The M.S. in Written Communication
Benefits
- Effective Format
The graduate writing program at NLU is committed to small, closely-knit classes (usually 7-12 students) under the direction of experienced instructors who are also successful writers. You can't learn writing from a book (although you can memorize some do's and don'ts). You can only learn to write through constant practice, done under expert coaching, and developed, in situations of feedback, over time. That means: 1) skilled instructors who give you personal attention, in small classes, over a period of many weeks; 2) talented classmates to share reactions and new techniques with (it's here that you see what works and what doesn't); and 3) a course plan that allows for timely (no-wait) feedback, given intelligently and supportively. The program is designed around these features.
- Broad Base of Writing Types
This program's philosophy was created by professional writers. One of the things we all agreed on was that good writers almost always, at some point, find themselves writing things they didn't foresee at the beginning. Feature writers develop screenplays. Corporate writers try travel columns. Information writers get a chance to write radio-T.V. spots. The ad writer is requested to prepare a technical piece. Serious writers end up humor writers. The would-be novelist succeeds instead with a non-fiction human interest story. It happens all the time. So, we built a program with a broad base of writing-types: wherever your writing career may go, you can feel prepared. You will also discover what all of us have discovered: learning the skills associated with one kind of writing significantly improves other kinds of writing. (Learning to write fiction, for instance, significantly improves things like feature writing or even technical writing.)
- A Recognized Degree
Finally, there is a considerable advantage to investing in a program which results in a formal graduate degree from an established and highly-reputed university. Non-credit writing workshops or seminars can be helpful-if the instructors are very good and there is enough time for skills to develop (usually lacking outside of standard college terms). But a canceled check isn't a credential. A masters degree is. With this degree, you're able to write well; and you're able to prove it.
