BestOnlineCollege.org is an advertising-supported website. Many of the school and program listings that appear on this site are from partners who compensate us, and this compensation may affect how, where, and in what order listings appear (such as featured placements). This compensation does not influence our editorial content, evaluations, or rankings, which are determined independently using publicly available data. We do not review or feature every school or program available in the marketplace. Our goal is to provide accurate, unbiased information so you can make informed decisions. Read our full Advertiser Disclosure.
Online Bachelor's in Professional Writing: 2026 Programs
A bachelor’s in professional writing exists as a standalone degree – usually a BA, sometimes a BS – and it is also widely offered as a concentration inside an English, communications, or rhetoric major. Both routes are legitimate, and the choice between them matters less than what the upper-division coursework actually contains. A standalone professional writing major typically devotes more credits to editing, documentation, and applied genres. A concentration inside English typically pairs fewer of those courses with literary study, which some students want and others do not.
This page explains the degree titles you will encounter, what the coursework covers, why the portfolio requirement deserves more of your attention than the major title, and how to compare programs honestly.
Quick answers
Can I get a bachelor’s degree in professional writing?
Yes. It is offered as a standalone BA or BS in Professional Writing, and also as a concentration or track inside English, communications, rhetoric and writing, or writing studies majors. Some schools use the title “Professional and Technical Writing” or “Writing and Rhetoric” for the same curriculum.
How is this different from an English degree?
An English major centers on literature and literary analysis, with writing courses attached. A professional writing major centers on producing usable documents for real audiences, with editing, information design, and applied genres as the core. If you want both, an English major with a writing concentration is the common compromise – see the liberal arts program guide for how English fits into a broader humanities degree.
How many credits is a bachelor’s degree?
Approximately 120 semester hours, typically four years full-time. The professional writing core is usually 30 to 45 of those credits and concentrates in the junior and senior years, after the general education and introductory composition sequence.
Does the program require a portfolio?
Most do, and you should treat this as a screening criterion rather than a detail. A portfolio requirement forces you to finish, revise, and present work at professional quality, which is precisely what employers ask for. Programs without one leave you assembling a portfolio on your own after graduation.
Do I need to be a strong writer before I enroll?
No, but you need to be willing to be edited. Undergraduate professional writing programs teach the craft from the composition sequence upward. The students who struggle are usually the ones who treat feedback as criticism of taste rather than information about whether the document worked.
Is a bachelor’s enough, or will I need a master’s?
For most writing, editing, and content roles, a bachelor’s plus a strong portfolio is sufficient. A master’s is more common for people pivoting from another field, moving into teaching writing at the college level, or specializing deeply in rhetoric, content strategy, or documentation management.
At a Glance
- Common degree titles: BA in Professional Writing, BA in Writing and Rhetoric, BS in Professional and Technical Writing, or English with a professional writing concentration
- Typical duration: 4 years full-time
- Credits: Approximately 120 semester hours
- Core skills: Rhetoric and audience analysis, editing and style, information design, applied genres, digital publishing
- Accreditation: No programmatic accreditor for professional writing; verify institutional accreditation
For a full map of this program area, start here: Professional Writing Program Guide
Schools to compare
No school data available.
The main undergraduate pathways
Standalone professional writing major
The most direct route. A BA or BS in Professional Writing devotes the major credits to rhetoric, editing, technical and business writing, information design, and applied genre electives, usually finishing with a portfolio or client-project capstone. The advantage is depth and a transcript that reads unambiguously. The thing to verify is elective breadth – some standalone majors are effectively documentation programs with a different name, and others lean heavily toward content marketing. Read the catalog, not the program description.
English or writing studies with a professional writing concentration
Common at schools that did not build a separate major. You take the English core – literature surveys, critical theory, advanced composition – plus a block of professional writing courses. This is a good fit if literary study genuinely interests you and you want the writing training alongside it. The tradeoff is fewer applied credits, which usually means a thinner portfolio at graduation unless you build one deliberately. See the liberal arts program guide for how English concentrations are structured.
