The department of Writing, Rhetoric, and Discourse (WRD) is dedicated to studying the history and theory of literate activity and helping students excel as writers in a wide range of academic, professional, and public settings.
WRD is home to DePaul University’s First-Year Writing program; in addition, the department offers the Minor in Professional Writing and the Major in Writing and Rhetoric.
We also offer a graduate-level MA in WRD. Graduates of the MA in WRD program go on to become professional writers and digital communicators in nonprofit and for-profit organizations, as well as writing teachers and writing center administrators in post-secondary institutions.
Writing and Rhetoric undergraduate students have the option to complete a Combined BA/MA, which allows them to begin taking graduate courses in their senior year.
Staff
The WRD Blog is run by the department’s graduate assistants with help from the department assistant and MA in WRD director.
Chaia Vanderaa is a WRD graduate assistant in her second year of the MA program. She received her BA in English with a concentration in Professional Writing and Publishing from University of Illinois Chicago. Currently, she is teaching in the TAP program and works as a tutor in DePaul’s Writing Center. She is interested in professional writing, editing, and teaching, and she is excited to continue exploring the field of rhetoric while in WRD.
Maren Case is a WRD graduate assistant in her first year of the MA program. She was proud to receive her BA in Arts and Humanities with a concentration in Language and Culture, with minors in Writing and Religious Studies from Michigan State University. Currently, works for the department and also with courses in the First Year Writing program. She hopes to follow her curiosity into questions of language, ways of knowing and effective communication.