other legal careers.

Social studies programs are part of History, Philosophy and Social Sciences department. The programs provide high-quality instruction to students in ways that emphasize active learning, problem solving, and critical thinking through transformative experiences.

Criminal Justice - Emphasis
The Criminal Justice emphasis allows students who are more interested in law enforcement, corrections, and other law related careers to pursue their interests within the Criminal Justice major. Our Criminal Justice emphasis gives students a substantive base of criminal justice experience such as interviewing and interrogation while building on critical thinking skills, the ability to handle statistical data, and student understanding of the broader meanings and practice of justice. This emphasis is not designed to be the equivalent of police academy training, rather it will allow students whose career interests are oriented toward law related careers to pursue their goal within a broad liberal arts approach to justice.

There are few things in life as personally fulfilling as writing a story or poem others want to read. The best authors understand how to use the tools of their craft to convey emotion and move people to action. If you want to take your writing career to the next level, or simply desire a better understanding of poetry and prose construction, a Master of Arts Degree in English with an Emphasis in Creative Writing is for you.  

The M.A. in English with an Emphasis in Creative Writing grounds students in successful strategies to create their own fiction and poetry. Students also analyze fiction and poetry of other writers to determine how they create successful work.

The Department of English and Modern Languages offers baccalaureate degrees and a master’s degree program. Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) programs are offered in English and in Modern Languages. A Bachelor of Science in Education and a master’s program are also offered in English. The department offers minors in English, English Teaching, Creative Writing, French, Professional Writing, and Spanish.

French Language and Culture - Emphasis
We live in a world that is more interconnected than at any time in history. A Bachelor of Arts Degree in Modern Languages will enhance any career path and allow you to become a more productive citizen of the world. Pittsburg State’s French program provides you with two degree options:

• Language and Culture
• Teacher Certification

The Language and Culture emphasis delves into the Francophone culture, providing students with a deeper understanding of French society. It’s the program of choice for students who wish to achieve fluency in the language and is often paired with business or communication majors and/or minors.

The Department of Technology and Workforce Learning offers a Master of Science degree with a major in Career and Technical Education. Within the program, students will select from four different emphasis areas. This program is designed to provide preparation for persons interested in qualifying for teaching and administrative positions in health occupations and technical education at the community college and college level.

Options available for the degree:

    Option I: Thesis
        This option is designed to prepare students for a doctoral program, for advanced professional careers, or for students wanting to complete an in-depth research experience.

    Option III: Course Work
        This option requires completion of course work that demonstrates evidence of advanced course work in an area of concentration. Departments will require evidence of competency through activities such as research papers, portfolios, practice, internships, comprehensive exams or other individual work. Students should check with their major department for specific requirements for the coursework.

Located within the Kansas Technology Center, the Department of Automotive Technology is recognized by industry as offering one of the best academic programs in the nation. Our professors are accomplished professionals with industry experience and our laboratories offer students access to the latest technology. Learn more about our department and discover why you belong at Pittsburg State University.

Collision Repair and Insurance Management - Emphasis
This program is the perfect choice for students whose career plans are to work in insurance or collision repair positions. An emphasis area within our 4-year Automotive Technology program, the Collision Repair and Insurance Management program focuses on this 10 billion/year sector of the automotive industry.

The Department of Engineering Technology is housed in the Kansas Technology Center on the Pittsburg State University  campus. Engineering Technology Programs are comprised of elements of the technological spectrum requiring scientific and engineering knowledge plus the operational methods and skills devoted to achieving practical purpose in support of product producing industries.

We have undergraduate programs covering the range of modern biology including: pre-health (pre-med, pre-dentistry, pre-vet, pre-optometry, pre-physical therapy, pre-physician assistant), medical technology, cell and molecular biology, wildlife biology, fisheries and aquatic sciences, botany, ecology, and secondary education.

There are almost 400 students in the undergraduate program and about 20 in the graduate division. The Department of Biology has 13 full-time faculty with a wide range of interests. The faculty are dedicated and committed to Pittsburg State University and the department, but most importantly, to students. Most faculty are actively engaged in research activities, national professional organizations, and professional service.

Botany - Emphasis
How do plants grow and develop? What role do plants play in biodiversity? How do plants impact our physical environment? Students in the Botany emphasis will answer these questions and many more. Aimed at expanding current knowledge of plants and their importance in our world, the botany track helps students and graduates address major issues in the fields of agriculture, ecology, and horticulture.

The Botany emphasis is grounded in the basic sciences (general biology, chemistry, math, and physics) needed to understand the latest research in plant biology.

The B.S.T. in Graphic Communications is a 120-credit Graphic Communications Degree that can be completed in four years of full-time study. Students are asked to declare one of the following areas of emphasis: Digital Media, Graphic Design, Graphics Management, Print Media, Packaging Graphics, or Web/Interactive Media.

All six areas of emphasis within the Graphic Communications program share a core curriculum, classes necessary for the field of graphic communications. In addition to these classes, each of the six distinct areas have specific emphasis and support courses, to round out the major, as well as elective graphics classes, allowing students to customize their degree.

The curriculum offered by the GIT department is under constant review and is always updated to ensure students get exposure to contemporary changes in this dynamic field.

Graphics Management - Emphasis
The Graphics Management emphasis focuses on the business and executive aspects of Graphic Communications Management. Courses reflect current technology and also include training in management, sales, customer service, estimating, production control and work-flow scheduling.  

The core curriculum within the Department of Graphics and Imaging Technologies (GIT) includes courses common among all of our six emphasis areas. These courses are primarily introductory classes that provide students with the basic information needed to succeed in the graphics industry. Within the core curriculum, there are also two upper-division classes, an internship and a capstone class.

Graphic Communication Management Emphasis Courses:

• Print File Preparation and Preflight
• Printing Technologies
• Graphics Cost Analysis and Estimating
• Sales and Customer Service
• Color Reproduction
• Graphics Administration
• Industrial Supervision