Every student must take the Upper-Division Writing-Proficiency Examination,
which is a prerequisite to enrolling in a writing-emphasis course (see below).
Students may take the exam after they have satisfied the first-year
composition requirement and accumulated at least 40 but less than 75 credit
hours toward their degree. Students who have accumulated more than 75 credit
hours should take the Upper-Division Writing-Proficiency Examination as soon
as possible. Students register for the exam with the University Composition
Board (Modern Languages 380).
The examination may be taken only once. Results are reported to students
and to their major departments. Students who earn an evaluation of
unsatisfactory on the exam usually are required by their department to
complete further developmental work in writing before registering for
writing-emphasis courses. They should consult with their academic advisors for
specific information about their department's requirements.
Writing Emphasis Course
Every undergraduate degree program includes at least one required
writing-emphasis course. Writing-emphasis courses are regular junior- or
senior-level courses in an academic discipline in which at least half the
grade awarded is determined by written work appropriate to the academic
discipline. Such courses are identified with the phrase "Writing-Emphasis
Course" at the end of the course description listed in the Catalog.
Prerequisite to a writing-emphasis course is a satisfactory performance on the
UDWPE or, for those students whose UDWPE is evaluated as unsatisfactory,
further developmental work in writing as defined above.