Degree Requirements Ph.D. Program

The PhD consists of a minimum of 27 credits of graduate course work beyond the MA degree, plus a minimum of 24 credits of dissertation research taken while working on exams and dissertation (WRA 999). 

Students are expected to take all core courses and select at least one focus area although encouraged to select two complementary focus area(s). The purpose of the focus area requirement is for students to develop a specialized area of study complementary to their rhetoric and writing degree. A focus area consists of at least nine credits of coursework in a specialized area at the graduate level. 

PhD students are required to take their core courses in their first year in order to be prepared for the core exam at the end of year one. Students will focus on area courses in year two. However, given that some area courses alternate year to year, it is critical that students work with their advisor and committee to build a plan with this in mind. Graduate students may enroll in 800- and 400-level courses; no more than 6 credits of 400-level courses will count towards the doctoral degree (see reg.msu.edu). Students who have taken some of the required core courses as part of their MA program may petition the director to waive their requirement in the doctoral program and will work with their committees to determine replacement courses. 

Core (12 credits)

• WRA 801: Introduction to Rhetoric and Writing
• WRA 810: Writing, Composing, Designing, Making
• WRA 870: Research Methodologies
• WRA 880: Theories of Rhetoric and Writing 

Focus Areas (9 Credits)

Students will complete 9 credit hours per area; courses may be substituted for coursework outside of the RW program with the permission of the student’s chair and committee.

Cultures, Identities, and Communities 

This area focuses on social justice as it is enacted in our local, national, and global communities. 

• WRA 828: Queer Rhetorics (alternating years)
• WRA 848: Cultural Rhetorics (alternating years)
• WRA 891: Special Topics in Cultural Rhetorics (varies)
• WRA 893: Field Internship (every semester)
• WRA 441: Social Justice as Rhetorical Practice (varies)
• WRA 484: Ethics in Writing (varies)
• WRA 495: Advanced Studies in Writing and Tutoring Pedagogy (depending on topic; check course catalog)
• Consider certificates in AIIS, CLS, Community Outreach & Engagement, Gender Studies, Chicano Studies, AAAS, etc.

Leadership and Administration

This area focuses on leadership practices in administrative positions in higher education, public service, and professional practice.

• WRA 401: Rhetoric, Leadership, and Innovation (varies)
• WRA 889: Writing Center Theory and Administration (spring of alternating years)
• WRA 891: Writing Program Administration Theory and Practice (alternating years)
• WRA 893: Administration Internship (every semester)
• WRA 453: Grant and Proposal Writing (varies)
• WRA 495: Advanced Studies in Writing and Tutoring Pedagogy (depending on topic; check course catalog)

Technical and Professional Communication

This area focuses on the ways that people use texts to get work done.

• WRA 841: Professional Writing Theory and Practice (spring of odd years)
• WRA 842: Experience Architecture Theory and Practice (spring of even years)
• WRA 893: Field Internship (every semester)
• WRA 401  Rhetoric, Leadership, and Innovation (every semester)
• WRA 410  Advanced Web Authoring (every semester)
• WRA 415: Digital Rhetoric (every semester)
• WRA 420: Content Strategy (every spring)
• WRA 441: Social Justice as Rhetorical Practice (fall of odd years)
• WRA 453: Grant and Proposal Writing (every fall)
• WRA 471: Rhetoric of Grammar (spring of odd years)
• WRA 480: Publication Management
• WRA 482: Information and Interaction Design (spring of odd years)
• WRA 483: Community Publishing (varies)
• WRA 484: Ethics in Writing (varies)
• WRA 495: Advanced Studies in Writing and Tutoring Pedagogy (depending on topic; check course catalog)
• WRA 499: International Research in Professional and Public Writing (varies)

Writing Pedagogy and Learning

This area focuses on learning.

• WRA 853: Writing Workshop (varies)
• WRA 860: Multimodal Composing Theory and Practice (varies)
• WRA 878: Composition Studies: Issues, Theory and Research (alternating years)
• WRA 888: Methods of Teaching Writing (alternating years)
• WRA 889: Writing Center Theory and Administration (alternating years)
• WRA 891: Writing Program Administration Theory and Practice (alternating years)
• WRA 893: Teaching Internship (every semester)
• AL 842: RCWP course (every other summer, odd years)
• WRA 495: Advanced Studies in Writing and Tutoring Pedagogy (depending on topic; check course catalog)
• WRA 499: International Research in Professional and Public Writing (varies)

Self-Designed Focus Area

In consultation with their guidance committee, a student must petition the Rhetoric and Writing Graduate Advisory Committee for approval to complete a self-designed focus area. The letter of petition should provide the committee with a list of courses to be taken (minimum of 9 credits), and a rationale for the focus area.

The rationale should address how the proposed focus area will assist the student’s intellectual work and professional development in the field of rhetoric and writing. Although 9 credits are required for the self-designed focus area, most self-designed focus area(s) will require more than the minimum number of credits.