Whether you want to advance or change your career or transfer to a four-year institution, Writing Studies offers:

• A national award-winning certificate that can be completed fully online and in less than a year. 
• An affordable program with flexible course offerings.
• Exclusive transfer agreements with several partnering universities, saving you time and money on your bachelor’s degree.
• An advisory board of local professional writers, informing faculty of the latest trends in professional writing and providing feedback on students’ professional portfolios.
• A history of student success. 

English/Writing Studies Transfer Pathway, Associate in Arts

The English Transfer Pathway, Associate in Arts enables students to choose their own path of study in English including Writing Studies and graduate with an Associate in Arts degree. This track helps provides a seamless transfer to a baccalaureate-granting institution.

Professional Writing, Certificate

The Professional Writing certificate offers students the opportunity to learn how to communicate effectively and apply their rhetoric and writing skills to professional audiences including business, industry, government, nonprofit, health care and technology.

Students typically complete the certificate in about a year, and most do so, fully online. The Writing Studies Courses webpage can help you determine your timeline of completion.

We believe that the study of rhetoric and writing can improve students' lives. Whether they pursue an academic, public, or professional path, Writing Studies prepares students to engage with writing and effect change in their communities. Our theoretical and practical approach provides students with the tools to read situations, identify problems, and locate solutions. In an ever-changing world mediated by digital technologies, Writing Studies offers students a way in, to participate in conflicts and conversations, with effective writing techniques.

By studying Writing at College of DuPage, students will:

Formulate Written Arguments

• Locate and analyze audiences.
• Identify ways to persuade audiences.
• Gather research and data.
• Use rhetoric and research appropriately to achieve desired effects.

Locate and Use Information

• Collect already published research, data, studies, and evidence.
• Gather your own new data through interviews, surveys and observations.
• Assemble ethical arguments using this data to move an audience.

Challenge Assumptions and Develop Responses

• Read about the history, context, and motives surrounding rhetorical events.
• Analyze these motives for rhetorical purposes.
• Locate evidence for these assumptions.
• Invent viable responses.
• Circulate logically structured arguments to appropriate audiences.

The Writing Studies program has partnered with several universities for you to transfer seamlessly to earn your bachelor’s degree. 

Exclusive transfer agreements save you time and money. Elmhurst University and University of Arkansas at Little Rock (online) have agreed to accept Writing Studies courses to for their 100-, 200-, and in some cases, 300-level courses for their Bachelors of Arts programs. You can complete at least half of your Bachelor of Arts degree in Writing Studies at COD for the COD price.

Steven Accardi

• PhD: Arizona State University
• MA: DePaul University
• BA: Loyola University Chicago

Dr. Steven Accardi is Program Chair of Writing Studies and the Professional Writing Certificate. He earned his PhD in Rhetoric and Composition from Arizona State University, specializing in rhetorical theory. He has published in WPA: Writing Program Administration, Composition Studies, Teaching Writing in the Two-Year College, and Journal of Second Language Writing. Dr. Accardi was awarded Outstanding Honors Faculty by the College of DuPage Honors Student Advisory Committee. He teaches several courses in the Writing Studies program, such as Advanced Composition, Argumentative Writing, Writing in the Professions, Writing for Nonprofits, Technical Writing, Workplace Writing, as well as Composition I and Composition II.

James Allen

• PhD: University of South Carolina
• MA: University of South Carolina
• BA: University of South Carolina, Spartanburg

Dr. James Allen earned his PhD in Rhetoric and Composition from University of South Carolina, specializing in classical rhetorical theory and early American literature. He has presented papers at the Conference on College Composition and Communication and the National Learning Communities Conference. From 1998 to 2002, he served as COD's Writing Placement Professional Assistant, overseeing the evaluation of written essays for placement into writing courses. He currently serves as the Faculty Chair of the Learning Communities Program. Dr. Allen teaches Workplace Writing, Composition I, and Composition II and helped design Advanced Composition.

Mary Elizabeth Cicchetti

• MBA: Loyola University Chicago
• MA: Roosevelt University
• BA: Drake University

Mary Elizabeth Cicchetti earned her MBA with a concentration in marketing from Loyola University Chicago and an MA in English and journalism from Roosevelt University. Enjoying a dual career as a college professor as well as a marketing communications specialist, she has created and implemented numerous marketing campaigns and materials for a variety of companies, primarily for the insurance and financial services industries. An award-winning writer, she has published articles in the Chicago Tribune, “O, The Oprah Magazine,” “Parents Magazine,” as well as national and international industry publications and websites. Professor Cicchetti teaches Workplace Writing, and Composition I and Composition II. 

Nicole Koyuki Golden

• MA: San Diego State University
• BA: Occidental College

Nicole Golden is pursuing a PhD in Writing, Rhetoric, and Cultures from Michigan State University, specializing in Asian American rhetorics, technical and professional communication, and multimodality. Professor Golden earned her Master’s in Rhetoric and Writing Studies from San Diego State University with a specialization in the teaching of writing. She has presented her work on the APIDA community and solidarity-building at the Conference on College Composition and Communication as well as work on Japanese American celebrating as culturing at the Feminism and Rhetorics Conference. Professor Golden teaches Workplace Writing.

