The Certificate in writing provides an opportunity for our distance students to take advantage of the University of Iowa’s impressive culture of writing.

Online Curriculum

The ONLINE Certificate in Writing requires a student to successfully complete a minimum of 19 s.h. and maintain a minimum 2.0 GPA in all course work.

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Writing Certificate Requirements Prior to Fall 2023

Writing Certificate Changes Beginning Fall 2023 (side-by-side with previous requirements)
 

Required Introductory Core Course (3 s.h.):

• WRIT:1500 Writing Commons: A Community of Writers (3 s.h.)

Additional Core Courses (6 s.h.): 

• WRIT:1003 / LING:1003 English Grammar (3 s.h.)
• WRIT:1600 Fast Fixes: Improved Writing in 6 weeks *This is a 1 s.h. course. To count as a core course, must be taken three times for 1 s.h. each with different topics.
• WRIT:3080 / LING:3080 History of the English Language (3 s.h.)
• WRIT:3632 / CNW:3632 / ENGL:3732 Prose Style (3 s.h.)
• WRIT:4745 / CW:4745 The Sentence: Strategies for Writing (3 s.h.)
• WRIT:4760 / CW:4760 The Art of Revision: Writing for Clarity (3 s.h.)

Additional 6 may include one of these: 

• WRIT:1740 / CLSA:1740 Writing Strategies: Word Origins and Word Choice (3 s.h.)
• WRIT:3742 / CLSA:3742 Word Power: Building English Vocabulary (3 s.h.)

Focused Electives (9 s.h.) - must include courses from at least two of the categories below:

Writing for the Professions:

Art

• ARTH:1080 How to Write about Art (3 s.h.)

Business

• BUS:3000 Business Communication and Protocol (3 s.h.)
• BUS:3800 Business Writing (3 s.h.)
• COMM:1816 Business and Professional Communication (3 s.h.)
• CNW:3640 Writing for Business (3 s.h.)
• SRM:3300 Writing for Sport and Recreation Managers (3 s.h.)

Grant/Proposal Writing

• EALL:4130 / MUSM:4150 Introduction to Grant Writing (3 s.h.)

Journalism

• CINE:2600 Writing Film Reviews and Criticism (3 s.h.)
• CNW:2780 The Art and Craft of Writing About Sports (3 s.h.)
• JMC:2010 Reporting and Writing (3 s.h.)
• JMC:3410 Magazine Reporting and Writing (3-4 s.h.)
• JMC:3412 Strategic Communication Writing (4 s.h.)
• JMC:3415 Writing Across Cultures (4 s.h.)
• JMC:3470 Narrative Journalism (4 s.h.)
• SPAN:3020 / JMC:3445 / LAS:3020 Journalistic Writing in Spanish (3 s.h.)

Literature, Language, and Translation

• ASIA:3208 / TRNS:3208 / WLLC:3208 Classical Chinese Literature Through Translation (3 s.h.)
• JPNS:3201 / TRNS:3201 Workshop in Japanese Literary Translation (3 s.h.)
• SPAN:2000 Spanish Language Skills Writing (4 s.h.)
• SPAN:3000 Cultural Narratives for Heritage Speakers (3 s.h.)
• SPAN:3010 Advanced Spanish Speaking and Writing (3 s.h.)
• SPAN:3030 Translation Workshop: English to Spanish (3 s.h.)
• SPAN:3050 Translation Workshop: Spanish to English (3 s.h.)
• SPAN:3060 Introductory Workshop on Creative Writing in Spanish (3 s.h.)
• SPAN:4950 Advanced Workshop on Creative Writing in Spanish (3 s.h.)
• TRNS:3179 / CLSA:3979 / ENGL:3850 Undergraduate Translation Workshop (3 s.h.)
• TRNS:4480 Literature and Translation (3 s.h.)

Political Science

• POLI:3107 Writing in Political Science: Writing for "Science" and for "Politics" (3 s.h.)
• RHET:3560 / PBAF:3560 / POLI:3560 / SJUS:3560 Public Policy and Persuasion (3 s.h.)

Publishing

• WRIT:2900 / ARTS:2900 / ENGL:2900 / UICB:2900 Book Design for Publishing (3 s.h.)
• WRIT:2991 / CNW:2991 / ENGL:2741 Publishing I: Introduction to Literary Publishing (3 s.h.)
• WRIT:2992 / CNW:2992 / ENGL:2742 Publishing II: Advance Literary Publication (3 s.h.)
• WRIT:3000 Publishing Practicum: The Iowa Chapbook Prize (3 s.h.)
• HONR:2900 Honors Publications: From Pitch to Print (taken two times, first time for 2 s.h. and second time for 1 s.h.) (3 s.h.)

Sciences

• CNW:2730 The Art and Craft of Science Writing (3 s.h.)
• HHP:3900 Writing for Health and Human Physiology (3 s.h.)

Undergraduate Research

• BUS:1999 Introduction to Research in Business (1 s.h.)
• BUS:4999 Honors Thesis in Business (arr.)

Writing and the Literary Arts:

Creative Writing

• CW:2100 or CW:1800 Creative Writing (3 s.h.) or CW:1800 Creative Writing Workshop (3 s.h.)
• CW:3002 Writing and Reading Young Adult Fiction (3 s.h.)
• CW:3003 Writing and Reading Science Fiction (3 s.h.)
• CW:3004 Writing and Reading Fantasy Fiction (3 s.h.)
• CW:4894 Undergraduate Project in Creative Writing (arr.)
• WLLC:1510 / ASIA:1510 Ghost Stories and Tales of the Weird in Premodern Chinese Literature (3 s.h.)

Fiction

• CW:2870 Fiction Writing (3 s.h.)
• CW:3870 Advanced Fiction Writing (3 s.h.)
• CW:4870 Undergraduate Writers' Workshop: Fiction (arr.)
• CW4897 Novel Writing (3 s.h.)

Nonfiction

• CNW:1620 Introduction to Creative Nonfiction (3 s.h.)
• CNW:2680 / ENGL:2730 The Art and Craft of Creative Nonfiction (3 s.h.)
• CNW:2700 The Art and Craft of Personal Writing (3 s.h.)
• CNW:2840 The Art and Craft of Travel Writing (3 s.h.)
• CNW:3630 / ENGL:3730 Advanced Nonfiction Writing (3 s.h.)
• CNW:3633 / ENGL:3733 Personal Writing (3 s.h.)
• CNW:4631 / ENGL:4731 Advanced Essay Workshop (3 s.h.)
• CNW:4635 / ENGL:4735 Advanced Creative Nonfiction Writing (3 s.h.)
• CNW:4690 Undergraduate Project in Nonfiction Writing (arr.)

Playwriting

• THTR:2301 Playwriting I (3 s.h.)
• THTR:2320 Playwriting in Global World (3 s.h.)
• THTR:3301 Playwriting II (3 s.h.)
• THTR:3310 Undergraduate Playwriting Workshop (3 s.h.)
• THTR:3421 / GWSS:3421 Performing Autobiography (3 s.h.)

Poetry

• CW:2875 Poetry Writing (3 s.h.)
• CW:3875 Advance Poetry Writing (3 s.h.)
• CW:4875 Undergraduate Writers' Workshop: Poetry (arr.)

Writing and the Media

TV and Screenwriting

• CINE:1150 Introduction to Screenwriting for Nonmajors (3 s.h.)
• CINE:1300 Foundations of Screenwriting (3 s.h.)
• CINE:2600 Writing Film Reviews and Criticism (3 s.h.)
• CINE:3361 Screenwriting: Short Form (3 s.h.)
• CINE:3367 Screenwriting: Long Form (3 s.h.)
• CINE:4377 Advanced Screenwriting I (4 s.h.)
• CINE:4378 Advanced Screenwriting II (4 s.h.)
• CNW:3661 / ENGL:3761 Film and Writing (3 s.h.)
• COMM:2077 Writing and Producing Sitcoms (3 s.h.)
• THTR:3320 Writing for Film (3 s.h.)
• THTR:6310 Special Topics in Playwriting (3 s.h.)
• WRIT:3325 / THTR:3325 Iowa Writers' Room (3 s.h.)
• WRIT:4325 Iowa Writers' Room: Advanced Pilot Writing (3 s.h.)

Other Media

• CNW:2770 The Art and Craft of Writing for New Media (3 s.h.)
• CNW:3660 / ENGL:3760 Multimedia Writing (3 s.h.)
• CW:3218 / INTD:3200 Creative Writing for New Media (3 s.h.)
• JMC:3600 Topics in Designing/Producing (3-4 s.h.)
• RHET:2070 Persuasive Stories (3 s.h.)

Writing in Context

• WRIT:2100 Writing and Community Outreach (3 s.h.)
• WRIT:2300 Writing Toward Empathy (3 s.h.)
• CNW:2710 The Art and Craft of Food Writing (3 s.h.)
• CNW:2720 The Art and Craft of Writing About Culture (3 s.h.)
• CNW:2740 The Art and Craft of Writing About the Environment (3 s.h.)
• CNW:2760 The Art and Craft of Writing for Social Change (3 s.h.)
• CW:3108 / INTD:3107 Creative Writing for the Health Professions (3 s.h.)
• CW:3215 / INTD:3300 Creative Writing and Popular Culture (3 s.h.)
• CW:4751 Creative Writing for the Musician (3 s.h.)
• EDTL:4355 / CNW:4355 Approaches to Teaching Writing (3 s.h.)
• GWSS:3138 / SJUS:3138 Writing to Change the World (3 s.h.)
• IWP:3191 / ENGL:3595 / TRNS:3191 / WLLC:3191 International Literature Today (1,3 s.h.)
• RHET:2350 Forensic Rhetoric (3 s.h.)
• RHET:3220 Honors Writing Fellows: Writing Theory and Practice (3 s.h.)

Required Capstone (1 s.h.):

• WRIT:4001 Guided Capstone Portfolio (1 s.h.)

How to add the certificate to your program of study

Students may add a certificate program to their plan of study at any time.  Declaring a certificate will allow you to request a degree audit for the certificate requirements in MyUI.  There is no penalty to remove a certificate from a plan of study and one may be removed at any time.

Current BAS/BLS students can add a certificate program to their plan of study at any time by sending an email to their assigned academic advisor asking to formally declare the certificate. Once added, a separate degree audit will be produced.

How to remove the certificate from your program of study

Current BAS/BLS students can email their assigned academic advisor to ask to remove the certificate from their plan of study. There is no penalty to remove a certificate program from a plan of study and one may be removed at any time.