Photo by Nicholas Altenbernd
The MIT Program in Writing and Humanistic Studies gives students the
opportunity to learn the techniques, forms, and traditions of several
kinds of writing, from basic expository prose to more advanced forms of
non-fictional prose, fiction and poetry, science writing, scientific
and technical communication and digital media.
Our faculty consists of
novelists, essayists, poets, translators, biographers, historians,
engineers, and scientists.
Program subjects are arranged by four areas: exposition and
rhetoric, creative writing, science writing, and technical
communication. In each area, introductory subjects lead to more
specialized advanced subjects. Introductory subjects are designed for
students with little experience in writing. Advanced subjects are for
students who have mastered the elements of sentence and paragraph
structure. A number of the advanced subjects use writing as a vehicle
to explore humanistic and scientific issues in a broad cultural context.
The Graduate Program in Science Writing is a 12-month course of
study leading to a Master of Science degree. Aimed at students who wish
to write about science and technology for general readers, the program
is built around an intensive two-semester advanced science-writing
seminar. Links to other MIT programs and departments - such as the
Knight Science Journalism Fellowships program, Comparative Media
Studies, and the Program in Science, Technology and Society - provide
rich resources for students who come to the Graduate Program in Science
Writing from a variety of backgrounds.
Department of Writing and Humanistic Studies links
Visit the MIT Department of Writing and Humanistic Studies home page at:
http://web.mit.edu/humanistic/www/
Review the MIT Department of Writing and Humanistic Studies curriculum at:
/OcwWeb/web/resources/curriculum/index.htm#21W