All students majoring in disciplines in the College of Arts and Humanities are required to satisfy the requirements for Discipline Specific Writing (DSW) to graduate.

DSW Requirements

  1. The student must take at least two 3000/4000-level W courses (courses approved as writing intensive courses and marked in the semester bulletin with a W) for a total of 6 hours. At least 3 hours must be in the major. Some academic programs may restrict the disciplines in which the other 3 hours may be taken.
  2. ENGL 1101 and 1102 (or the equivalent of) are prerequisite to all W courses.
  3. All W courses must require (a) at least one Writing-to-Communicate assignment that includes an iterative (draft-revision) process, and (b) a minimum of 4,000 words across all writing assignments, not including revisions. Some W courses may also include one or more Writing-to-Learn assignments.

The Certificate Option

Students can declare to double the basic DSW requirements, carrying 12 W hours and receive

  • a Discipline Specific Writing certificate, and
  • transcript notation of this accomplishment.