Writing, Rhetoric, & Literacy
Communicate with confidence
In the Writing, Rhetoric, and Literacy concentration, you’ll develop the skills to communicate effectively in a variety of practical contexts. As you build a strong grasp of genre, audience, and style, you’ll learn how to write for a wide range of purposes and rhetorical situations.
Throughout your studies, you’ll explore how writing connects to rhetoric, literacy, identity, and power, while deepening your understanding of public and digital writing, community-engaged projects, nonprofit advocacy, and professional communication.
What You’ll Study
As a Writing, Rhetoric, and Literacy concentrator, you’ll study the power of writing through courses that blend theory and practice, discovering how language shapes ideas, communities, and culture. From examining activist rhetoric to learning the ins and outs of grant writing and navigating contemporary editing and publishing, you’ll take a range of interactive courses. You’ll also analyze what makes writing impactful across specialized fields including the arts and humanities, education, and sciences.
By studying how writing and rhetoric influence public discourse, identity, and civic life across social, cultural, and historical contexts, you’ll gain insight into the real-world impact of language and why the words we choose matter.
Featured courses
Explore how rhetoric shapes social movements by analyzing influential texts across genres—from manifestos and memoir to social media campaigns—that inspire change and build solidarity. You’ll study how activist writing reaches audiences and produces impact while developing your own persuasive, socially engaged writing.
At a time when the invasion of A.I. has us asking ourselves What role does writing play in our intellectual development? and What are the fates of individual and collective literacy?, we will look to the present and to the past to understand the evolution of literacy and its relationship to learning, power, and (in)equity. We’ll question to what extent literacy has been liberatory and to what extent it has been oppressive, while exploring what our own literacy practices have made accessible or inaccessible to us and to those around us.
In this course, students will learn about the process of applying for funding, gain hands-on experience in writing grant proposals, build skills to support collaborative grant writing processes, and learn principles that apply across strategic writing scenarios. This course is specifically designed to focus on proposal writing in qualitative humanities and social sciences and will be broadly accessible to students in any major.
Writing, Rhetoric, & Literacy Roadmap: Courses & Requirements
English majors must complete a minimum of 120 credits, 42 upper-division credits to graduate. Below, learn more about the requirements for the WRL concentration.
- CO 150 College Composition
- E 150 English Studies Symposium
- SPCM 200 Public Speaking
- Two Cross-Concentration classes—choose from the following options:
- E 200 Inquiry-Based Teaching and Communicating
- E 202 Language Use in Society
- E 204 Creative Writing as Transformative Practice
- E 206 Language for Activist Rhetoric & Writing
- E 237 Introduction to Science Fiction
- One Introductory Literature class—choose from the following options:
- E 305 Principles of Rhetoric and Writing
- CO 401 Writing and Style
- CO 402 Principles of Digital Rhetoric and Design
- E 406 Topics in Literacy
- Capstone Course: E 465 Topics in Language & Literature OR E 466 Integrated English Studies
Earn 18 credits from your choice of upper-division English/Composition electives in consultation with your academic success coordinator.
Must include one Composition course from the following options:
- CO 300 Writing Arguments
- CO 301A Writing in the Disciplines: Arts and Humanities
- CO 301B Writing in the Disciplines: Sciences
- CO 301C Writing in the Disciplines: Social Sciences
- CO 301D Writing in the Disciplines: Education
- CO 302 Writing in Digital Environments
Recommended electives include:
- E 311C Intermediate Creative Writing: Nonfiction
- E 403 Writing the Environment
- E 412C Creative Writing Workshop: Nonfiction
- E 458 Topics in Language, Law, and Justice
Earn 31 credits from your choice of foundational courses offered across the university. A cumulative grade point average of 2.0 is required in all AUCC courses.
Earn remaining credits from your choice of history, social science, arts & humanities, environmental studies & sustainability, and more!
WRL concentrators can meet the second field requirement by either completing the second year of a foreign language, or by completing 12 upper-level credits in a cohesive field of study outside of English.
Career & Professional Pathways
Our emphasis on the theory and practice of writing prepares students to craft effective, audience-driven work. This foundation opens doors to careers across writing-intensive fields, including healthcare, education, marketing, law, international diplomacy, and community engagement.
Careers in writing, rhetoric, and literacy include:
- Content Writer / Content Strategist
- Speechwriter
- Communications Specialist / Manager
- Public Relations Coordinator
- Social Media Manager
- Foreign Service Officer
- Composition Instructor
- Curriculum Designer
- Policy Writer / Analyst
- Grant & Development Associate
- Community Outreach Coordinator
- User Experience (UX) Writer
Hands-on Learning
WRL students extend their learning beyond the classroom in many ways. Whether supporting writers through inclusive, collaborative feedback at the Writing Center, contributing to literary and research publications, or participating in education abroad programs, our students engage the world and make a difference.
University Writing Center: Work in the University Writing Center and help writers develop a variety of strategies to build belief in their own writing processes and abilities.
Publishing Opportunities: Join the Journal of Undergraduate Research & Scholarly Excellence (JUR Press) or CSU’s undergraduate literary journal Greyrock Review and hone your editing skills.
Education Abroad: Led by CSU English and Honors faculty, Paris in Symbols is a two-week summer program that invites students to explore Paris as a global center of culture, history, and social change.
Alumni Stories
For Colorado State University System’s magazine, STATE, Hannah Prinzi (B.A. ’24) shares the importance of seats at the table in her essay about what democracy means to her.
When veteran Justin Frigault (B.A. ’23) learned he had secured a prestigious Rangel Fellowship, he felt one step closer to making his dream of working in international affairs a reality.
Student Reflection
“I’ve always been passionate about social and political concerns and this concentration has allowed me to take that passion and create an exciting future in the form of law school! My professors and peers have always been collaborative additions to my journey, and I have become a more empowered writer, thinker, and person because of it.”
— Madison Rheinheimer, B.A. ’23
Outstanding Writing Awards in WRL
Each spring, the WRL program celebrates innovative ideas, sharp critical thinking, and stellar communication in the broad area of writing studies. Open to English majors and minors, this annual competition offers cash prizes and recognizes winners at the department’s end-of-the-year awards reception. Submission guidelines are typically advertised in March.
Next Steps
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