Advanced Certificate in Teaching Writing
Advance Your Craft. Empower Your Students.
Designed for K–12 and community college English/Language Arts instructors, this certificate program enhances your expertise in writing instruction, composition theory, and rhetorical and cultural studies. Whether you're looking to enrich your teaching, prepare for graduate study, or transition into new educational roles, this flexible, focused program supports your growth.
Why Choose This Certificate?
- Flexible Coursework
Customize your learning experience with a range of courses tailored to your goals and teaching context. - Theory Meets Practice
Engage in teacher inquiry to explore best practices for teaching writing in a variety of contexts. - Boost Your Credentials
Enhance your qualifications, pursue ESL instruction, or prepare for postsecondary teaching opportunities.
Additional Benefits
- Pathway to a Master’s Degree
Up to 9 approved units may be applied toward the M.A. in Rhetoric and Writing Studies with a specialization in the Teaching of Writing. - Concurrent Enrollment
Current SDSU graduate students may pursue the certificate alongside any other M.A. program.
Certificate Requirements
- Units Required: 12 total (at least 6 at the 600-level or above)
- Minimum GPA: 3.0 overall, with no course grade below C
- Eligibility: Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution
- Completion Time: Flexible pace; courses may be completed over multiple semesters
- RWS 600 - Reading and Writing Rhetorically (3 units)
- RWS 509 - Teaching Composition in Secondary Schools (3 units) or RWS 609 - Theory and Practice of Teaching Composition (3 units)
See our course page for more information.
Three units selected from:
- LING 550 - Theory and Practice of English as a Second Language (3 units)
- LING 652 - Second Language Acquisition (3 units)
- LING 653 - ESL Reading and Writing (3 units)
Three units selected from:
- RWS 512 - Writing Center Practice, Research, and Theory (3 units)
- RWS 601A - History of Rhetoric I (3 units)
- RWS 602 - Modern Rhetoric and Composition Studies (3 units)
- RWS 640 - Research Methods in Rhetoric and WritingStudies (3 units)
See our course page for more information.
How to Apply
Students apply for the Advanced Certificate through Cal State Apply by February 1. Be sure to select Advanced Certificate in the Teaching of Writing (112299) as your major/program objective.
Although three (3) units may be taken through Open University before being a matriculated SDSU student), students must apply for, and become a matriculated (registered) SDSU student in order to complete the Advanced Certificate. The Advanced Certificate cannot be completed only through Open University.
If you have questions regarding Steps 1, please contact the Graduate Admissions Office at (619) 594-6336 or email [email protected].
Must be received by February 15.
Within 72 hours of submitting your initial application to Cal State Apply, you will receive an email with a personalized link to Slate to submit your program application.
Applicants will need to electronically submit:
- A letter stating their intention to apply for the Advanced Certificate Program to the Graduate Advisor. The application letter should include information about the student's academic degree and current work, along with a rationale for applying to the program.
- One Letter of Recommendation from an appropriate work or academic recommender.
NOTE: SDSU students already admitted to a graduate program do not have to apply through Interfolio. Instead, they should contact the Graduate Advisor for assistance in completing the "Request for Permission to Enter an Advanced Certificate Program."
Advising
Jennifer Sheppard
Associate Professor and Graduate Advisor
Office: Storm Hall West 103 | Phone: (619) 594-2696 | Email: [email protected]
