The Writing Institute offers programs and resources for undergraduate students across the University of Pittsburgh — from first-year composition to writing-intensive courses across the curriculum to specialized undergraduate certificates. Whether you are just starting your writing requirement or looking to deepen your work as a writer in your field, there is support available to you.
Links:
- Incoming students: The directed self-placement process is designed to help you choose the first-year composition course that's the best fit for you.
- Some sections of Seminar in Composition are taught by Seminar in Composition Faculty Fellows: faculty from across the disciplines who bring their own research and expertise to the teaching of writing.
- After completing their composition requirement, Dietrich School students take two writing-intensive courses. Explore writing-intensive courses available across the Dietrich School.
- The Writing Center offers free individual consultations for undergraduate writers at any stage of a project, from early brainstorming to final revision.
- The Public Communication of Science and Technology undergraduate certificate is an 18-credit interdisciplinary program open to Dietrich School students. It prepares students to communicate scientific and technical ideas to public audiences — a skill that is increasingly valued across fields from medicine to policy to journalism.
- The Disability Studies undergraduate certificate is an 18-credit interdisciplinary program open to students across the University. Drawing on courses from across disciplines, it offers students a rigorous introduction to disability as a lens for understanding culture, identity, history, and the social and political forces that shape human experience.
- The First-Year Engineering Composition Program is designed specifically for SSOE students, integrating writing instruction with their first-year engineering coursework.