JHU Online MA in Teaching Writing
Johns Hopkins University (JHU) offers an Online Master of Arts (MA) in Teaching Writing plus a Graduate Certificate in Teaching Writing program. Offered as Advanced Academic Programs through the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, these programs are designed for educators in any field and grade level who want to learn new and exciting techniques to teach writing and incorporate it into their curriculum.
Participants will improve their own writing while studying innovative techniques, theories, and best practices in teaching writing. Courses cover the entire writing process from brainstorming and narrowing ideas to the final piece and publishing. Students learn how to read like writers and choose a genre class on narrative, creative, nonfiction, or argumentative writing. And electives include topics such as teaching young writers, reluctant writers, and English as a Second Language (ESL) learners.
The MA in Teaching Writing comprises 36 credits, including 9 courses and the summer immersion. It can be completed in 21 to 36 months. Students can study full-time or part-time and start dates land in the fall, spring, and summer. The Graduate Certificate in Teaching Writing comprises 20 credits with optional attendance at the summer residency. It can be completed in nine to 12 months.
The Best Practices in the Teaching of Writing summer residency includes four to six hours of daily classroom sessions. Here students will create and present mini writing lessons to use in their classrooms, participate in theory and best practices of teaching writing, and attend a writing workshop to practice their own writing.
JHU delivers online teaching writing courses through Blackboard, with mostly asynchronous instruction. Applicants must submit up to 10 pages of writing samples as proof of writing ability, plus a 750 to 1,000-word Statement of Purpose.
Core courses for the MA in Teaching Writing include Teaching Writing, Thesis in Teaching Writing, and one of the following: The Power Of Story: Teaching and Writing Narrative; Teaching Creative Writing; Teaching Argument; and Teaching and Writing Nonfiction. Students also choose one of the following: Special Topics in Reading: Multicultural Texts; Writing in Literature; and Reading Like a Writer.
Finally, four electives are required from the following courses: Writing for Young Readers; Teaching Composition in College and Community College; Teaching Reluctant Writers; Writing Across the Curriculum; Teaching Writing to English Language Learner Students; Peer Response and Writing Centers: Theories and Practice; Teaching Writing Online; Digital Writing and Multimodal Composing; Neuroscience, Creativity, and Writing; and Independent Study in Teaching Writing.
Post-Bachelor’s Teaching Writing Certificate students complete Teaching Writing, one of each of the sets of core courses as listed for the MA curriculum, and two electives.
Johns Hopkins University is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE).
Johns Hopkins University
MA in Teaching Writing
- The program is designed for educators and others who want to build on their own writing skills and learn new ways to teach writing or integrate it into their content area
- The program is highly customizable with three required courses, two customizable core courses, and four electives
- Students attend a 7-10-day summer residency where they spend four to six hours in classroom sessions each day, create and present mini writing lessons, and attend a writing workshop to practice their own writing.
Post-Bachelor's Certificate in Teaching Writing
- The program is incredibly flexible with only one required course and a wide range of electives, plus two customizable core courses
- Core principles focus on teachers of writing being writers themselves, the study of theories and best practices, and collaboration with other teachers to share expertise, support one another, and learn from each other
- Those who earn this certificate will be well versed in innovative and creative ways to teach writing, and incorporate it into any subject