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An Overview
In 1982, the faculty of the University of Massachusetts Amherst instituted a pioneering, two-part writing requirement for all undergraduate students on campus. Incorporating the best contemporary theory and practice in the field of composition studies, the new requirement was based on the idea that skill in writing is the hallmark of the educated person in any career or profession and is the collective and trans-disciplinary responsibility of the entire academic community. Administering the requirement would be the University Writing Program, an independent academic unit reporting directly to the Dean of Undergraduate Education (the Deputy Provost) and overseen by the Faculty Senate's University Writing Committee. For thirty years now, the Writing Program has helped students here acquire the writing skills they need in their academic work, their careers, and their lives more generally.
The UMass undergraduate writing requirement is made up of two parts: First Year Writing and Junior Year Writing. The First Year Writing requirement (CW) is satisfied by successful completion of English Writing 112, College Writing. The Junior Year Writing requirement, by contrast, is dispersed across the University and is usually satisfied by an advanced writing course in a specific major, e.g., Chemistry 391, Writing in Chemistry. Each department, college, or school determines the kinds of writing skills its majors need for work in that specific field and for thinking and learning overall.
In addition to administering First Year and Junior Year Writing, the University Writing Program also sponsors the University Writing Center and various elective opportunities for student writers: e.g., Experimental Writing Workshops.
Next section: The First Year Writing Program
