College of Liberal Arts

180 Wesbrook Hall
77 Pleasant St SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455
Phone: 612-624-3445
Fax: 612-624-3617
E-mail: writ@umn.edu

Department of Writing Studies

Students on the East Bank Campus

Welcome to the web site for the Department of Writing Studies. Part of the University of Minnesota’s College of Liberal Arts, we are an academic department with nationally recognized strengths in teaching and scholarship in rhetoric, writing, and technical communication. With 15 tenured or tenure-track faculty, over 20 full-time instructors, and degrees from the bachelor's to the doctorate, we offer a diverse set of research, teaching, and learning opportunities.

The department touches the lives of every undergraduate on campus, teaching over 170 sections of first-year writing as well as courses in technical writing and communication, rhetorical theory, composition, and environmental communication. Graduates from our B.S., M.S., and certificate programs are prepared for successful careers in scientific and technical communication and are in high demand by companies both local and national. Our M.A. and Ph.D. graduates pursue careers primarily in academic settings, becoming college professors and instructors.

We are also the administrative home of the Center for Writing, which provides face-to-face and online writing assistance as well as other programs of interest. Faculty and staff in both the center and the department enjoy many collaborative relationships including funded research to study how writing is most effectively taught in different academic disciplines.

We hope you find what you are looking for on our web site. If you have any questions, please email or call us. Or stop in and visit us in Wesbrook Hall, located on the Minneapolis campus.

Sincerely,
Laura J. Gurak, Ph.D.
Professor and Chair