Nebraska Writing Project and UNL Graduate Programs
The Nebraska Writing Project institutes can provide the core of several University of Nebraska Graduate programs. Combinations of NeWP institutes will fulfill the requirements for:
- Masters of English with a Concentration in Teaching
- Graduate Certificate in the Teaching of Writing
- Doctorate in English with specialty in Composition and Rhetoric
- Minor in English supporting Masters and Doctorate in Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education
- NeWP Courses
See below for the specifics. To apply for graduate programs in English please visit the English Graduate website: http://english.unl.edu/grad/admission.html. To apply for graduate programs in Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education, please visit the TLTE Graduate website: http://cehs.unl.edu/tlte/graduate/index.shtml.
Masters of English with a Concentration in Teaching
Many Nebraska Writing Project teacher consultants use their coursework in the Summer Institute and Advanced Institutes to fulfill the required component of the Masters of English with a Concentration in Teaching. The most popular route to this degree is to take Option I: 24 hours of coursework plus a 6 hour Masters Thesis. A typical package thus would be:
For the required courses in the program:
One course in the Teaching of Writing:
957B Nebraska Writing Project Summer Institute (6 hours)
One course in Research on Teaching:
895A Nebraska Writing Project Internship (3 hours)
857B Nebraska Writing Project Advanced Institute (3 hours)
One course in the Teaching of Literature:
991 Nebraska Literature Project (3 hours)
992 Nebraska Humanities Project (3 hours)
Most NeWP teacher consultants accumulate 12-18 hours in these NeWP institutes, so meeting the 9 hour requirement is simple.
The other hours to get to the 24 required are electives, chosen from the full range of English department courses (or courses in other departments approved by your faculty advisor). Most teacher consultants also take English 990 Introduction to Research and Scholarship in English for 3 hours.
The last requirement is the 6 hour Masters thesis, an article-length 35-page paper developing an original idea for an audience of other teachers and scholars in English. This thesis is written under the guidance of a faculty advisor in English (most frequently one of the professors who work with Nebraska Writing Project). NeWP Director Robert Brooke can help you select the right faculty advisor and the right reader for your particular thesis. Many NeWP teacher consultants model their thesis on the National Writing Project series “NWP at Work,” a series that reports on teacher-research at NWP sites across the country. The series is available online at the National Writing Project website at http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/doc/resources/otherpub_monographs. (NWP also offers yearly Professional Writing Retreats in exotic places like Sante Fe. Several Nebraska WP teacher consultants have participated in these retreats while writing their Masters theses.)
Graduate Certificate in the Teaching of Writing
The Graduate Certificate in the Teaching of Writing is a 15-18 hour program administered through the Composition program in the Department of English at UNL. It is an independent program that can stand on its own or can be integrated into a Masters or Doctorate program in English or Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education. Nebraska Writing Project institutes fulfill many of the requirements of this certificate.
Here is the description of the Graduate Certficate in the Teaching of Writing. The full description can be found online at: http://www.unl.edu/gradstudies/prospective/programs/Cert_TeachingOfWriting.shtml.
Graduate Certificate in the Teaching of Writing
**The certificate requires a minimum of five courses (15-18 hours); substitutions allowable with permission by Advisory Committee. Up to six hours may be taken outside of the English Department.
ONE of the following courses is required:
957: Composition Theory and Practice (English TAs only)
957B: Nebraska Writing Project Summer Institute
857A: Composition and Rhetorical Theory
Electives:
Engl 880: Writing Theory & Practice for Consultants
Engl 882: Literacy & Community
Engl 875A: Rhetoric of Women Writers
Engl 857: Composition Theory and Practice
Engl 976: Seminar in Rhetorical Theory
Engl 895: Internship in Teaching English
Engl 973 Seminar in Literacy Theory
Engl 875: Rhetoric
Engl 857B: Nebraska Writing Project
Engl 992B Place-Conscious Teaching
Engl 895A: NeWP Internship
Teac 840: Culture and Schooling
Teac 921: Seminar in Literacy Studies
Teac 950: Contextual Research in English/Language Arts
Teac 952: Language and Learning
Teac 944: Seminar in Curriculum Studies
Teac 818: Teaching Writing
Teac 953: Sem in Writing in the Curr
Teac 813: Studies in Teaching ESL
Teac 838: Ling for Classroom Teacher
Doctorate in English with emphasis in Composition and Rhetoric
Nebraska Writing Project institutes can serve as a main portion of a doctorate in English specializing in Composition and Rhetoric. The English doctorate is an individually-designed program of 90 hours beyond the Bachelors. Typically, the program consists of 30-36 hours accepted from a Masters degree program, an additional 24-30 hours of coursework, and 24-30 hours of dissertation credit. Admitted doctoral students work with an advisory committee of 4-6 faculty to shape a program of courses and dissertation appropriate to their interests. NeWP director Robert Brooke, or any of the Composition and Rhetoric faculty who work with NeWP, can advise doctoral students with NeWP experience in selecting an advisory committee. The full range of Composition and Rhetoric information at UNL is available on the English department website at: http://english.unl.edu/comprhet/grad/index.html
Minor in Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education
9 credits of Nebraska Writing Project institutes often are used in Masters and Doctoral programs in the College of Education’s department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education as a minor or collateral field. See the website for the department at:
