Professional Writing, Certificate

The Certificate in Professional Writing gives you a scenario-based deep dive into the kinds of writing essential to business. Our online professional writing courses offer a series of concepts and practical applications that provide an accelerated understanding of the subtle arts of communication, enhanced by tips to make anyone a power-writer—a master of grammar, concision, and clarity.

Whether you are in an entry-level position and want to ramp up your writing skills or are an accomplished writer ready to expand and refine your repertoire, our online professional writing courses take you to the next level. We take you beyond the basics of structure and style. Our coursework emphasizes professional expertise and extensive feedback as we share and cutting-edge findings in the field of writing. Find out how to incorporate your personal or corporate brand's story into every piece of communication and discover the best ways to identify and appeal to target audiences.

Professional Writing Certificate Requirements

• The Certificate in Professional Writing is a 4-course, 4 c.u. credit program of study taught by University of Pennsylvania faculty.
• To earn the certificate, it is recommended that students enroll first in PROW 1000: Fundamentals of Professional Writing, followed by three additional professional writing courses. See courses below.
• Students who complete the basic certificate may pursue an Advanced Certificate in Professional Writing (6-course, 6 c.u.) by adding two additional professional writing courses.

Flexible Course Schedule

Penn LPS Online courses in the Certificate in Professional Writing are offered on an accelerated (8-week) schedule. Courses in the online certificate program are largely asynchronous with some optional synchronous sessions to be scheduled by the instructors. All Penn LPS Online courses are taught at the undergraduate level by Penn instructors.

You also have the option to enroll in individual professional writing courses without committing to the entire online certificate, enjoying the flexibility and expertise offered by Penn LPS Online to suit your schedule and interests. 

Read more about the Certificate in Professional Writing.

The Certificate in Professional Writing prepares you to:

• Assess audience and purpose for communication targeted at achieving specific goals
• Analyze different audiences, scenarios, and contexts in order to shape your messaging most effectively whatever your audience
• Develop effective rhetorical strategies and skills to persuade specific audiences—personal, professional, and social—through visual, written, and multimedia communication
• Draft and revise written work for precision, clarity, and power
• Develop empathic and analytic skills to integrate and build upon other viewpoints and perspectives
• Learn how readers, writers, and designers use complex multimedia texts incorporating language, image, sound, and gesture to produce a coherent, engaging message
• Explore how to engage the senses—visual, aural, and somatic—to convey information effectively through social media
• Understanding how to make complex information accessible to audiences through effective visualization

Advanced Certificate 

Certificate students who complete the four basic courses earn the Certificate in Professional Writing. Those students are then eligible to pursue an Advanced Certificate in Professional Writing by adding two advanced courses.

Course List

Code	Title	Course Units
Select two of the following not used for the Basic Certificate		2
PROW 1000	Fundamentals of Professional Writing
PROW 1020	The Elements of Style
PROW 1030	Introduction to College Writing
PROW 2000	Writing with Data
PROW 2010	Designing Effective Presentations
PROW 2030	Writing for Public Audiences: The Op-Ed and White Paper
PROW 3010	The Power of Storytelling
PROW 4000	Writing for Social Media
PROW 4010	Composing a Professional Identity
Any course with Attribute = BCPW
Total Course Units		2

Courses are subject to change.