WRTC Graduate Program Mission
The mission of the School of Writing, Rhetoric and Technical Communication (WRTC) Graduate Program is to teach writing professionals to be agents of change in evolving work and academic environments.
Greetings From The Director
"When you join our program, you become part of a supportive, high-energy community of faculty and students who are dedicated writers and content creators." Read More
— Dr. Lori Beth De Hertogh, WRTC Graduate Program Director
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Graduate Student Spotlight
For her WRTC Capstone Internship, Dardane Halimi is working as a Digital Marketing Intern at Lunara Digital, a marketing agency in Chicago. Her responsibilities include developing and executing marketing campaigns across digital, social media, email, and print channels; creating marketing materials and conducting market research; and collaborating with the design team to ensure brand consistency.
When asked how the WRTC Graduate Program has prepared her for the internship, Dardane shared that “The program has taught me how to create clear, audience-centered content and how to manage projects effectively. These skills are essential as I help create and improve marketing campaigns and strategies for Lunara Digital and its clients.” Dardane’s internship is also shaping her future career goal to “create campaigns that raise awareness about women’s economic empowerment in my home country of Kosovo.”
Program Advantages
Why we're one of the top graduate writing programs in Virginia:
- Assistantships to cover tuition and provide a stipend to qualified applicants.
- Design & Technological Skills to pursue writing careers in digital storytelling, publication management, professional editing, content strategy, UX, and more.
- Public & Professional Writing and Health & Science Writing tracks.
- Students From Diverse Majors including science, English, sociology, business, education, writing studies, psychology, journalism, and more.
- Career Support that includes close mentorship, career advising, job application guidance, and conference travel funding.
- Internship or Thesis Option to pursue either an internship or write a research-based thesis.
Writing Careers
WRTC graduates pursue writing careers in:
- Technical Communication
- Medical Writing
- Professional Editing
- Science Writing
- Information Design
- Digital Storytelling
- Content Strategy
- User Experience
- Grant Writing
- Teaching Writing
- Publication Management
Course Offerings
In 2024-2025, our graduate writing program will offer electives on:
- user-experience
- document design
- teaching writing
- health and medical writing
- launching a writing career
Want to know more? Contact Dr. Lori Beth De Hertogh, WRTC Graduate Program Director, at dehertlb@jmu.edu.
Please go to the Cost of Attendance Calculator to see the estimated cost of attendance for your program of study.
