Writing Programs
The English Department's writing programs offer research, analysis, writing, and language skills that students will need in their lives beyond the classroom.
For information about Creative Writing see the English Major Creative Writing Track, Undergraduate Minors, or the MFA in Creative Writing.
The University of Maryland, College Park, continues to be one of the few major state universities to maintain a broad advanced undergraduate writing program.
The Writing Center provides opportunities for UMD’s diverse undergraduate student body to improve their writing, research, and critical thinking skills in preparation for successful academic, professional, and civic lives. The Center's resources include Live Online Tutoring and 24 Hrs. Later Feedback.
The Academic Writing Program (AWP) facilitates English 101, familiarizing students with college writing, broadly referred to as academic writing. The program also coordinates the UTA Internship (ENGL388V), a four-credit Scholarship in Practice course designed to guide students in their experiences as Undergraduate Teaching Assistants in English courses. AWP also coordinates the academic writing student journal Interpolations.
The Professional Writing Program (PWP) employs close to 80 lecturers who teach within a range of 19 writing courses that meet the university's upper-level writing requirement. In every PWP course, students write and revise four to six major assignments for a total of approximately 25 pages of formal graded writing per student. Much of this writing is based on significant, often original research. PWP courses teach writing that focuses on meeting the needs of specific professional audiences, using profession-specific genres to achieve particular ends. To do this intensive work effectively and maximize student-teacher interaction, PWP courses are capped at 19 students per section.
The Academic Writing Program, Professional Writing Program and the Writing Center were awarded the CCCC Writing Program Certificate of Excellence recognizing its use of best practices and its commitment to diversity.
Academic Writing
English 101 at the University of Maryland prepares students to write effectively within academic contexts. This course also invites students to make connections between academic and public contexts, exploring the public stakes of academic inquiry and argument.
Professional Writing
Courses in UMD English’s Professional Writing Program teach the research, analysis, writing and language skills that students will need in their lives beyond the classroom.
The Writing Center
The Writing Center helps our undergraduate students to improve their writing, research, and critical thinking skills in preparation for successful academic, professional, and civic lives.