Howe Writing Center Student Employment

The Howe Writing Center (HWC) offers multiple paid positions for undergraduate and graduate students. Working at the HWC enables students to:

Support Miami writers from across academic disciplines.
Help maintain a vibrant culture of writing on campus.
Conduct writing center-related research in a mentored environment.

Grad Recruitment Now recruiting for Graduate Hourly Writing Consultants! Read more about the position below, and fill out our form to indicate your interest! If you would like to apply for the position please attend one of our upcoming Open Houses.

HWC Graduate Student Positions

Graduate students can apply for a graduate assistantship or an hourly writing consultant or support staff position at the HWC.

Graduate Assistant Director, Howe Writing Center

This position is designed to provide experience for doctoral students in Rhetoric and Composition who are interested in researching and potentially directing writing centers or other writing support programs. In special cases, MA students will be considered.

The ideal candidate will have prior experience working in a writing center with both online and face-to-face consulting; a demonstrated commitment to mentoring undergraduate students; and/or experience working with multilingual writers.

Ideally, candidates should have taken ENG 581 prior to beginning the position. Other prior graduate coursework in writing program administration and/or assessment would be helpful.

The Assistant Director will take a leadership role in the HCWE and attend regular HCWE staff meetings. He or she will report to the Director of the Howe Writing Center, Dr. Lizzie Hutton.

Work may include the following:

Assisting in conducting ongoing training seminars for student consultants
Mentoring undergraduate consultants in carrying out research projects
Assisting in designing and carrying out targeted assessments of writing center initiatives
Working with the Director to design initiatives for increasing usage of the Writing Center, including usage by diverse populations of students
Conducting in-class workshops related to writing center work
Helping design and implement special events such as student writing hours and writing contests
Consulting on a limited basis each week, as needed

Appointment is for one year, with the possibility for renewal. The position comes with generous travel funds for presentations at relevant conferences.

Students interested in this position should contact Dr. Elizabeth Hutton (huttoneb@miamioh.edu) for an initial conversation about the role and may be asked to submit the following:

a CV that highlights relevant coursework and experience
a cover letter explaining interest in and qualifications for the position, as well as any special goals or initiatives the candidate might want to pursue in the position
a 1-page administrative philosophy that includes a discussion of core principles for decision-making
an academic writing sample
evidence of teaching effectiveness (e.g., a sample syllabus, end-of-course evaluations, teaching observation letter)
the names and contact information for two references

Applications are open in March and April of every year. Email your application materials directly to Dr. Lizzie Hutton, director of the HWC, at huttoneb@miamioh.edu. Questions about the position can also be emailed to Dr. Hutton.

Graduate Hourly Writing Consultant

Grad Recruitment The Howe Writing Center is part of the Howe Center for Writing Excellence, which provides both Miami faculty and students with writing-related programs and support. The specific mission of the Howe Writing Center is to support Miami student writers through one-to-one consultations, writing-related workshops and events, and programming focused on writing for specific genres, fields, and contexts.

As a graduate HWC consultant, you’ll:

Get paid for both your training and your consulting work
Interact with graduate and undergraduate students from a range of disciplines
Join a community of like-minded students who value helping others
Develop your writing knowledge and gain valuable teaching experience

Graduate consultants are crucial to the Howe Writing Center, as Miami students pursuing their Masters and PhD frequently reach out to the HWC for writing support, both in-person and online, and often through recurring appointments. As a graduate consultant, your support for these advanced-level projects will be in high demand. Supporting writers from such a range of backgrounds is stimulating and gratifying work.

If interested, writing consultants will also have the opportunity to:

Take leadership roles in our varied Special Interest Groups, or SIGs, which plan events, design writing-centered programming, and work on student outreach initiatives, including creative writing contests and social media campaigns.
Conduct writing center research and present it at regional, national, and/or international writing conferences (such as the annual Conference on College Composition & Communication, or CCCCs).

Please note that all hourly graduate consultants must be able to devote at least five hours per week to this job, in addition to any research or teaching assistantship you may hold at Miami. Some international graduate students on assistantships may be ineligible for employment at the HWC, because their visas disallow them from working more than a particular number of hours per week on campus. If you are unsure of your assistantship or visa status, check with your department, your advisor, and/or the graduate school office.

In the fall semester, graduate consultants-in-training attend a series of weekly training seminars, and then start consulting on their own mid-way through the semester. Training introduces you to our guiding principles about writing and consulting, teaches you effective strategies for all kinds of consulting situations, and provides you with the resources to help writers navigate the writing conventions of various academic and professional genres. All graduate students are paid for the time they spend in training—up to 5 hours a week—which includes time spent doing assigned reading for class, observing experienced consultants, and completing reflective writing assignments.

