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 ran by the department’s graduate assistants with help from the department assistant and MA in WRD director.
Grace Von Lehman is a WRD graduate assistant in her second year of the MA program. She received her BA in English and Communication from Marian University Indianapolis, and she currently works as a tutor in DePaul’s Writing Center and as an AmeriCorps volunteer in adult education. She hopes to hone her passion for public literacy and strategic storytelling through her time in WRD.
Leo Swearingen is a WRD graduate assistant in his first year of the MA program. He received his BA in WRD and Psychology from DePaul University. He currently works as a tutor in DePaul’s Writing Center and as an editor for DePaul’s Blue Book, a national anthology of best high school writing. He hopes to learn how to become a better writer and thinker able to manifest social change through his time in WRD.