Junior Year Writing

The University of Massachusetts Amherst Junior Year Writing (JYW) Program provides all undergraduate students with practice in the writing of their chosen field of study. Building on the general writing that students practice in College Writing, JYW courses foster more advanced writing and thinking within field-specific academic or professional communities.

The JYW Program, established in 1982, was listed in 2003 U.S. News & World Report as one of twenty-five “Programs that Really Work” in writing in the disciplines. Our JYW Program finds strength in its diversity: 5,000+ undergraduates are practicing their writing in more than 80 JYW courses each year, discipline-specific instructors from over 50 departments and colleges design and teach curricula focused on writing in the major, and the Writing Program offers professional development on teaching writing.

What is the JYW requirement?

Undergraduate students pursuing the B.A. or B.S. must meet the JYW requirement by passing the designated junior-year writing course in their primary major. We encourage students to take College Writing in their first year and JYW in their junior year when possible. Students satisfy the junior-year writing course within their major department--at times, within their school or college. To find out which course satisfies the JYW requirement in their major, students should consult with undergraduate advisors in their major department or the Writing Program’s Associate Directors of the JYW Program. In exceptional circumstances, students may follow the following formal process to request that courses taken outside of UMass count toward the Junior Year Writing requirement.

Formal Process to Substitute Junior Year Writing Requirement

Most students satisfy the junior-year writing requirement in their major departments at UMass Amherst. In exceptional circumstances, students can request, in advance, that non-UMass courses fulfill the Junior-Year Writing requirement. For example, students may need to pursue this path when completing degrees remotely or when studying abroad. To be eligible for this requirement, the proposed course must

Be an upper-level course (equivalent to the 300-level at UMass Amherst).
Require discipline-specific writing relevant to the student’s major.
Meet university-wide requirements for Junior Year Writing.

Courses that do not meet these requirements will not be approved as substituting for JYW courses. Read the full text of the course substitution policy.

To request that a non-UMass course fulfill the JYW requirement at UMass Amherst:

Students must submit the following to the Undergraduate Program Director, Chief Undergraduate Advisor, or Department Chair in his/her/their major:
1. rationale for why it is necessary to take a non-UMass course to fulfill the JYW requirement,
2. syllabus for the proposed JYW course substitution and other relevant documents as needed, and
3. an explanation of how the course meets the university-wide JYW requirements.
The following would not be approved as JYW course substitutions:
1. lower-level (equivalent to our university’s 100- or 200-level) undergraduate courses;
2. upper-level courses that only assign writing but do not teach writing and thus do not meet university-wide requirements;
3. upper-level courses that teach writing but not writing relevant to the student’s major.
If supporting the request, the UPD/CUA or Chair should then indicate his/her/their approval to and forward the student’s request to one of the Associate Directors for the Junior Year Writing Program. The request will be quickly reviewed by the Junior Year Writing Variance Committee (a subcommittee of the University Writing Committee).
The JYW Variance Committee will notify UPD/CUA or Chair (and cc-the Registrar) with the decision.
The UPD/CUA or Chair should then notify the appropriate Academic Dean who will then notify the Registrar, attaching the JYW Variance Committee’s approval letter as well as a Registrar Prior Approval Form or the Senior Year in Absentia Form (whichever is appropriate -- found on the Registrar's website) and forward to the Registrar’s office.

Note: This policy addresses requests to use non-UMass courses to satisfy the JYW course requirement. Students interested in taking a JYW course at UMass that’s outside of their major should (1) make sure that the proposed course is designated as a junior-year writing course and (2) request approval from their UPD/CUA.

The UPD/CUA of the student’s primary major may approve proposals to accept JYW courses offered by a different major at UMass; the University Writing Committee does not need to review these types of course substitutions if the course has already been approved as a junior-year writing course. Because junior-year writing courses are often restricted to particular majors, students may need to request instructor permission to enroll in junior-year writing courses outside of their own major.

JYW Teacher Resources

The JYW Program is dedicated to supporting teachers across the university in teaching writing. We offer a series of pages dedicated to the fundamentals of writing pedagogy. We also offer regular workshops on these concepts; please ensure that you are on our email list by reaching out to Heidi Terault. We are also happy to work with instructors one-on-one; to set up a conversation, please reach out via the contact information below.

Proposing New & Renewing Existing JYW Courses

Departments seeking to add the JYW designation to a course should review the criteria for JYW courses and submit a proposal through the Course & Curriculum Management System. Existing JYW courses are reviewed every five years. Course approvals and renewals of existing courses go through the Faculty Senate’s University Writing Committee.

Charles Moran Best Text Contest

At the heart of the UMass Writing Program is a commitment to not only fostering but also celebrating student writing. The Charles Moran Best Text Award recognizes excellent student writing from first-year writing and JYW courses. Students are encouraged to submit their work; details about the submission process are on the Charles Moran Best Text Contest page.