Welcome to PWE

PROFESSIONAL WRITING & EDITING
21674VIC – Certificate IV & 21675VIC – Diploma of Arts

COURSE INFORMATION for 2010

Applications for full-time places must be lodged through VTAC, therefore we are unable to accept direct applications until after First Round Offers, around 20 January 2010. If you apply through VTAC, you must also submit a Supplementary Form, along with a folio of writing and a statement - this is to be posted to or lodged with the VU Admissions department.

We accept part-time direct applications on a continuing basis. All direct applicants should download a Direct Application form from the VU website and send it to Admissions, along with a folio and statement. (More information below, and in other parts of this website.)

Information on our online units is here.

If you cannot find what you need, please email us. Or phone 9919 2681.

How the course is structured:
For Certificate IV, you need to complete a number of short units which are the core (compulsory) units – these cover the content of Editing 1, Industry Overview and Professional Skills. Then you add three electives of your choice.
For the Diploma, you need to complete a further four electives.

Full-time students will take two years to complete the Diploma (one year for the Certificate). Part-time students will take longer, depending on how many subjects they study each year. See Timetable for Sem 1 2010 subjects and times.

To qualify for entry into the course, applicants are required to have successfully completed an approved course of study at Year 12 level or equivalent, or be of mature age and assessed as being capable of successfully completing the course. Applicants must have a strong interest in and commitment to writing professionally.

Our staff are all professional writers and/or editors. They teach part-time and work in the industry; their experience and current industry knowledge is an important asset to our students and our course.

If you are interested in applying for our course, read the following information:

  • To apply for a full-time place in 2010, you should apply through VTAC. You must also complete a VU Supplementary/Direct Form and provide a 200 word statement of why you want to study this course, plus a folio of 1000-2000 words of writing (anything except poetry).
    You will be asked to attend an interview, if your application is approved.
  • Full-time direct places in 2010 may be available after Round 1 VTAC offers, but applicants should call 9919 2681 to check if there are any full-time places left.
  • Part-time applicants apply direct through Victoria University using the form on the website. We usually take part-time applications until 10 February, but again, once places are filled we cannot accept any more so the sooner you apply, the better.

You will find extensive further information on this site under Frequently Asked Questions. We also strongly suggest that you read the section Are You Ready to Study Professional Writing?

If you do not find the information you require on this site, you can phone us on 9919 2681 or email us at profwritingtafe@vu.edu.au

 

INTRODUCING...

CAMPBELL MATTINSON - one of our students in PWE who graduated ten years ago - his achievements are outstanding!

I'm a full-time freelance writer, with columns in The Bulletin and Gourmet Traveller Wine magazine. I'm also the publisher of the subscriber-based, online wine newsletter The Wine Front ( www.winefront.com.au ), my main source of income. I'm the editor of a wine-focussed direct-to-mobiles information service that's delivered to users in Hong Kong and Singapore named WineFlash. Over the past five years I've published widely, but in the last 12 months I've cut back as many writing avenues as I can financially afford to do, in favour of trying to write and publish books. Wine Hunter, published in November 2006, is the first of these, with two books due in 2007, namely:

* Grapeheart: The ugly fight over Australia's most beautiful wines

* The Big Red Wine Book

Campbell says ... I came to VUT PWE as a desperately keen writer of little or limited technique. This is probably being a little harsh on myself considering that I'd already completed a journalism cadetship, but I didn't know what was possible in writing. I had a limited view of how an article or a story could be written - the Vic Uni PWE course opened the writing world up to me. More than ten years later, I still feel its benefits - I feel I can write my way out of trouble better than other, lesser trained writers. But then, I guess that is the thing with this course: it teaches things that you can apply directly to the daily grind of the publishing industry; the course helps you know how to feed that gaping media mouth. It doesn't just give you the tools, it helps you identify what the tools are. The benefit of this course has become more and more apparent as the years have slipped by.

AND WE ARE VERY PROUD TO ANNOUNCE

Campbell Mattinson's Wine Hunter book won wine's top writing award - the Saltram NSW Wine Press Club Wine Communicator Award - on Friday at Star City in Sydney. Wine Hunter has been described by wine giant James Halliday as "one of the most extraordinary wine books to come my way" and by UK wine legend Jancis Robinson as a book she enjoyed "immensely".

 

NEW! Student Achievements and Staff Achievements

CHILDREN'S WRITERS' FORUMS

 

We are in Building 10 at St Albans campus.

Professional Writing and Editing
Victoria University