Specifically, this pilot study and the future research it encourages will be of direct benefit to the Old Dominion University English Department as it moves forward with its doctoral program. Because this is a new degree option for the department, course requirements and offerings continue to evolve. Given the inclusion of New Media and Professional Writing as one of two available tracks, English faculty have placed an institutional priority on the study of and (ostensibly) the production of new media scholarship. Findings from this pilot exploration — while not widely generalizeable — are wholly applicable to the Old Dominion University doctoral program.

The quantitative data generated by the analysis of syllabi makes explicit the current assignment practices and pedagogical values of the English faculty. Through review of this information, departmental staff can better determine whether the options for composition they provide mirror the level of institutional priority placed on new media scholarship. Additionally, the narrative data collected provides direct insight into graduate student decision making and highlights suggestions for increasing the likelihood that these program participants will engage in new media composition in a broader context.

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