Undergraduate ProgramsProfessional Writing Minor

Fall 2025 Courses

**Please note that many of our PWM instructors are committed to teaching composition courses for incoming students during the Fall quarter. The majority of upper-division PWM courses will be offered in Winter and Spring. For a tentative list of course offerings in AY 2025-26, click here.**

 

Fall 2025- Professional Writing Core Courses

 

Professional Writing: Digital Writing and Web Literacy

English Composition 130A/ Prof. Samuelson

Emphasis on writing for digital environments such as websites, blogs, newsletters, and social media. Common professional settings for these skills include journalism, political campaigns, Internet marketing, and corporate communication.

Professional Writing: Science and Technology

English Composition 130C / Prof. Hartenberger

Emphasis on developing written, oral, and visual communication skills for entrepreneurial settings. Common tasks including pitching idea, seeking funding for startup, or promoting product or service.

Professional Writing: Nonprofits and Public Engagement

English Composition 130D / Prof. Swanger

Development of the ability to write persuasively and effectively in the nonprofit and public sectors. Writing genres include mission and vision statements, grant proposals, public service announcements, and outreach campaigns.

Fall 2025- Professional Writing Electives in English or English Composition

Writing in the English Major: Analytical

English 110A / Prof. Stephan

In this course, designed specifically for English majors but now open to students from all majors, you will learn to build on your skills and abilities as a writer of literary and cultural analyses. You’ll find ways to ask richer literary questions, develop more nuanced analyses of complex texts, and shape your own voice as a writer. We’ll focus on literary arguments and begin with this basic question: what constitutes a good, rich, complex question in literary analysis? What makes a substantial topic that might lead to a top-notch persuasive argument? Because good writing (and thus good argumentation) is also a process, we will practice creation, revision, contemplation, and editing, as well as seeking and giving feedback. Throughout the course, we will workshop writing exercises with the goal of making ourselves and others more comfortable and more successful as writers of good academic prose.

 

The course requisite is ENGL 4W. Students in the Professional Writing minor who have completed alternate Writing II credit may contact the English undergraduate advising office to enroll.

 

Not open to students who previously completed ENGL 110T with Prof. Stephan.

First-Person Writing for Aspiring Professional Writers

Variable Topics in Professional Writing
English 110V / Prof. Allmendinger

This course will prepare students who want to submit first-person writings to journals and magazines that publish works by and for young adults.  Examples of such works include memoirs, humor, opinion pieces, and cultural criticism.  We will study the marketplace to discover which outlets appeal to students, how to submit to those publishers, how to write a cover letter, and how to develop relationships with editors.  Most importantly, we will spend the quarter writing and revising potential submissions, with the goal of submitting a piece to the students’ chosen venues by the end of the quarter.  Requirements include attendance and participation, as well as a final revised piece of writing.

 

The course requisite is ENGL 4W. Students in the Professional Writing minor who have completed alternate Writing II credit may contact the English undergraduate advising office to enroll.

Topics in Creative Writing—Narrative Nonfiction
[APPLICATION REQUIRED]

English M138.2 / Prof. Jager

Course Description:

In this workshop devoted to narrative nonfiction, we will study short samples of the genre, and students will write their own pieces to be shared and discussed in class.  Assignments will include first-person pieces, profiles based on interviews, and fact pieces incorporating library and internet research.  The course is not limited to English majors and has enrolled many students from across the humanities as well as in the physical and social sciences.

How to Apply:

Enrollment requires a PTE, and interested students should submit (1) a 250-word personal statement about their writing goals and interests, (2) a list of ALL undergraduate courses taken so far, and (3) a 5-10 page double-spaced nonfiction writing sample.

Please submit all applications via email to <ejager@humnet.ucla.edu> for consideration on a rolling basis.

This course qualifies as an eligible non-fiction topic for the Professional Writing minor.

Westwind Journal

Undergraduate Practicum in English
English M192.1 / Prof. Wilson

This course is for the staff of Westwind, UCLA’s Journal for the Arts. If you are interested in joining the Westwind staff, please familiarize yourself with the journal at www.westwind.ucla.edu, and come to the first Winter meeting (time and day posted in the Schedule of Classes)!

 

Fall 2025- Professional Writing Extra-departmental Electives

Please consult the reference list of eligible extra-departmental electives here, then refer to the UCLA Schedule of Classes for availability.

Should you wish to petition for a course not listed above, contact the PWM advising team and be prepared to provide the course syllabus.

Fall 2025- Professional Writing Capstone Requirement

The PWM capstone seminar, EngComp M185, is offered in the Spring quarter only. If you will be graduating in Fall 2025 or Winter 2026, please contact Sara Hosegera at shosegera@humnet.ucla.edu to learn about alternate capstone options.

SENIORS: Please click here to review the Winter 2025 PWM Capstone Workshop to learn how to prepare for EngComp M185.

Students who acquire an internship with professional writing duties in the junior or senior year may apply for ENGL 195CE capstone credit via the Center for Community Engagement. To learn about ENGL 195CE enrollment for the 25 – 26 academic year, consult the Center for Community Engagement website.