The WVU Women’s and Gender Studies Bachelor of Arts degree program is a
SpeakWrite Certified program. SpeakWrite certified programs incorporate and
develop students’ written, verbal, visual and mediated communication skills
across the curriculum.
Large majorities of employers indicate that a recent graduate’s completion of various
other types of applied and engaged learning experiences—such as a comprehensive senior
project, a collaborative research project, a field-based project with people from
other backgrounds, or a community- based or service learning project—would also positively
influence their hiring decision. Nonetheless, with no more than 39% who say any of
these would make them much more likely to consider that individual as a job candidate,
these learning experiences all rank behind an internship or apprenticeship in their
ability to influence hiring decisions.
Underscoring the importance they place on written communication skills when hiring,
four in five employers also say they would be more likely to consider an individual
as a job candidate if he or she had completed multiple courses that require significant
writing assignments.