2.3 MA in Rhetoric, Composition, & Professional Communication Degree Requirements

Students admitted to graduate study for the MA in Rhetoric, Composition, and Professional Communication (RCPC) do not declare a specialization but may choose electives from a particular area of concentration to strengthen their understanding of that area (e.g., teaching multimodal composition, teaching professional communication, teaching speech communication, developing professional documents, understanding and using communication technology, analyzing visual design).

2.3.1 Degree Requirements (Effective Spring 2023)

Requires 30 credits of coursework.

Area of Coursework	Courses	Credits Towards POS
CO-REQUISITES This course does not count towards degree requirement credits. Students complete co-requisite their first fall semester upon entry into the program. Previous coursework that meets co-requisite must be documented by submitting the Pre/Co-Requisite Equivalency Petition.	ENGL 5910E 1.0 credit
CORE COURSEWORK	ENGL 5060 ENGL 5630A or C* (was 6020A or C)	6
ADVANCED STUDY IN RCPC Choose from any of the courses in the categories listed. TAs may count 3 credits of either ENGL 5000 or SPCM 5130.	Multimodal composition and speech communication ENGL 5030, 5040, ENGL 5920B*# Professional communication ENGL 5050, 5080#, 5290, 5420, 5490*, 5860, 5870, Engl 5920C*# Rhetoric ENGL 5470*, 5480*, 5630A or C* (not used in Core), Engl 5920A*# After designated prerequisites and 6 graduate credits completed, students may take ENGL 6030, 6110*#, 6310	18
	* Cross-listed with SPCM # Repeatable
ELECTIVES Elective credits may come from English Department course offerings or from other university departments or programs (such as WGS 5010, SPCM 5040, ENGL 5220, or ENGL 5270).		3
INDEPENDENT RESEARCH	ENGL 6990: Thesis Research or ENGL 5990: Creative Component	3
TOTAL		30 minimum

2.3.2 Curricular Policies and Guidelines

The MA RCPC program does not include a foreign language requirement.

2.3.3 Thesis or Creative Component options

In your last semester as an RCPC student, you will complete a substantial research project—either a traditional thesis or a creative component.

We encourage students who are planning to enter the workforce after graduation to consider one of the two following creative component options. The creative component options allow you to apply and display what you’ve learned in your coursework.

RCPC Creative Component Options

Professional Project Option

The form of your professional project will depend upon the nature of the professional project that you carry out. A packet of course materials, for instance, will take on quite a different form than a redesign of a website, a packet of promotional materials for a small business, or grant proposal written to a government agency. Past projects have also included the following: an instructional manual for operating equipment in a factory; a comics-style set of instructions for a computer lab; a website redesign for a local coffee shop; a history of our first-year writing program; and training materials for volunteers at ACCESS, a local women’s shelter.

With your professional project—whatever form it takes—you will include a project report. This report of 5,000 to 8,000 words should state a rationale for your project, describe the project’s audience and context, and discuss your methods (e.g., rhetorical strategies, technology). Your report should also explain how your coursework and secondary research informed your choices in carrying out your project. This report often begins as a proposal that you write at the start of your creative component in which you describe your plans for your project for your Academic Plan Committee.

Professional Portfolio Option

The professional portfolio consists of five parts:

1. A portfolio website. This professional portfolio site describes who you are, describes your past and present professional roles, and organizes examples of your work (see below). Your website should be your original design and should follow best practices. It should be usable, accessible, well-conceived, well-executed, and attractive. It should follow all relevant intellectual property laws, including, when necessary, obtaining permissions, citing sources, and linking to sources. In short, it should promote you as a professional.
2. An introductory memo of about 2,000 words to your committee.  This memo must address these two general questions: (a) Based on your coursework, what do you see as the major issues in rhetoric, composition, or professional communication? (b) How do you as a professional and the work presented in this portfolio address those issues? At least 10 sources must be cited, following APA style. After responding to these two questions, you should provide an overview of the documents in the portfolio.
3. A résumé or curriculum vitae.
4. Five documents—print or online—that you have worked on during your two years in the RCPC program.
5. For each of those five documents, a 500-word meta-analysis. The meta-analysis should include:
   • Name of the course and the instructor.
   • Audience(s) and purpose(s) for the document.
   • Your role in creating the document if the document was prepared collaboratively.
   • Your goals for the document and a description of the document-development process.
   • Theories and principles that informed the development of the document.
   • In-text and reference list documentation of secondary sources that support the document-development choices. Again, follow APA style.

Submit your professional portfolio to your Academic Plan Committee as a usable website.

2.3.4 Final Oral Defense of the Thesis or Creative Component (Final Oral Examination)

Students should refer to the above information about creative component options as well as Guidelines for Thesis and Creative Component (MA) as soon as they begin to establish their Academic Plan Committee and share their research interests. See the section on Program Completion/Graduation for more details and information on finishing up as well as resources with links to very helpful information.

2.3.5 RPC Statement on Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI)

For graduate coursework, RPC faculty may or may not establish their own policy for acceptable use of AI. For work that will be reviewed by a committee of graduate faculty (e.g., a portfolio exam, qualifying exam, and theses and dissertations), RPC faculty—in consultation with graduate students—have established shared expectations.

In short, we recognize AI as both a valuable object of study and a useful tool that can enhance graduate scholarship when employed thoughtfully. We aim to provide guidance that respects your agency as scholars while maintaining the core values of academic integrity.

