What can I do with all those Free Electives?
What can I do with all those Free Electives?
What can I do with all those Free Electives?
As a primary Writing Arts major, you have 43 free electives with which you are, as the name suggests, "free" to do what you want. The department encourages you to plan wisely and give some direction to your use of these free electives. We have provided below several possibilities for fulfilling the free electives.
We have divided these into the following categories with most subheadings providing a hotlink directly to pages with more information:
More Writing Courses
Minor in Creative Writing
Minor in New Media
Internship
Senior Privilege
Accelerated BA/MA (the 4+1 program)
Double major or add a minor in another College of Communication & Creative Arts program
Double major in another major outside Communication
Combine several majors and minors
Study a foreign language
Study Abroad
While the scenarios discussed below provide official, established means for using your free electives, you may decide to develop a group or groups of courses that would help better prepare you for a field or career you are interested in. For example, the College of Communication & Creative Arts is currently developing a new media track that links courses in several departments across the college. You too could come up with a similar plan
Whatever you choose to do, you should work closely with your advisor on this.
Within the Writing Arts Major
More Writing Courses
You can always take more courses in the major than are required. The advising sheet shows only the minimum number of courses in particular areas that you need to take to graduate.
Minor in Creative Writing
This requires 18 hours of course work from a list of courses, but Writer's Mind counts towards this and is already required of you. Any of the courses in the Creative Writing Bank, except Writing With Style, can also be counted towards the CW concentration. By taking the correct courses, one could fulfill 12 credits in the WA major and the CW concentration simultaneously, leaving only 6 credits need to fulfill the CW concentration.
Minor in New Media
The Concentration in New Media allows students with an interest in new media to receive advanced and specialized education for critical analysis, skill development and application. The concentration defines new media as evolving media that focuses on interactive and digital technology, often disseminated through non-traditional, social networks.
Internships (May also be found under Field Experience in the catalog/schedule listings.)
Internships provide real-world experience in a workplace setting. Sponsored by area businesses, foundations and organizations, internships give you the opportunity to apply the theories and skills you've learned in the classroom. Many who hire interns do so with the intent of eventually hiring some of their interns into entry-level positions. Some internships are paid; others are not.
You may take Internship twice, for a total of 6 credits.
Senior Privilege
Seniors at Rowan University who have at least a 3.0 GPA may request permission from the dean of CPCE to register for one graduate level course per semester up to a total of 6 graduate credits. You may apply these credits to either your undergraduate or a graduate degree, but may not do both.
Accelerated BA/MA
High-achieving Rowan undergraduates in the Writing Arts major can obtain both the BA and the MA in a five-year period, instead of the normal six. By beginning to take graduate courses in their senior year, students will be able to accelerate their graduate studies while still at the undergraduate level and while paying undergraduate fees. You must meet the following requirements to apply to the program:
• Successful completion of 60-75 credits of course work
• 3.5 GPA in the major and a 3.0 GPA overall
• Completion of at least 3 courses offered by the department that are in the major
• Completion of WA07.200 Introduction to Writing Arts
Beyond the Writing Arts Major
The discussions below concern double majoring or adding minor(s) in addition to your Writing Arts major. Since writers are always writing about something, having knowledge in another subject area allows you to become more versed and versatile in writing about that field.
Double major or add a minor in another College of Communication & Creative Arts program
Overlap of requirements allows some courses to count towards both programs.
Example 1: The Communication Studies minor requires Communication Theory and has Mass Media and their Influences as an option. Since the WA major requires Communication Theory and lists Mass Media in the Culture and Communication bank, by taking those two courses, you would only need 12 more credits (4 courses) for a Communication Studies minor.
Example 2: For the Communication Studies major, one could take these plus nine hours that would fulfill the Related Electives Requirement of the Communication Studies major, thus leaving 24 more hours to fulfill the requirements. Or to look at it in another way, one could major in Communication Studies for 39 hours and need only 19 more hours to complete the Writing Arts major.
Example 3: Radio/TV/Film offers a Critical Studies specialization within the major. So many courses in this and the Writing Arts major overlap that a student completing the Writing Arts major could also fulfill at least 12 of the 36 hours required in the RTF Critical Studies specialization, depending on which courses are taken.
Double major in another major outside Communication
Those wishing to write in a particular field might choose to major in a related program.
• The English major requires 36 hours, of which American English Grammar can count for 3 credits.
• For those Writing Arts majors interested in running their own company, the College of Business offers a 60-credit major in Entrepreneurship.
Those wishing to write in a particular field might choose to minor in a related program. Examples:
• For those interested in science writing, Biological Sciences offers a 23-24 credit minor in Biology.
• Psychology offers a 21-credit minor.
• For those interested in art, graphic art or design, the Art Department offers a 24-credit minor in Art or an 18-credit minor in Art History.
• The English minor requires 24 credits.
• Business offers a 21-credit minor. As the college states, "Many large corporations recognize the importance of a strong background in the liberal arts and sciences. In addition, these corporations look for entry-level business skills. The Minor in Business provides these skills."
A complete list of all majors, minors, interdisciplinary studies and concentrations offered by Rowan can be found here.
Combine several majors and minors
The following provides three examples, all of students who graduated with no extra or a minimal number of credits beyond the minimum 121-credit requirement
• Writing Arts major with minors in Advertising and Psychology and a concentration in Honors
• Writing Arts, Communication Studies and RTF triple major
• Writing Arts major with Journalism and Communication Studies minors and a concentration in Creative Writing, while also studying abroad for a semester
Study a foreign language
The global economy demands that we become more adept at communicating with other peoples and cultures. The Department of Foreign Languages and Literature offers courses in Spanish, French, German, Arabic, Chinese, Italian, Latin, Japanese, Swahili, Russian and Zulu.
Study Abroad
Studying in a foreign country allows you to earn credit here at Rowan while living and taking classes in that country. Credits earned abroad can be used to fulfill requirements in the major and/or in General Education. Vistawide provides the following concerning why you should consider studying abroad:
If you ask anybody who has studied abroad, he or she will most certainly tell you that it is a life-changing experience and one of the most rewarding things he or she has ever done. Perhaps you're not certain what benefits you can reap from an extended stay in a foreign country. Here are 10 very excellent reasons why you should take the plunge:
Study abroad:
1. is the optimal way to learn a language.
2. provides the opportunity to travel.
3. allows you get to know another culture first-hand.
4. will help you develop skills and give you experiences a classroom setting will never provide.
5. affords you the opportunity to make friends around the world.
6. helps you to learn about yourself.
7. expands your worldview.
8. gives you the opportunity to break out of your academic routine.
9. enhances employment opportunities.
10. can enhance the value of your degree.
For elaboration on the listed items, click here.
