Provisional University Bulletin (2026-2027)

The First Year Writing Program at Brandeis University, administered by the University Writing Program, includes two courses: the University Writing Seminar (UWS) and the Composition Seminar (CSEM). The University Writing Seminar, which all students complete during their first year, emphasizes writing as a means of thinking, exploring, and understanding. It also makes transparent differences in conventions within the disciplines, so that students can apply their writing skills to courses in their major and throughout the Brandeis curricula. Each student chooses a seminar from a range of interdisciplinary topics.

Prior to UWS, some students complete the Composition Seminar, a one-semester course that offers additional experience with college writing. CSEM is taught in a small-group setting, allowing for opportunities to workshop ideas and writing strategies in a collaborative environment with seasoned instructors. Major course goals include building up confidence and flexibility to adapt to the different types of writing that students are assigned in college.

First-year students entering prior to the fall of 2025 must satisfactorily complete one UWS or FYS course. Students who do not satisfy this requirement within their first three semesters are subject to administrative withdrawal.

The requirement will be satisfied by completing one First-Year Seminar (FYS) in the student's first year. Students who do not satisfy this requirement within their first three semesters are subject to administrative withdrawal.

UWS 1a University Writing Seminar for Multilingual Students
[ uws ]

An option for students to participate in a learning community with fellow students whose first or strongest language is not English. Focusing on multicultural or translingual themes, the course challenges students to formulate meaningful ideas, support those ideas with evidence and analysis, and convey thinking clearly and persuasively. Every seminar teaches transferable writing skills that students will use across the Brandeis curriculum and beyond. As students complete a series of writing assignments, they engage in a process of reading, drafting, reviewing, revising, and working collaboratively in peer groups and individually with instructors. Usually offered every year.