Our Philosophy

Graduate work centers on developing your unique voice, intellectual contributions, and scholarly expertise. If AI tools are used, they should be used intentionally and mindfully to ensure that they support rather than diminish these goals. The distinction isn’t so much about what tasks you should or shouldn’t use AI for, but more broadly it’s about ensuring that you remain the primary intellectual agent of your work. 

Practical Framework for Ethical AI Use in Graduate Work 

Guiding Principle: If AI is used, it should be used in ways that support your intellectual capabilities while you maintain direction and ownership of your scholarly contributions. Conversely, AI should not be used in ways that offload or outsource your decision-making, critical thinking, authority, or verification.

Examples of Potentially Valuable AI Applications:

• Serving as a conversational partner to explore and better understand concepts from your sources
• Helping brainstorm and refine research questions or theoretical approaches
• Providing feedback on outlines and arguments to strengthen logical flow
• Suggesting possible alternative perspectives that you might not have considered
• Assisting with literature searches and summarizing research trends
• Supporting writing clarity and coherence by providing suggestions for improvement or through targeted editing
• Transcribing interviews (note: you should still defer to IRB requirements, including approval or oversight of the specific software you use for transcription)
• Translating sources into your native language

Examples of Clearly Problematic AI Use:

• Generating entire or partial literature reviews without critically engaging with the sources yourself
• Using AI to produce core theoretical arguments or analyses without your substantive input and direction
• Submitting AI-generated text as final work without significant critical revision and intellectual oversight
• Having AI write sections you don’t fully understand or couldn’t explain/defend in a discussion
• Using AI to develop methodologies without verifying their appropriateness and validity
• Requesting that AI analyze your data without independently verifying the analysis and conclusions
• Allowing AI to make key interpretive decisions about your findings
• Using AI to circumvent learning essential disciplinary skills and knowledge
• Failing to disclose significant AI contributions to your work

Questions to Guide Your Decision-Making (you should be able to truthfully answer, “yes”):

1. Am I using AI to help develop ideas that I came up with rather than relying on it to generate core arguments or analysis?
2. Am I expressing my ideas in my own words, using AI more as a thought partner or editor rather than as a primary drafter of my text?
3. Have I used my own scholarly judgment to critically evaluate AI-generated suggestions or content?
4. Would I be comfortable explaining my AI use to my committee in detail?

Formal Expectations

For work reviewed by graduate faculty committees (portfolios, qualifying exams, theses, dissertations), follow these guidelines when using AI:

1. Disclosure: Include a brief (e.g., less than a page) AI Use Statement that:

• Identifies which AI tools you used
  1. Note: Commonly used spelling and grammar tools as well as internet or database search engines are exempted from such disclosure.
• Describes specific ways you incorporated AI in your process

1. Oversight and Verification: Maintain complete intellectual control over your work:

• Verify the accuracy of all content, including any citations generated by AI
• Correct errors, biases, or inconsistencies
• Be prepared to discuss and elucidate any section of your work regardless of how it was produced

1. Authorship and Responsibility: Take full responsibility for your work:

• Do not attribute authorship to AI tools
• Recognize that AI assistance doesn’t diminish your accountability for the final product

 

Here is an example AI Use Statement:

AI Use Statement for [Title of Work]

In developing this [dissertation/thesis/portfolio/exam], I used the following AI tools to support my research and writing process:

• Claude 3.7 Sonnet (Anthropic):
  • As a discussion partner to explore concepts from key theoretical sources, helping me clarify my understanding of [specific theory/concept]
  • For targeted editing assistance to improve clarity in my methodology section
• ChatGPT 4.0 (Open AI):
  • To help generate visual representations of my data analysis framework

In all cases, I maintained intellectual direction of the work, critically evaluated all AI-generated content, and verified information against primary sources. The analysis, interpretation, and conclusions are entirely my own.

Discipline-Specific Considerations

We recognize that appropriate AI use may vary across research methods, theoretical frameworks, and types of scholarship. What works for a quantitative methods paper may differ from a critical theory analysis or creative project.

Faculty advisors and committees will work with you to develop discipline-appropriate guidelines for your specific research context, as well as the structure or specifications for a disclosure statement. We encourage open dialogue about AI integration in your scholarly process.

Conclusion

We hope that this statement provides guidance and encourages open discussion about how you are using AI. In cases of uncertainty, consult with your advisor or committee members, ideally before using AI for that purpose. If there is a disagreement that you and your committee are unable to resolve, we recommend that you seek guidance from the RPC coordinator, the English Department’s Director of Graduate Education, or the Department Chair.

Finally, we are committed to revisiting and potentially updating these expectations to reflect our understandings of the affordances and constraints that generative AI applications entail.
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2.3.6 Student Learning Outcomes

The RCPC program combines the pedagogy focus of a degree in rhetoric and composition with the technical skill and practicality of a degree in professional communication. Upon graduation, students will demonstrate the ability to:

• Demonstrate understanding of the interplay of rhetoric, composition, and professional communication in local and global contexts.
• Analyze a rhetorical situation and develop communication that responds to it effectively and ethically.
• Develop communication that helps build a socially just society.
• Use communication to contribute to an affirming and inclusive classroom/workplace environment.
• Apply the historical and theoretical understanding necessary to assess the use of specific communication technologies within complex organizations.
• Combine verbal and visual communication skills to produce effective communication in contemporary organizations.

Measures for evaluating a student’s success in meeting these objectives include these:

• Achievement on coursework
• Familiarity with useful and common software programs and technologies
• Successful completion of a thesis or a creative-component project.