Writing Requirements FAQs

All incoming frosh are required to complete the Directed Self-Placement (DSP) process as part of summer orientation, regardless of test scores or any college credits.

Transfer students do NOT complete the Directed Self-Placement process. If you are a transfer student, you can use Assist to see if a course you took elsewhere transfers, and contact undergraduate advising with questions. Also review Transfer & Returning Students FAQs below.

Returning students do NOT complete the Directed Self Placement process upon their return. If you began at UCSC in 2018 or later, refer to your UCSC student portal to see which courses you need to take. If you began at UCSC prior to 2018, contact a Writing Program advisor to determine what you need to do to satisfy undergraduate writing requirements.

To see your placement, check your UCSC student portal. Go to My Academics>Test Scores. Your DSP course placement will be provided (For example, DSP Enroll WRIT 1 or WRIT 1E or WRIT 2 or WRIT 26 or WRIT 25).

After you complete DSP, your placement is final and cannot be changed in fall quarter or any other time. Remember that your placement was based on your responses to the survey.

This question is answered here.

This information is provided in your UCSC student portal. Go to My Academics>Degree Progress Report>University of California Requirements>UC ELWR: Entry Level Writing.

Contact admissions@ucsc.edu to make sure any tests that meet ELWR were received. The Writing Program does not request or process such tests, so we can’t help you obtain these scores. 

Writing 1 or Writing 1E.

Whether Writing 1 is offered in the summer varies from year to year. Writing 1 will NOT be offered in Summer 2025.

Visit Summer Session’s website for more information.

Yes. If you fail Writing 1 or Writing 1E once, you should take the class again in the next quarter.

If you fail it twice, speak with your college advisor to request a double-repeat petition/triple-take.  

Students can take ELWR-satisfying courses at California community colleges while not enrolled at UCSC. This includes the summer session, if you’re not taking summer classes. To get credit for such courses, see this information about meeting ELWR outside of UCSC.

If you want the class to meet ELWR, make sure the course is “articulated,” which means it’s been pre-approved to satisfy ELWR. Here is the database of articulated courses.

1. Complete the Select Institution section information.

2. Search Transferable Course, select UC Transferable Course.

3. Go to View Agreement by and select Department.

4. Scroll down the page, choose Writing to view the agreement by department.

5. View the course that is transferrable for Writing 1.

In general, you have your first year at UCSC. But more specifically, there are two answers to this question: 

1. If the first required writing course you take is Writing 26, 1, or 1E, you have until the beginning of your fourth quarter of enrollment to pass Writing 1 or 1E. (So if you start in fall, you have until the beginning of fall quarter in your sophomore year. If you start in winter, you have until the beginning of winter quarter of your sophomore year.)
2. If the first course you take in the Writing Program is Writing 25, you have until the beginning of your fifth quarter of enrollment to pass Writing 1 or 1E.

You should take Writing 1 or Writing 1E again.

• If you failed Writing 1 or Writing 1E twice, you can request to take the course a third time. This requires a double-repeat petition, which is handled through college advising.
• If you failed Writing 1 or Writing 1E once and are out of time to take it again before your deadline, contact the Writing Program to see if you should file a CCI petition to extend your ELWR timeline.

If you’re confused, contact writingprogram@ucsc.edu with questions.

This means that you did not meet the ELWR requirement by passing Writing 1 or Writing 1E by the deadline, you did not file a petition to extend your deadline, and/or did not file a double-repeat petition. Unfortunately, the UC system requires you to leave UCSC, go take a course that satisfies ELWR at a community college, and then contact your college advising office to apply to come back. (Many local students choose to go to Cabrillo College, and if you are an international student, you can reach out to International Student Services at Cabrillo.) Please reach out to the Writing Program with questions—we want you to succeed and stay at UCSC if you can.

Please see this information about meeting ELWR outside of UCSC.

It is recommended that students complete and pass Writing 2 prior to the start of their 7th quarter of enrollment.  Summer is not counted in the quarter count. Students will not be canceled for failing to complete the Composition (C) Requirement prior to their 7th quarter. However, this requirement is foundational for students to make academic progress.

The Registrar’s office has removed the WRIT 2 restriction preventing students with senior standing from enrolling or swapping their WRIT 2 course. These students will no longer need a permission code to enroll in or swap their WRIT 2 course.

This question is answered here.

This is indicated in your UCSC student portal. Go to My Academics>Degree Progress Report>General Education Requirements>GE C: Composition. Almost all incoming frosh enter UCSC needing to take Writing 2. Most transfer students enter UCSC having met their Writing 2/Composition Requirement.

Yes, you can. Writing 2 is offered at UCSC in the summer, typically online. You can find more information on Summer Session’s website.

You can also take a transferable course that satisfies the C requirement at some California community colleges. Check Assist for articulated courses. And remember, if you take course outside of UCSC, an official transcript from the relevant institution must be received by the UCSC Registrar to receive GE and unit credit.

1. Complete the Select Institution section information.

2. Search Transferable Course, select UC Transferable Course.

3. View Agreement By, choose General Ed/Breadth.

4. Scroll down the page, choose Composition (C) courses that are articulated for the institution you selected.

5. If you face issues enrolling at a CA community college due to prerequisites, please find supporting documentation here.

Most transfer students enter UCSC having met the ELWR/Writing 1 and Composition/Writing 2 requirements. Your status will be indicated in your UCSC student portal.

If your portal shows you have not meet these requirements, you’ll need to enroll in the appropriate course.

If you believe a course you took at another university that meets these writing requirements that is not reflected in your portal, you can use Assist to see if the course you took elsewhere transfers, and contact undergraduate advising with questions.

If you began at UCSC in 2018 or later, simply head to your UCSC student portal. It will tell you if you have meet the ELWR/Writing 1 and Composition/Writing 2 requirements.

If you began at UCSC prior to 2018, begin by checking your UCSC student portal. Prior to 2018, the writing requirements were different, so you may have additional/different options in terms of the courses you can/should take. Contact the Writing Program to discuss options.

Usually, the writing course swap, drop and waitlist deadline is 4pm the first Friday of the academic quarter. Note: All wait lists will also close at 4pm the first Friday of the academic quarter.

Only students in their 6th quarter (or higher) who have not yet completed Writing 2 will be auto-enrolled. Students at their repeat limit, over units, or with a time conflict or hold on their enrollment will not be auto-enrolled.

All other students are responsible for enrolling themselves into the appropriate writing course for the given quarter.

The Registrar will drop students only enrolled in one class prior to the start of an academic quarter. This will prevent students from incurring fees if they do not enroll in the academic quarter.

The campus procedures allow faculty to drop a student for not showing up for the first class (enrolled in class or on the waitlist) and not contacting them about the absence. The student will be administratively deleted from the class roster 24-hours after the second class.

Writing 2 topics/themes are no longer available on our website.

You cannot enroll in Writing 1, 1E, or 2 if you already have credit for these courses or are a graduate student. Also, these courses aren’t what you’re looking for in terms of writing development. The Writing Program hopes it will soon be able to offer upper-division courses to meet your needs. 

DC courses are Disciplinary Communication courses, and they are required in each undergraduate major. Here’s a list of them. The Writing Program is not responsible for these courses. Contact your major advisor about your DC course. 

No. Don Rothman founded this award to honor the achievements of one or more first-year students.

Contact the Writing Program.