Eugene Hammond
Department Chairs
Director of Graduate Programs

The program in Writing and Rhetoric, in conjunction with the Departments of English and Linguistics, offers a course of study that leads to the Advanced Certificate in Teaching Writing. The certificate program, a 15-unit graduate program approved by the State University of New York, is designed to complement graduate work in literary studies or provide further professional development for those already teaching writing.

The study of rhetoric was of course central to education not only in Ancient Greece and Rome, but in Medieval and Early Modern Europe, and in 19th and early 20th century America. Since the early 1970's, this field has been enhanced by research focused specifically on the learning processes involved in gaining writing literacy. It is a multidisciplinary field, drawing its theories, research, and practices from psycho-linguistics, sociolinguistics, cognitive psychology, language acquisition research, genre theory, rhetorical theory, and linguistic anthropology.

Individuals who could benefit from this certificate program include M.A. and M.A.T. candidates in English who are preparing for a teaching career in high school or community college teaching, Ph.D. candidates in English who would like a broad-based degree program and want to do research in Composition Studies, and high school and college teachers seeking advanced training, accreditation or promotion.