Students interested in the Professional Writing Minor submit an application in the fall quarter of their fourth or graduating year, following the completion of the prerequisite courses (see About the Minor for more details). Students entering their third year are also invited to apply if all pre-reqs are completed by the end of fall quarter and space is available. Note that priority will always be given to fourth-year students. Because the Minor has limited space and the application process is competitive, students should put together the application with care. 

Questions About the Application Process? Please view the PWM Application Guidelines and Walkthrough! Additional questions should be directed to our advisor, Chloe Kimble (wpinfo@writing.ucsb.edu), or Dr. Ernst (bcernst@writing.ucsb.edu). 

 

The application Deadline is Friday, October 16th at 4:00 pm.

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The PWM Track Directors will notify candidates of their status by late October / early November. Please note that it is highly recommended that you complete this application form while logged in to your UCSB Google Account (via your UCSB Gmail address).

 

Application Requirements for All Tracks

 

All application elements below will be submitted in the Google Application Form (linked above). *We highly recommend filling this out while logged in to your UCSB Google Account.

  • A letter of interest (one to two pages)

    • 1) What are your professional goals? 2) What skills do you hope to develop in the Professional Writing Minor? 3) What tracks do you feel would help you develop these skills and why?

    • This letter helps the faculty understand how we can best mentor you and if our track is the strongest fit for your goals.

    • For more information on the genre of professional cover letters, please go to: https://career.ucsb.edu/get-hired/cover-letters.

 

  • A professional resume (no more than one page in length)

    • detailing your educational and work / internship experiences, along with any skills, special projects, or items of interest.

    • You can learn more about resumes here: https://career.ucsb.edu/get-hired/resumes.

 

  • Assessment of Three Writing Samples

    • Write one short reflection (250-300 words in total) that explains all of your writing samples: 1) the context of each writing sample, 2) which of your skills are showcased in these writing samples, and 3) what skills you still hope to improve upon in the minor.

 

  • Three Writing Samples: Three writing samples discussed in your assessment that, when combined, should not exceed 15-20 pages total (single or double spaced) 

    • Should consist of work selected from a range of projects created for both class and non-academic work settings (i.e. jobs, internships, volunteer work, student organizations, etc.)

    • If you plan to submit a website, video, or other piece of digitally published material as one of your samples, then please include a single page with a screenshot of the digital artifact, a working URL to the full work indicated, and a brief summary.

    • Selected portions of extremely large projects are also acceptable when framed in context. 

    • Finally, please note that academic essays are acceptable as writing samples for all tracks except Business Communication and Journalism, which prefer to see writing samples that are closest to business or media writing, if available.

 

Please ensure that all materials are properly submitted on the application form. Please compile documents into a single PDF file. You can compile PDFs with this free program.