Communications with a writing emphasis
A communications major with a writing emphasis trades some editing and document-design depth for coursework in media, organizational communication, and public communication theory. It suits students aiming at corporate communications, public relations, or content roles that sit inside a marketing organization. If reporting and news writing are the draw instead, compare the journalism program guide.
Typical coursework in a bachelor’s program
| Course Topic | What You Learn |
|---|---|
| Rhetoric & Composition Theory | Audience, purpose, genre, and why documents succeed or fail at their job |
| Editing & Style | Levels of edit, style guides such as AP and Chicago, usage as a working tool |
| Technical & Business Writing | Documentation, procedures, reports, and correspondence for workplace audiences |
| Information & Document Design | Typography, layout, tables, and structure as carriers of meaning |
| Digital Publishing & Content Management | Web writing, CMS workflows, structured content, and publishing production |
| Grant & Proposal Writing | Funder analysis, narrative structure, budget narratives, and compliance requirements |
| Copywriting & Content Strategy | Persuasive writing, content audits, editorial calendars, and governance |
| Portfolio or Capstone | A finished, presentable body of work produced for a real or realistic client |
Skills you may build
- Analyzing an audience and choosing a genre and structure that fits what they need to do
- Editing at three levels – developmental, copyediting, proofreading – and knowing which the situation calls for
- Writing accurately about subjects you did not previously know, through interviewing and research
- Designing documents so that structure, not just sentences, carries the meaning
- Working inside a style guide, a review cycle, and a deadline you did not set
- Presenting and defending your editorial choices to non-writers
Prerequisites and course sequencing
The professional writing core generally sits behind a composition prerequisite chain, and upper-division electives often run on a rotation rather than every term. Before you enroll, confirm:
- Which composition or introductory writing courses gate the major core
- How often each upper-division elective is offered online, and in which terms
- Whether the portfolio or capstone requires prerequisites you can finish on your timeline
- Whether internship or client-project credit is available online, and how placements are arranged
If you are moving faster than a standard four-year plan, compare accelerated professional writing programs.
Transfer credits and degree planning
Transfer credit can shorten a bachelor’s substantially, particularly for general education and the composition sequence. Rules vary by institution, so confirm:
- The maximum number of transfer credits accepted
- The minimum grade required for a course to transfer
- Whether credits apply to the major core or only to general electives – composition and general education usually transfer, upper-division editing and documentation courses often do not
- Residency requirements, meaning a minimum number of credits completed at the institution
See Affordable Online Professional Writing Degrees for more on managing total program cost.
Accreditation and program quality checks
There is no programmatic accreditor for professional writing degrees or concentrations. Verify that the institution holds accreditation from a recognized institutional accreditor – such as HLC or SACSCOC – through the U.S. Department of Education database.
Building the portfolio while you study
Since the portfolio does most of the work in hiring, treat every substantial assignment as a potential sample. Practical habits that pay off:
- Keep a clean, final version of each major project, without instructor comments, from the first semester onward
- Seek out client work through campus offices, student organizations, or local nonprofits – real constraints produce better samples than hypothetical ones
- Include range: a documentation piece, an edited before-and-after, a persuasive piece, and something that shows information design
- Write a short framing note for each sample explaining the audience, the constraint, and the choice you made – editors and hiring managers read those closely
- Get permission in writing before publishing any client or employer work
Bachelor’s vs a master’s for professional writing
A bachelor’s plus a strong portfolio is the standard entry credential for writing, editing, documentation, and content roles. A master’s in professional writing is more commonly pursued to pivot into the field from another background, to specialize in rhetoric or content strategy at depth, or to teach writing at the college level. It is rarely a requirement for the entry-level jobs a bachelor’s already reaches.
Compare degree options:
- Online Master’s in Professional Writing
- How Online Professional Writing Degrees Work
- Is an Online Professional Writing Degree Worth It
- Professional Writing Programs by State
Data verified: August 11, 2026. Salary, employment, and tuition figures on this page are sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2024–2034) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (2023 cohort). The source agency and data year are cited inline with every statistic.
Back to Online Professional Writing Degrees: Programs & Careers (2026)