Applicants should also remember that, while an interest for writing is obviously central to consulting work, considering oneself an “excellent writer” is not fundamental to becoming an excellent consultant. Instead, we are looking for students who are responsive, reliable, adaptable, curious, empathetic, eager to learn, and interested in supporting writers of various backgrounds, abilities, and countries of origins. If you fit this description, then our supportive community will be just “write” for you!

I'm Interested

Support Staff

The Howe Writing Center (HWC) is looking for friendly, detail-oriented, self-starting students who are excited about fully engaging with the Howe Writing Center and the Howe Center for Writing Excellence. Support staff will regularly:

Welcome visitors and writers to the HWC.
Assist with appointment scheduling for all HWC locations, both in-person and online.
Maintain complete knowledge of HWC and HCWE (events, staff, policies and protocols) in order to efficiently assist faculty and students.
Collect and help manage HWC data.
Create, populate, and maintain spreadsheets, both Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel.
Maintain HWC locations as clean and welcoming.

Work assignments are completed under close supervision. Employees are expected to follow well-defined policies and procedures.

I'm Interested

The HWC employs undergraduate students from all majors as writing consultants and support staff. Graduate students can apply for a graduate assistantship or an hourly writing consultant position at the HWC.

Hourly Writing Consultant (Undergraduate)

The Howe Writing Center is part of the Howe Center for Writing Excellence, which provides both Miami faculty and students with writing-related programs and support. The specific mission of the Howe Writing Center is to support Miami student writers of all programs and disciplines through one-to-one consultations, writing-related workshops, and events, and programming focused on writing for specific genres, fields, and contexts.

As an HWC consultant, you’ll:

Join a community of like-minded students who enjoy helping others
Develop important dialogic and communication skills
Explore current theories about how writing, reading, and learning work
Learn to use varied technologies for supporting writers and investigating writing
Collaborate with diverse students, both domestic and international

Students accepted into our program first complete a three-credit training course (Eng 481: Writing Center Theory and Practice). Following this, students can then work as paid writing consultants who:

Consult in-person at the HWC in one-to-one or group settings, and/or consult via our online system.
Visit Miami classes to introduce students to the HWC.
Attend and lead ongoing professional development seminars.

If interested, writing consultants will also have the opportunity to:

Take leadership roles in our varied Special Interest Groups, or SIGs, which plan events, design writing-centered programming, and work on student outreach initiatives, including creative writing contests and social media campaigns.
Conduct writing center research and present it at regional, national, and/or international writing conferences (such as the annual Conference on College Composition & Communication, or CCCCs).

Undergraduate students accepted into our program must take our 3-credit training course, English 481/581, before they begin consulting. Upon successfully completing this course, students can then apply to work as paid HWC consultants.

Applicants should also remember that, while an interest for writing is obviously central to consulting work, considering oneself an “excellent writer” is not fundamental to becoming an excellent consultant. Instead, we are looking for students who are responsive, reliable, adaptable, curious, empathetic, eager to learn, and interested in supporting writers of various backgrounds, abilities, and countries of origin. If you fit this description, then our supportive community will be just “write” for you!

I'm Interested

Graphic Designer

The Howe Writing Center (HWC) is looking for creative, open-minded, and flexible student graphic designers to develop materials for use within the HWC and for campus-wide distribution. Design projects may include, but are not limited to:

Print marketing materials (i.e. flyers and posters)
Digital marketing materials (i.e. website and social media banners)
Event materials (i.e. nametags, table signs, bulletin board displays)
Logo and t-shirt designs
Other design needs as determined by staff

Qualifications include:

Graphic design major with demonstrated design skills
Proficiency in Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign
Well-organized with strong-time management skills
Team-oriented approach to work

Work assignments are completed under close supervision. Employees are expected to follow well-defined policies and procedures.

I'm Interested

Support Staff

Welcome visitors and writers to the HWC.
Assist with appointment scheduling for all HWC locations, both in-person and online.
Maintain complete knowledge of HWC and HCWE (events, staff, policies and protocols) in order to efficiently assist faculty and students.
Collect and help manage HWC data.
Create, populate, and maintain spreadsheets, both Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel.
Maintain HWC locations as clean and welcoming.

Work assignments are completed under close supervision. Employees are expected to follow well-defined policies and procedures.

I'm Interested