University Writing Requirement (UWR)

In addition to the lower-division General Education requirements for writing, the California State University system requires that all undergraduate students must demonstrate competency in written communication as a requirement for graduation and to receive a baccalaureate degree. This requirement was implemented system-wide in 1977 and updated in 2020. Students must satisfy the University Writing Requirement (UWR) in order to receive a degree from Cal State East Bay unless they are exempt by one of the following criteria:

1. Previously satisfied the UWR at Cal State East Bay or at another CSU campus, Cal State East Bay will accept official certification of completion if the entire requirement, as specified by that CSU campus, was satisfied and the student was a matriculated student at that campus at the time.  On some CSU campuses, the requirement is called the “Graduation Writing Assessment Requirement (GWAR).”

2. Graduated from any one of the CSU campuses; unless it is noted on the transcript that the UWR (or GWAR) was not satisfied.

Undergraduate students are required to satisfy the University Writing Requirement in a timely manner, either in their junior or senior year, as defined by the roadmap for their major.  Students who do not enroll in an appropriate course in a timely manner will be placed on administrative academic alert until the requirement is completed. Note: Undergraduate students cannot satisfy this requirement before completing 60 units. Completion of GE Area A2 and ENGL 200 or another approved second composition course, which are graduation degree requirements, is also required before attempting to satisfy the UWR.

To satisfy the requirement at Cal State East Bay, students must complete one (1) writing intensive (WI) class of 3 or 4 units with a C- or better. Writing Intensive classes are designated with a “W” after the course number, see the list below.

Learning Outcomes for Writing-Intensive (WI) Courses:

The following statement of student learning outcomes must appear in the syllabus of a certified WI course.

This is a writing-intensive (WI) course that meets the University Writing Requirement (UWR). By the end of the course, students will be able to

• Complete a variety of reading and writing tasks that incorporate subject-matter knowledge;
• Adjust their writing for different audiences, showing awareness of expectations for academic writing in general and adhering to discipline-specific conventions when appropriate;
• Demonstrate critical thinking and logical reasoning, including strategies common in a discipline, in the development and organization of ideas in written texts;
• Take into account multiple perspectives and key disciplinary concepts when presenting their ideas in writing;
• Revise their writing in response to feedback in order to improve idea development, clarity, coherence, and correctness.

Courses that satisfy the UWR have a “W” suffix in the course number (e.g., ENGL 300W).  Courses approved to satisfy UWR in this Catalog are:

• ENGL 300W Writing for Inquiry  
• ENGL 301W Writing for Inquiry (English for Speakers of Other Languages)  
• ENGL 303W Advanced Expository Writing  
• ENGL 308W Writing Bad Bodies   
• ES 300W Writing for Social Justice   (GE-UD-C; Social Justice)
• HDEV 499W Senior Research Seminar  
• HIST 301W History Writing Workshop  
• HIST 477W History and Trends in Nursing   (GE-UD-C; Diversity)
• KIN 422W Exercise Nutrition  
• PSYC 300W Experimental Psychology  
• SOC 301W Writing and Analysis in the Social Sciences  

Other breadth requirements are indicated in parentheses above.  Any course offered that is numbered “396W” will also satisfy the UWR.  That number is for a one-time-only course offering that was created after Catalog deadlines.