Office of the University Registrar

All first-year students admitted for the fall or spring semester must participate in the writing assessment in the spring prior to their admission term.

Myra Kraft Achievers and transfer students with preapproved university writing transfer credit do not participate in the writing assessment.

Create your Brandeis account. Enrollment in the assessment LATTE course may take up five hours upon the activation of your account. Once this process is complete, you will be able to view and access the writing assessment on LATTE; look under "Special Courses" for the link. If you require any help setting up your account, contact the Technology Help Desk at 781-738-4357 or help@brandeis.edu.

You are likely to be excluded from the most popular first-year writing courses and times. You may have to enroll in sections that conflict with your other course priorities, or you may risk failing to complete the writing requirement on time. Composition Seminars are capped at 12 students, and University Writing Seminars are capped at 18. 

Students who DO complete the writing assessment on time and qualify for UWS get priority access to the UWS Lottery in June, before summer registration. This is an opportunity to submit a list of seminars in order of preference for both topics and times. Students who complete the assessment and are placed in CSEM get priority access to the fall section times they prefer. 

Students who Do NOT complete the writing assessment are assumed not to qualify for UWS, and they may be automatically enrolled in a Composition Seminar regardless of their time preferences.

The assessment will take approximately 45 minutes to complete.

Under limited circumstances, an extension can be granted. Please send an email to the University Writing Program (uwp@brandeis.edu) to petition for an extension.

Contact the University Writing Program (uwp@brandeis.edu) to request extra time for the timed essay question.

Students who have taken a course equivalent to UWS (e.g., College Writing, Freshman Writing) at another institution and earned a grade of B-minus or better may request to have this credit applied to their first-year writing requirements. All inquiries about transfer credit should be directed to the University Registrar (transfer@brandeis.edu); students should be sure to check with the registrar before taking such courses. Please note that AP credit in English does not count toward fulfilling first-year writing requirements.

For questions about the content of the assessment and/or results, please contact uwp@brandeis.edu.