The Master of Arts in Professional Writing program (MAPW) is a professional graduate degree program that prepares candidates for a wide variety of writing-related positions in business, education, publishing, and the arts. Coursework in three concentrations applied writing, composition and rhetoric, and creative writing allows students to gain theoretical and practical knowledge in various fields of professional writing. As students become experienced in producing and analyzing business, technical, journalistic, and creative texts, they develop a sophisticated understanding of style, structure, and audience. MAPW students will become writing professionals who can move in many directions during their careers. They will become flexible writers who can tune in to the writing conventions of a given genre, adapting their writing style to the requirements of various rhetorical contexts.
What is the MAPW Capstone Project?
A project designated as a thesis, portfolio or practicum and accompanied by a rationale for its purpose and design that involves electronic and/or print media and is relevant to the student’s concentration in professional writing. After submitting an approved capstone proposal, the candidate works under the direction and advice of two faculty members to produce the project. The candidate must submit the capstone project at least two weeks before either 1) a discussion about the project with the faculty committee, or 2) a public presentation about the project or a reading from the project for an audience of faculty and peers.
Theses/Dissertations from 2012
Ghosts Among the Kudzu, Melissa Davis
Social Media in Context: Writers Explore the Marketplace: A Practicum in Editing and Design, Denae Eagen
The Way Home, Michael J. Gavalas
Necroburbia, Sebastian Gregory
The Walton Way: A Tradition of Excellence, Jana Hoffman
A Strong-Minded Southern Woman: Sarah Joe Alston Claiborne, Catharine M. Johnson
Gaining Admission to the Medical Discourse Community: The Importance of Method Within Homeopathic Research, Katharina Jorgensen
From Homer to Hip-Hop: Using Popular Music to Teach Composition, Rebecca Kraegel
Sunflower Seeds & Quarter Waters, Imani Marshall
From the Margins to the Middle: Making Room for Visual Rhetoric in the Composition Classroom, Montyne H. Morris
Stone Cold Secrets, Victoria L. Mujahid
Mother is Supreme: A Memoir, Nneka M. Okona
Family Matters, Jennifer L. Rau
Digital Rhetoric: Doing Things with Words Online, Lisa M. Russell
Mind Warp, Dina Schwartz
Writing Portfolio, Stephanie Sidney
Interactive Learning Modules for the Reproductive Health Assessment Toolkit for Conflict-Affected Women, Erin S. Wright
Posthuman: The Great Beyond, Jason L. Wright
Theses/Dissertations from 2011
The Soul's Enslavers, Brenna L. Aldrich
Life, Love, Sex, and Everything In Between, Patti Beckett
Tapping My Way Through World War II, Janice G. Carter
The Gamer, Heather Cook
Artists Connect, Barbara Ann Cramer
Find Me Here, Kristi DeMeester
When the Crisis Communications Plan is the Crisis, Kim Dimson
Love Everlasting: A Memoir, Arthur Harris
The Mindstorm, Jeffrey P. Harrison
The Body, Kristen Brooke Harrison
Supporting the Non-profit Sector: A Grant Writing Project for The Georgia Ballet, Sarah Hocut
Once upon a Time in the Future: Excerpt of a Science Fiction Novel, Michael Hutchison
Mere Mortals, Jennifer Franklin Johnson
Panes, Brittany Moss Leazer
MAPW Capstone Project, Carol A. Levine
Framing God: Toward a Cognitive Account of Religious Rhetoric, Adam Lewis
Recycle Bin: A Collection of Interconnected Sudden Fiction, Kathleen Brewin Lewis
Moving Research Journals Online: Using Blogs to Teach Research-based Writing in First-Year Composition, Tanya L. Rodgers
