Master of Arts in Professional Writing

Georgia’s Premier Professional Writing Degree

The Master of Arts in Professional Writing (MAPW) will prepare you for a writing career in television, film, education, publishing, business, and the literary arts.

This graduate degree addresses creative writing, screenwriting, scriptwriting, novels, poetry, technical writing, web writing, social media messaging, and much more. Hone your craft as you gain valuable writing and publishing experience and knowledge.

Choose from three concentrations to align with your career goals:

• Applied Writing: public service writing, grant & proposal writing, technical writing, feature writing, social media writing, multi-modal editing, web design
• Composition & Rhetoric: teaching writing, rhetoric studies, workplace writing, multi-modal writing, computers & writing
• Creative Writing: fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, playwriting, and TV & screenwriting

By selecting your concentration and support areas and your capstone topic and format, you can target your classes, writings, and projects to address your professional and creative goals. As you become experienced in producing and analyzing business, technical, journalistic, and creative texts, you’ll develop a sophisticated understanding of style, structure, and audience.

As a graduate, you’ll have the skills in writing that can move in many directions during your career; you will become a flexible writer who can tune in to the writing conventions of a given genre, adapting your writing style to the requirements of various rhetorical contexts in today’s print, electronic and multi-modal environments.

Additional resources of particular importance to the program faculty and students are the Kennesaw State University Writing Center, the Kennesaw Mountain Writing Project, and the Georgia Writers Association.

Program Admission Requirements

To be considered for MAPW admission, applicants must submit the following credentials to the KSU Admission Office in addition to the general Graduate Admissions requirements:

• Online Graduate Application - There is a non-refundable $60 application fee.
• Transcripts - Official transcripts from EACH college and/or university you have attended.  
• Bachelor’s degree with a minimum GPA of 2.75 from a regionally accredited college or university

Additional Program Requirements:

• Minimum GPA 3.0
• Resume or CV
• Statement of purpose addressing preparation for and goals for the MAPW program
• Writing samples (up to 25 pages)
• GRE (Optional)
• Letters of recommendation (up to 3 recommendations) (Optional) 

Graduate College Admission Requirements:

Domestic Applicants:

Graduates holding a baccalaureate degree from colleges or universities accredited in a manner accepted by Kennesaw State University may apply for admission to The Graduate College. Applicants must submit the credentials deemed necessary by the chosen degree program. Applicants are accepted to a specific graduate program and must reapply in order to change programs.

• Completed online Graduate Application
• $60 non-refundable application processing fee*
• Official transcripts from each college or university attended. 
• Bachelor's degree from a Regionally Accredited college or university.
• Minimum 2.75 GPA from degree-granting institution.
• Additional requirements by program

Not all programs are available to residents in all states. Please check the institution's State Authorization and Professional Licensure website(s) to ensure you reside in an authorized state.

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges