Academic Programs

In support of campus-wide writing, the Writing Program sponsors e-Vision, an electronic publication of student essays written in the first year composition classes and Write On!, a campus-wide academic writing contest for both undergraduate and graduate students. Writing Program faculty serve as mentors for First Year Involvement (FYI), a peer tutoring program. Writing Program faculty also serve as consultants to other JMU departments and programs desiring to enrich their curricula through writing. In addition to the first year composition course required by General Education, and to promote excellence in writing at the University, the Writing Program shaped and cultivated the Writing in the Disciplines initiative in the College of Arts and Letters. Every student in Arts and Letters must take an approved, upper-division, writing-intensive course in his or her discipline.

Students who have previously taken GWRIT 102 may substitute that course as an equivalent for GWRIT 103. WRIT 100 is available for ESL (English as a second language) students and others who may wish to enhance their writing preparation prior to taking GWRIT 103. Students who have received credit for GWRIT 101 are not eligible to receive credit for WRIT 100. Students who have received credit for GWRIT 102 or GWRIT 103 are not eligible to receive credit for WRIT 100.

Writing faculty are active participants in creating and sustaining the Interdisciplinary Liberal Studies (IDLS) major for teacher education students, K-8. This includes advising students, developing and staffing IDLS 400, Capstone Seminar, and making Writing minor courses available as electives to IDLS majors in the Humanities/Social Sciences concentration area.