The Minor in Writing prepares you to write with purpose in a linguistically diverse world. Writing is much more than a mechanical skill—it is a way to think more deeply, connect across time and space, and work with others toward shared goals. The minor gives you opportunities to practice writing in exactly those ways. You will write for local and global audiences and across genres, media, and digital platforms. Through creative, academic, and community-engaged projects, you will build writing practices you can carry into your discipline, profession, and personal life.

You will also become part of a community of writers. You might participate in the Celebration of Multilingual Writing, join the editorial board of Deerfield—the Writing Program’s journal of exemplary student writing—or gain hands-on experience by applying for a position as a writing consultant, department-based writing tutor, or AI affiliate.

Questions about minoring in writing? Contact writing@bu.edu. Reach out to your college advising office to declare. 

Benefits of Minoring in Writing

  • Minoring in Writing gives you a valuable credential: Employers rank communication as the most important career readiness competency for new graduates.
  • You can shape the Minor in Writing around your own academic, creative, and professional interests through interdisciplinary electives. One Writing Intensive course in your major can also count toward the minor. 
  • Minors are supported by Writing Program mentors who help you curate the writing skills and experiences that serve you best.
  • With a Minor in Writing, you can fulfill all Intellectual Toolkit and Communication Hub requirements.
  • The minor offers experiential learning opportunities on campus and in the Boston area, giving you experience tackling real world challenges.
  • You gain a vibrant and supportive community that celebrates linguistic diversity and values the ways writing helps us learn how to listen and how to be heard. 

 

Learning Outcomes

Students who complete the minor in writing will be able to:

  • Demonstrate understanding of the relationship between audience, purpose, genre, and style in crafting effective texts
  • Analyze how language, identity, and power shape written communication across multiple contexts
  • Use research to recognize the social, cultural, disciplinary and/or professional functions of writing
  • Apply rhetorical knowledge to write flexibly across various genres, meeting audience expectations and context-specific goals
  • Use a range of writing technologies and digital tools ethically and effectively, in ways appropriate to the rhetorical situation 
  • Apply knowledge of the writing process to offer effective feedback to other writers

Requirements

Five 4-unit courses (or 20 credits) are required to complete the minor:

  • At least three 200–500-level CAS WR courses:

CAS WR 212 Translingualism

CAS WR 250 AI Literacy for Writing 

CAS WR 318 Public Speaking

CAS WR 320 Community Writing

CAS WR 415 Public Writing

CAS Tutoring Writing in the Disciplines 

CAS WR 599 Tutoring in the Global University

 

More courses coming soon!

 

  • Up to two electives, chosen from the following: 

One Writing Intensive (WIN) class in the student’s major

CAS EN 202 Introduction to Creative Writing

CAS EN 304 Writing of Poetry

CAS EN 305 Writing of Fiction

CAS EN 306 Introduction to Playwriting

CAS EN 403 Advanced Writing of Poetry 

CAS EN 406 Advanced Writing of Fiction 

CAS EN 481 Performative Text and Design 

CAS EN 502 Reading and Writing Literary Nonfiction

CAS EN 513 Modern English Grammar and Style 

CAS EN 515 History of the English Language 1

CAS EN 516 History of the English Language 2

CAS HI 529 History Media Lab: Producing Public-Facing History

CAS LS 306 Spanish Translation

CAS LG 310 German Translation and Interpretation Workshop

CAS LJ 386 Japanese Translation/Interpretation Workshop

CAS LC 486 Workshop on Translating and Interpreting Chinese 

CAS LY 572 Arabic Translation & Interpreting

CAS LK 470 Korean in Translation and Interpretation Workshop

CAS NE 370 Neuroscience Communication

CAS PH 320 Making Ideas: Historical & Philosophical Perspectives on Reading, Note-taking & Writing 

CAS TL 500 History and Theory of Translation

CAS TL 505 Literary Style Workshop

CAS TL 540 Translation Seminar

CAS TL 541 Translation Today

CAS TL 551 Topics in Translation

 

Other classes may be approved as electives at the Writing Program’s discretion. (Minimum grade of C for a course to count toward the minor.)