Dietrich School students are required to complete two writing-intensive courses after fulfilling their Composition requirement, at least one of which must be in their major. W courses are offered across a wide range of departments and disciplines, and when an approved W course is offered in an online format, it satisfies the writing requirement just as the in-person version does.
What to Expect in a W Course
Writing is woven into the fabric of a W course from the first week to the last, not saved for a single high-stakes assignment at the end of the term. Over the course of the semester, you will write and revise a total of 23–25 pages (5,750–6,250 words), receiving feedback from both your instructor and your peers along the way. Class time is devoted not only to course content but to the craft of writing itself, with instruction and discussion focused on helping you develop as a writer. W courses are capped at 25 students or fewer, ensuring that your writing gets the attention and feedback it deserves.
Because W courses ask more of you as a writer than a typical course, they also offer more. You will leave a well-designed W course with a clearer sense of how writing works in your discipline, stronger skills for developing and revising your ideas, and experience producing sustained, substantive work.
W courses are not generic writing courses dropped into a department's curriculum. They are designed by faculty in your field to develop the specific kinds of writing and thinking your discipline demands. A W course in Neuroscience will ask something different of you than a W course in History or Economics, and that difference is intentional. By the time you finish your W requirement, you will have practiced writing in ways that prepare you for advanced coursework, research, and the professional work that follows.
How to Find a W Course
To find W courses available in a given term, log into PeopleSoft and conduct a basic Class Search using the following:
- Campus: Pittsburgh Campus
- If you want to search within a particular department, enter that catalog abbreviation in the Subject box. If you leave the box empty, you'll see W courses from across the School.
- Under Additional Search Criteria, go to Requirement Designation and select Writing option.
After your search returns results, always click through to the class details page to confirm. If it says "Writing Requirement Course" next to the Class Attributes section, the course carries the W designation.
Note that some W courses are restricted to majors in the offering department. When browsing, check the course details for any enrollment restrictions before planning your schedule.
W courses can overlap with other General Education Requirements. For example, if you still need to satisfy the Literature or Philosophy requirement, you may be able to find a W course that fulfills both at the same time, which can help you plan your schedule efficiently. If you are unsure whether a particular course counts toward your W requirement or another GER, check with your academic advisor.
Choosing Your W Courses Wisely
Most students take their first W course in their sophomore or junior year, after completing Seminar in Composition. Here are a few things worth keeping in mind as you plan:
At least one of your two W courses must be in your major. Check with your advisor about when to take it and how it fits into your overall course sequence.
Taking both W courses in the same semester is possible but not always advisable. W courses involve a significant amount of writing and revision, and giving yourself time between them means you can bring more developed skills to the second one.
Some students find it valuable to take one W course outside their major; it can be a useful way to see how writing works differently in another discipline, and to develop range as a writer.
Some students find W courses so valuable that they take more than the required two, particularly when a course connects closely to their research interests or professional goals.
Getting the Most Out of a W Course
W courses are structured to support your development as a writer, but you will get more out of them if you engage actively with that support:
Take revision seriously. In most W courses, you will revise your work multiple times in response to feedback. Revision in this context means more than fixing surface errors: it means rethinking your argument, reconsidering your evidence, and strengthening the structure of your writing. The more seriously you engage with revision, the more you will improve.
Use your instructor's feedback. Your instructor will spend significant time responding to your writing. Read their comments carefully, ask questions if something is unclear, and make sure your revisions reflect what you have learned from their feedback.
Engage with peer review. Giving feedback to your peers is as valuable as receiving it. Reading other people's drafts carefully and thinking about what works and what doesn't will sharpen your own writing instincts. The ability to give clear, constructive feedback on writing is also a skill that employers actively look for, and W courses give you regular practice in developing it.
Visit the Writing Center. The Writing Center offers free individual consultations for students working on papers at any stage, from early brainstorming to final revision. Writing Center consultants work with students in W courses regularly and can help you develop your ideas, strengthen your argument, and prepare for revision.
Start early. W courses involve sustained writing throughout the semester. Waiting until the last minute to begin a draft makes it harder to revise effectively and limits how much you can benefit from feedback.