2014-38

Arizona State University
University Senate
Fall 2013

Senate Motion #2014-38

Motion Introduced by: Curriculum and Academic Programs Committee, Eduardo Pagan, Chair
 
Date of First Reading: December 2, 2013
 
Date of Second Reading: February 3, 2014
 
Title of Motion: Request from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences – School of Life Sciences/School of Historical, Philosophical & Religious Studies – for the establishment of a graduate certificate – Nonfiction Writing and Publishing
 
Action Requested: The Curriculum and Academic Programs Committee recommends University Senate approval of a proposal submitted by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences – School of Life Sciences/School of Historical, Philosophical & Religious Studies – for the establishment of a graduate certificate – Nonfiction Writing and Publishing

Rationale: A foundational principle is that this graduate certificate is not a surrogate for a degree. Its purpose is to identify and reward writing as a professional skill that bolsters existing degree programs. The goal is to establish a nonfiction writing certificate--not a nonfiction MFA or equivalent—but a program where students retain their primary identity as members of a degree program, not as free-floating writers in a certificate program. The certificate embraces all varieties of nonfiction—popular science writing, creative nonfiction, narrative history, biography, genre-specific rhetoric, journalism, essays, op-eds, formal scholarship, young adult literature, blogs and other types of web writing, and any other species of good prose not based on fiction.