Emerson College’s on-campus Publishing and Writing graduate program requires the completion of 40 credits. Students are required to attend courses in person on the Boston campus but do have an opportunity to choose from a limited selection of online courses. Housed in the School of the Arts, the program offers courses on the publishing of books and magazine media via print, digital, video, social media, and other platforms. These courses cover a full range of skills from writing, editing, design, and production to marketing, project management, and product development.
Courses
Core Requirements (3 courses)
| Number | Course | Modality | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|
| PB 680 | Magazine Media Essentials | In-person or online* | 4 |
| PB 683 | Book Publishing Essentials | In-person or online* | 4 |
| PB 692 | Digital Publishing Essentials | In-person or online* | 4 |
*Online options are based on first come, first serve. The Publishing and Writing MA is a residential, in-person program, with some online course options.
Sample Elective Course Offerings
| Number | Course | Modality | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|
| PB 621 | Fundamentals of Content Strategy | In-person | 4 |
| PB 679 | The Editor/Writer Relationship | In-person | 4 |
| PB 686 | Book Design and Production | In-person | 4 |
| PB 693 | Publishing Marketing and Sales | In-person | 4 |
| PB 696 | Web Development for Digital Publishing | In-person | 4 |
Internships
Internship opportunities are available, for credit, in publishing firms, with magazines, and at literary agencies. Students may also take courses in creative writing, literature, teaching college composition, and rotating topics in publishing and writing, such as multimedia storytelling, literary editing, backlist management, the role of the literary agent, educational publishing, and project management.
Master’s Project (Optional)
Students in the MA in Publishing and Writing program may choose to submit a project showing a professional level of accomplishment in publishing in place of one of their seven elective courses. The MA project can be a traditional thesis-type project that explores a publishing issue in depth by doing appropriate research and analysis, or a publishing project in which the student exhibits expertise in at least two areas within the publishing industry.
Sample Curriculum Map
Our Publishing and Writing MA can be completed full-time in two years, or part-time in two-and-a-half to three years. This sample curriculum map is designed to give you an idea of your course load as a full-time student over two years. For full course information, review our course catalog.
Full-time Sample Curriculum Map (September–May)
Fall Semester 1 (8 credits)
- Core Course: PB 680 Magazine Media Essentials
- Core Course: PB 683 Book Publishing Essentials
Spring Semester 1 (12 credits)
- Core Course: PB 692 Digital Publishing Essentials
- Department Elective Course: PB 678 Magazine Editing
- Publishing Elective Course: PB 679 The Editor/Writer Relationship
Fall Semester 2 (12 credits)
- Publishing Elective Course: PB 621 Fundamentals of Content Strategy
- Publishing Elective Course: PB 686 Book Design and Production
- Department Elective Course: PB 693 Publishing Sales and Marketing
Spring Semester 2 (8 credits)
- Department Elective Course: WR 515 Topics in Nonfiction
- Department Elective Course: PB 696 Web Development for Digital Publishing