Jillian Grauman

• PhD: Iowa State University
• MA: Washington State University
• BA: Luther College

Dr. Jillian Grauman earned her PhD in Rhetoric and Professional Communication from Iowa State University, specializing in writing program administration and composition studies. She has presented at the Council of Writing Program Administrators Conference, Conference on College Composition and Communication, and International Writing Centers Association conference. She has published in WPA: Writing Program Administration and WLN: A Journal of Writing Center Scholarship. Dr. Grauman teaches several courses in Writing Studies, including Editing in the Professions, Writing Center Theory and Practice, Workplace Writing, Technical Writing, Composition I, and Composition II.

Kimberly Groves

• MA: Clemson University
• BA: University of Kentucky

Kimberly Groves is pursuing a PhD in Rhetoric and Writing from Michigan State University, specializing in digital rhetorics, professional writing, and women and gender studies. Professor Groves earned her Master’s in Writing, Rhetoric, and Media from Clemson University and a certification in Effective Online Teaching through the College of Education. She has published in Kairos: A Journal of Rhetoric, Technology, and Pedagogy and The Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. Professor Groves revised and teaches Digital Writing, along with, Workplace Writing, Composition I, and Composition II.

Andrea Sorensen Hamler

• MA: DePaul University
• BA: Wheaton College

Andrea Hamler earned a MA in Writing, Rhetoric, and Discourse and a Graduate Certificate in Strategic Writing and Advancement for Nonprofits (SWAN) from DePaul University, graduating with distinction. She researches the intersection of religious and political rhetoric through new media and technologies and its influences on environmental rhetorics. Professor Hamler has years of teaching and tutoring experience at the middle school and high school level as well as professional writing experience at a law firm and marketing agency. She is an alumna of the Professional Writing Certificate program and is currently teaching Workplace Writing.

Natasha N. Jones

• PhD: University of Washington
• MA: Auburn University
• BA: Georgia State University

Dr. Natasha N. Jones is a technical and professional communication scholar and co-author of the book Technical Communication after the Social Justice Turn: Building Coalitions for Action (winner of the 2021 CCCC Best Book in Technical or Scientific Communication). Her research interests include social justice, narrative, scientific communication, and Black technical and professional communication. Her work examines how texts and technologies impacts lived experiences of marginalized communities. She has taught course in professional communication, technical communication theory, technical and professional communication for engineers, Black language and literacy, digital rhetoric, technical communication methods, and first-year writing. She is the Immediate Past President of the Association of Teachers of Technical Writing (ATTW) and is an Associate Professor at Michigan State University in the African American and African Studies department.

Jessica Nastal

• PhD: University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee
• MA: Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
• MA: Saint Louis University
• BA: Loyola University Chicago

Dr. Jessica Nastal earned her PhD in Rhetoric and Composition from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, specializing in writing assessment and writing studies. Her book, Writing Placement in Two-Year Colleges: The Pursuit of Equity in Postsecondary Education, was co-edited with Mya Poe and Christie Toth and won the CWPA Best Book Award for 2022. Dr. Nastal's work has been published or is forthcoming in journals such as Pedagogy, Journal of Response to Writing, and Journal of Writing Assessment. She regularly presents at the Conference on College Composition and Communication, the Two-Year College Association conference, and the Council of Writing Program Administrators conference, and she serves on the editorial board of Composition Studies and Teaching English in the Two-Year College. Dr. Nastal teaches Workplace Writing, Argumentative Writing, in addition to Composition I and Composition II.

Yes, the Writing Studies program has several specialized transfer agreements with nationally recognized writing studies programs. Depending upon which program you pick, you can complete more than half of your bachelor’s degree at COD.

1. Enroll as a COD student.
2. If you already have a bachelor’s degree, send your transcripts to the Office of Student Records. Most likely you have completed first-year writing courses and would be given credit for Composition I and/or Composition II.
3. Finally, complete the Student Academic Program Change Form. Use program code ENGLI.CER.PROF.  Submit and you are officially enrolled in the program.

Yes, the Professional Writing Certificate can be completed fully online and in less than a year. Scroll to the bottom of our courses page to determine your timeline of completion. If you wish to continue your studies online, some of our transfer partners offer fully online bachelor’s degree in professional writing.

Most Writing Studies students use the certificate to advance in their careers, change careers to something more writing-centric, gain an internship or entry-level position in professional writing, or transfer to a university with a nearly completed writing minor. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, jobs in professional writing are growing 12 percent faster than average, and professional writing certificates “demonstrate competence and professionalism, making candidates more attractive to employers. A professional credential also may increase a technical writer’s opportunities for advancement.”

Yes, the Professional Writing Certificate is an 18.0 credit hour program, so it is approved for financial aid. Visit Student Financial Assistance for more information.

During the semester in which you plan on graduating, compete the Application for Degree or Certificate. Add program code ENGLI.CER.PROF. Submit and the credential will be on your official COD transcript.