Featured RSTC PhD Graduates
Congratulations to our recent and upcoming PhD graduates in Rhetoric and Scientific & Technical Communication (RSTC)! The PhD is the highest degree awarded in the Department of Writing Studies, requiring students to demonstrate deep expertise and contribute original scholarship to rhetoric, writing studies, and technical communication. We are incredibly proud of what our students have accomplished. Read below for a brief Q&A with three of our graduating students this summer: Mikayla Davis, Emily Gresbrink, and Jessa Wood.
Why did you choose RSTC for your graduate studies?
Mikayla: The variety of teaching opportunities.
Emily: I chose RSTC for my graduate certificate and MS degree because of the emphasis towards hands-on, skills-driven learning that would benefit technical communication practice, combined with the flexibility of being able to work online. I then stayed here and pivoted to the PhD program because of the incredible faculty I already knew and trusted, the program's reputation, and because of the opportunities I'd have to grow in this space.
Jessa: Lots of reasons: a specifically Writing Studies (rather than general English) department with expert faculty; opportunities to do writing program administration work while in the program; a strong curriculum that gives grounding in multiple areas of writing studies; support for graduate instructors; FYW and Advanced Writing curricula that align with my values as a teacher; competitive, guaranteed funding for my entire time in the program, with the best teaching load I've seen in any grad program; the accelerated MA/PhD option; and the vibrancy and affordability of the Twin Cities.
Really, though, I think the biggest deciding factor was the strong graduate student community and supportive faculty, which I felt from the first time I met and talked with folks. Graduate students at the time reached out to invite me to attend their summer writing retreat even before I'd officially started in the program! The sense of community and belonging made me feel confident picking UMN for my MA program, and deciding to stay on for the PhD was an obvious choice two years later. In my time here, I've worked to pay it forward and pass on that same welcoming, supportive energy for future students.
What types of research did you pursue with RSTC?
Mikayla: Research on pedagogy, games, play, and neurodivergence.
Emily: I did a lot of work into digital risk & crisis communication, in particular case studies pertaining to graduate student responses to COVID-19 emails sent from university leaders, as well as a design focused study looking at common themes and rhetorical moves in crisis messaging design. I also started diving into generative artificial intelligence applications into structured authoring pedagogy & practice as an argument for a more humanistic technical communication and keeping people first in our writing practice. Finally, I did lots of smaller collaborative projects with peers across the academic community, looking into graduate student mentorship, precarity, and socially just technical communication pedagogy.
Jessa: I focused on praxis-oriented mixed methods research, meaning research that uses a mix of multiple qualitative and quantitative methods to explore challenging, theoretically-nuanced problems in ways that shed light on both current and possible future practices. Most recently, in my dissertation, I surveyed and interviewed writing program administrators in writing across the curriculum programs (programs that help faculty outside English/writing studies teach with writing) to determine how they thought about the role of race and racial equity/antiracism in their programs, as well as identify what steps they were taking to promote racial equity through their programming. This project responded to widespread calls for antiracist work in writing studies. My dissertation both generated insights for antiracist WAC theory and identified a range of possible interventions that could be utilized by WAC practitioners aiming to pursue antiracist work.
What was your favorite part of RSTC?
Mikayla: My cohort.
Emily: I would have to say the students here, both from a peer standpoint and the folks we teach. The University of Minnesota really does a great job of finding the people who are hungry to learn and do excellent work, and being surrounded by motivation, support, and kindness makes it much easier to succeed. I also had an incredibly smart and supportive cohort of PhD students with me, and that made it really great to move through the last five years. I am lucky to call them peers and friends.
Jessa: I really appreciate the positive, supportive graduate student community and faculty.
What was your favorite class that you took as a student and why?
Mikayla: I really enjoyed my seminar in multimodality and writing instruction (WRIT 8540), but I also loved the hands-on approach of my information design course (WRIT 5112).
Emily: Honestly? Lee-Ann Kastman Breuch's Research Methods course (WRIT 8011). Big nerd answer there, but I really mean that. I liked it because it was extremely useful for me in terms of moving away from more practice-oriented technical communication, and thinking about the theoretical, research/rhetorical ways of doing scholarly work. I needed that space to be successful in the future. It was also the first time I really felt capital-s Smart as a graduate student and was pivotal in my decision to keep going as a PhD student.
Jessa: I can't choose just one! Some favorites include Lee-Ann Kastman Breuch's Methods and Pedagogy classes (WRIT 8011 and 5531) and Pat Bruch's seminar on Post-Truth Rhetoric and Composition (WRIT 8560). We also get to take courses outside our department, which is both useful and fun--a favorite there was Martin Van Boekel's Psychology of Student Learning course (EPSY 5114).
What class(es) did you enjoy teaching and why?
Mikayla: I enjoyed teaching Business Writing. It felt like students were really invested because it was easy to see the connection to their lives outside academia.
Emily: 3562 (Technical and Professional Communication). I know a lot of students come into this thinking it's required, it won't be fun, it won't be useful ... but that's the beauty of technical and professional communication. It is such a broad area of study that there is application and theory that can go just about anywhere. I love meeting students where they are in their area of study and growth (be it architecture, economics, engineering, or English) and helping them draw connections to tech comm work and see its applicability. Those teaching moments are magical to me.
Jessa: I have been fortunate to teach a range of classes (WRIT 1301/First Year Writing, WRIT 3562/Technical and Professional Writing, and WRIT 3029/Business and Professional Writing). I also TA'ed a graduate policy class where I supported students with disciplinary writing.
Of all of these, my favorite to teach is WRIT 1301, our first-year writing class. Students often come to college with a really tense relationship with writing, believing themselves to be inherently “bad writers.” I work to expand their conceptions of what makes good writing and develop more rhetorically-informed, reflective writing practices. Students' projects in this class explore the range of ways writing shows up in disciplines, professions, and other communities that matter to them, and it's fun to learn from their work and witness their exploration. I also enjoy building a classroom community that provides students a point of connection on a large campus and supports their academic transition to college.
What are your plans for the future?
Mikayla: Currently I am teaching adult education classes in Nebraska. I hope to one day buy a house.
Emily: I am starting a position as an Assistant Professor of Technical Communication in Minnesota State University’s Mankato’s Integrated Engineering program in Fall 2024, based in the Twin Cities metro area. I’m grateful to be working with future engineers and leaders while continuing to teach and research.
Jessa: In the coming year, I will be moving into an Associate Faculty role in UMN Writing Studies, primarily teaching first-year writing. I will also be continuing to support the department's work around faculty professional development and assessment across our undergraduate programs.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to pursue a graduate degree in rhetoric, writing studies and technical communication?
Mikayla: Make sure you know what you want to do by the end of your degree and structure your time to meet those goals.
Emily: There is no right or wrong way to do this work, and your ideas and approaches are valid. I started out in the certificate program, and inched my way to a PhD through the MS. It took a while, but I am glad I went the way I did. Also, I am a big advocate for self-care and boundaries in graduate work, so be really good with those when you come in. Protect your time and space—PhD work is an ultramarathon, not a 100-yard dash. And of course, find joy in what you do. This is a once in a lifetime experience; find your people, find your spark, keep tending to it.
Jessa: First, make sure that you feel a good fit with the program and at least a few faculty and that you have competitive, guaranteed funding for the duration of your degree--see "why I chose UMN" above. You may end up studying exactly what you thought you would when you started grad school--great! You may completely change your interests, project, advisor--also great! Be open to exploring and learning more about your interests through both classes and informal office conversations. UMN Writing Studies faculty are wonderful about allowing you to shape seminar projects to explore your interests as they connect to the class theme; take these opportunities to explore.
Come into your program’s building and talk to people as much as you can. I learned as much from informal conversations before class as I did in seminars. Everyone in a grad program is smart, passionate, and knowledgeable; take advantage of that opportunity.
