Welcome, parents!
We’re glad you and your students are interested in our program. This page was written expressly for you to address common questions we hear from parents with students who choose to major in English and enroll in the Rhetoric and Technical Writing concentration.
What is Rhetoric and Technical Writing?
Under the broader umbrella of Rhetoric falls Technical and Professional Writing, a subfield of study developed after World War II in response to the need for more practitioners capable of understanding and communicating complex information to a variety of technical and nontechnical audiences. Given the ubiquity of technology today, it’s no wonder the field of technical and professional communication has continued to grow, boasting some of the fastest growth and highest starting salaries of any industry in the Humanities. Graduates of our programs go on to become social media managers, marketers, communication coordinators, usability designers, and science and technology communicators and find work in government, nongovernment and for- and not-for-profit organizations.
What can my student do with this degree?
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the 2021 Median Pay for technical and professional writers was $78,060/year. Both the hard and soft skills students sharpen in our program – critical thinking, oral and written communication, editing, visual design, and project and team management – are those that consistently make prospective employers’ top 10 list of most sought-after qualifications for a job.
Are there jobs in the field?
To further strengthen our students’ job prospects, we require students in our program to take a 3- or 6-credit hour internship before graduation. Internships are a cornerstone of our pedagogical commitment to experiential learning, reinforcing through application the theory they learn during their coursework. Students have interned locally, regionally, and globally with organizations like Habitat for Humanity, the Health and Hunger Coalition, the High Country Press, Rhino Records, the Smithsonian Museum, the CDC, and Spin Magazine, to name a few.
Our faculty is comprised of researchers and practitioners who are current in the field, offering students a blend of theoretical and applied, academic and industry-based knowledge, which is likely why student satisfaction in our program is so high. We are a faculty body committed to your student’s success and take pleasure in preparing our graduates to face and solve the increasingly complex rhetorical, technical and ethical challenges of our world.
In addition to the stellar experiences that internships can offer, qualifying students can participate in Appalachian’s accelerated master’s program – often called 4+1 – and complete a master’s degree in English in one additional year. With a Master of Arts in English and a concentration in Writing, Rhetorics, and Technical Communication, your child can hone their research and writing skills and develop professional competence in professional writing, rhetoric, composition theory, practice, and pedagogy. Your child will also have opportunities to share their discoveries by publishing their work in scholarly journals and presenting at professional conferences.
Curious about the advantages of a liberal arts education? Check out these articles: