Professional Writing
Studying Professional Writing at Waikato teaches you high-level skills as a reader, writer and editor with excellent verbal, grammatical and analytical skills to excel your writing career.
The Master of Professional Writing offers a research-led and strongly practice-based qualification in professional and creative writing. The core paper is designed specifically to enhance the workplace readiness of graduates, and elective papers range across a variety of fields from creative writing to writing for promotional purposes and advertising, for digital media and for scholarly and professional publication.
Students have the opportunity to include a writing internship and all MPW students will be offered an on-campus professional writing mentor, who will provide professional advice and direct students towards on-campus writing opportunities. Candidates for the Creative Writing Thesis are selected on the basis of assessment of a portfolio of work; students accepted for the Creative Writing Thesis complete a book-length manuscript of publishable standard.
Key information
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Study Professional Writing in these qualifications
Study Professional Writing as a specialisation of
Papers
Available Professional Writing papers
Prescriptions for the PGCert(ProfWrit), PGDip(ProfWrit) and MPW
To be eligible to be considered for enrolment in the MPW, a student must have completed either:
a) a bachelors degree (or equivalent) with at least a B grade average across the 300 level papers, or
b) a bachelors degree with Honours (or equivalent) with at least second class honours (second division).
Students must complete 180 points from approved 500 level papers, and either a 120 point thesis, a 90 point thesis, a 60 point dissertation, or a 30 point dissertation.
Students who are ineligible to continue with the Degree may be eligible to graduate with a Postgraduate Diploma or Postgraduate Certificate.
500 Level
| Code | Paper Title | Occurrence / Location |
|---|---|---|
| APPLN501 | Research Methods in Applied Linguistics | 20A (Hamilton) |
| The overall aim of this paper is to provide students with a critical awareness of a range of issues and skills associated with carrying out research in the area of applied linguistics. | ||
| APPLN530 | Discourse Analysis and the Language Classroom | 20B (Hamilton) |
| The overall aim of this paper is to provide students with an awareness of a range of issues associated with the analysis and interpretation of text and discourse according to a variety of approaches, as well as an ability to apply a range of analytical approaches and assess the value of these in the field of second language teachin... | ||
| CWRT594 | Creative Writing Thesis | 20X (Hamilton) |
| This paper will provide students the opportunity to devise, carry out and revise an independent and original creative writing manuscript, while receiving supervision and peer feedback within a creative workshop environment. Students are selected by portfolio assessment: application portfolios due by June 1. | ||
| MEDIA501 | Theory and Research in Action | 20A (Hamilton) |
| This paper identifies the constraints and freedoms of research methods, and places a strong emphasis on research as an intellectual, theoretical, and processual activity as well as the roles of interdisciplinary projects in creating unique methodological and conceptual media research. | ||
| MEDIA506 | Scriptwriting | 20A (Hamilton) |
| This workshop-based paper develops understanding and experience of script-construction processes and practices as well as script analysis. Students will produce second draft scripts for the format, length and genre of their choice. | ||
| MEDIA507 | Creative Research Development | 20A (Hamilton) |
| Have you got a topic you are passionate about to research? This paper provides students the opportunity to engage with primary texts in preparation for writing their dissertation. You will explore research design frameworks which will support the completion of a robust dissertation. | ||
| WRITE501 | Writing for Publication | 20A (Hamilton) |
| Writing for Publication will focus on writing for professional publication, examining the modes, standards and practices associated with different forms of published output. Students will read examples from a variety of fields, including fiction and creative non-fiction, writing for advertising and digital media, and scholarly/acad... | ||
| WRITE503 | Professional Writing Internship | 20X (Hamilton) |
| This paper allows students to gain professional writing experience in the workplace, under the guidance of an academic supervisor and the specialist supervision of a workplace mentor. | ||
| WRITE546 | Creative Writing: Writing and Embodiment | 20A (Hamilton) |
| A writing-intensive paper focused on the ways in which 'embodiment' is key in generating vital characters, shaping dramatic narratives, and crafting resonant sentences aware of the sensory impact of language. | ||
| WRITE590 | Directed Study | 20A (Hamilton) & 20B (Hamilton) |
| This paper involves an independent but guided writing project on a topic of the student's choice. | ||
| WRITE591 | Dissertation | 20X (Hamilton) |
| This paper will provide graduate students with the opportunity to devise, carry out and revise a writing-focused dissertation, under appropriate supervision and guidance. | ||
| WRITE592 | Dissertation | 20X (Hamilton) |
| This paper will provide students with the opportunity to devise, carry out and revise an extended writing-focused dissertation, under appropriate supervision and guidance. | ||
| WRITE593 | Professional Writing Thesis | 20X (Hamilton) |
| This paper will provide students the opportunity to devise, carry out and revise an independent thesis focussed on a specialised field of writing studies, under appropriate supervision and guidance. | ||
| WRITE594 | Professional Writing Thesis | 20X (Hamilton) |
| This paper will provide students the opportunity to devise, carry out and revise an extended and independent thesis focussed on a specialised field of writing studies, under appropriate supervision. | ||
900 Level
| Code | Paper Title | Occurrence / Location |
|---|---|---|
| CWRT900 | Creative Writing PhD Thesis | 20X (Hamilton) |
| No description available. | ||
Scholarships and prizes
New to Waikato? The International Excellence Scholarship is worth up to $10,000.
Visit our Scholarship Finder for information about possible scholarships