The UCSB Writing program offers lower- and upper-division general
education writing classes, as well as a Professional Writing minor. The
goal of the Writing Program’s lower- and upper-division courses is to
foster students’ abilities to contribute, in writing, to ongoing work in
academic disciplines, professional contexts, and public life.
In lower-division classes, students learn to analyze the expectations
of academic audiences in the university and to develop critical
thinking, writing, reading, and research strategies to meet those
expectations. Lower-division courses include Writing 1 (Approaches to
Academic Writing), which fulfills the Entry Level Writing Requirement;
Writing 2 (Academic Writing), Writing 2E (for students in the College of
Engineering), and Writing 2LK (sections of Writing 2 linked to large
lecture courses), all of which fulfill the General Education Area A1
requirement; and Writing 50 (Writing and the Research Process), which
fulfills the General Education Area A2 requirement.
In upper-division courses, students focus on developing critical
writing, reading, research, and analysis within more focused contexts.
All upper-division courses fulfill the General Education Area A2
requirement. The Writing Program offers a variety of upper-division
courses within three broad categories:
Writing 105 courses focus on analysis of and practice with
interdisciplinary academic writing. Courses include Multimedia Writing,
Grammar and Stylistics, and Writing and Rhetoric.
Writing 107 courses focus on analysis of and practice with
professional and technical writing. Courses include Business and
Administrative Writing, Writing for Accounting, Magazine Writing, and
Technical Writing.
Writing 109 courses focus on analysis of and practice with writing in
specific disciplines. Courses include Writing for the Social Sciences,
Writing for Environmental Studies, and Writing for the Visual Arts.
The Writing Program also offers a Professional Writing minor. In the
minor, UCSB undergraduates expand their abilities to communicate in
diverse contexts in two capstone courses and a writing internship during
their senior year.
Please visit the department website at www.writing.ucsb.edu for up to date information about the Writing Program.