| University Undergraduate Advising Handbook | |
WRITING ACROSS THE CURRICULUM
Course Requirement
Course Characteristics
Identifying Courses
Baccalaureate and associate degree students must complete at least 3 credits of writing-intensive courses prior to graduation. These courses must be selected from approved writing-intensive courses offered within the major or college of enrollment. Specific writing-intensive courses are built into the requirements for a major.
A student's degree audit monitors the completion of the Writing Across the Curriculum requirement. (See section 13 of this sample degree audit. "OK" indicates the requirement has been met; "NO" precedes the statement if a student has not met the requirement.)
Writing assignments in these courses are used as instruments for learning the subject matter, methods of inquiry, and types of writing associated with a given discipline (e.g., to gain experience in interpreting research results and/or to learn a kind of writing associated with a given profession). The quality of the student's writing is a factor in determining his/her final grade.
A list of writing-intensive courses is on the Web.
Suffixes
The letter W next to a course number indicates that the course is writing intensive; M signifies that the course is both a writing-intensive and an honors course; and X signifies that the course is both writing intensive and a first-year seminar. Certain writing-intensive courses have also been approved for General Education. Writing-intensive courses that are approved as Intercultural and International Competence or United States and/or International Cultures are designated with a Y suffix.
Some sections of courses are approved as writing intensive on a semester basis. Although these sections may not be included in the list of writing-intensive courses, they are generally designated with a W in the Schedule of Courses and on the student's class schedule. However, if these sections are not approved in time to be designated with a W in the Schedule of Courses, the W suffix will follow the course number on the student's class schedule.
The University may make changes in policies,
procedures, educational offerings, and requirements at any time. Please
consult a Penn State academic adviser for more detailed information.
This page is part of the University Undergraduate Advising Handbook, which is maintained by the Division of Undergraduate Studies, DUS@psu.edu.
Last Update: August 2007