The True Knowledge of Women, Karen Cochran Roop
Jodi Calls, Michael Paul Ruther
Man Poems: From Beer and Gears to Grills and Girls, Christopher Ward
Aristocracy and Appalachia: Edith Vanderbilt and Her Moonlight School, Wilkie L. Whitney
Lily Learns Her Lesson, Samara Zeiger
Theses/Dissertations from 2010
Running into a US Education, Tulasi Prasad Acharya
Expressive Writing: A Technique for Improving Communication in Individuals with Autism and Related Disorders, Taryn G. Aldrich
Editing an Anthology: Editing, Publishing & Blogging, Jessica R. Allgaier
Sweetwater Blues, Raymond L. Atkins
The Dirt Road: A Collection of Fiction and Creative Non-Fiction, Cindy Bee
Maxwell's Suitcase, Peter Bein
Quilts as Visual Texts, Marcia Inzer Bost
Social Networking in Collegiate Public Relations, Leon Bracey
Stepping Stones, Rebecca Brewer
The Lost, Jano R. R. Donnachaidh
Brigantia Equestrian, Sara D. Endres
Braceros: A Novel, Vanessa H. Fardin
Writing Center Outreach: What it is and Why it Matters, Christine B. Ghattas
Digging For The Rock Man: A Biography, Andy Hall
Nephilim: A New Age, Beverly M. James
A Change of Heart, Fawn Jones
Glimpses of Truth, Sally Kilpatrick
Fresh, Frugal, and Fabulous: A Woman's Guide to Cooking with Life, Tricia Mahoney
The Fertile Dark, Jacob M. Martin
Boiled Down, Sara Meyer
Empire's Ghosts, Ashley Phillips-Tirey
Stonefingers, Chris Prince
Songs of Expansion, Blake Ray
The Facebook Story, Brittany Rowland
D. Brian Peterman: One Man’s Service in the Coast Guard, Liza Scales
When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Write Poetry: A Biography of American Poet Walter Griffin, Lawrence Sterne Stevens
Wildly Unpopular and Totally Inappropriate, Katherine Tippins
Tales of a Wannabe Nomad, Logan Troutman
False Obligations, Heather Tullis
Theses/Dissertations from 2009
The Problem with Marriage, Rebecca Abbott
Life: The Work of a Hospice Chaplain, Matthew Alexander
Northbound: An Insight Into Latino Immigrants Living in the Unites States of America, Yahira Arizaleta
Bond PR and Brand Strategy: An Exploration into the World of Web 2.0, Jennifer S. Bond
On The High, Jarmea L. Boone
Damn Legs: A Memoir, Eric Todd Bussard
Beyond the Black: Poems and Stories, Katrina Carmichael
Exploring Masculinities in the United States and Japan, Susan Sims Cochran
South of the South: A Collection of Short Fiction and Poetry, David Dresner
Daughter, Mother, Sister: Stories of Brain Injury Survivors and Their Families, Gina Gareri-Watkins
A History of Women at Georgia Tech, Keshia Gibson
Capstone Portfolio, Rita Giménez
Planning a Best Practices Guide for PTO Today, Emily Graham
Sheltered by Strangers: The Story of Kenya’s Orphans, Bethany Bishop Griggs
Equilibrium, Jamie Grimes
Learning to Talk: a memoir of questionable accuracy, Patricia Henritze
Surfacing: A Collection of Fiction, Poetry and Screenwriting, Kimberly Hill
Road to Delphi, Brittney S. Holland
A Writer's Portfolio: The Intrinsic Connection between Drafting, Designing, and Communicating, Sarah Louise Johnson
Giving Them A Voice: Improving Student Writing Through Service Learning, Kasey Carty Jordan
Preparing Students to Write In and Across Disciplines: A Case Study and Course Design, Emily Kagey
Picking Noses in Russia: A Proposal for a Memoir, Vanessa Knauf
Doing It Write: Professionalizing The Write Room, Joellen Kubiak-Woodall
An Introduction to Altitude, Sean Leary
The Summer of Change: A Memoir, Jaime Luckey
Pilgrimage, Jennifer L. Mason
Adventures in Bellydancing, Lauren Murrah
There Are Other Worlds than These, Jessica L. Nettles
My Sullen Art, Sara Register
The Creation of AtlantaTableHopper.com: A Practicum in Applied Writing, Andrew G. Schmidt