AWP Course Booking

Incoming First-Year Students

Writing Course Options

The Writing Placement Process will place you in one of the three course options: College Writing, AWP-003, or AWP-004A & 004B. 

If you are placed in College Writing, you will have fulfilled the ELWR and can proceed with your College Writing sequence. Please contact your college academic advisors through the Virtual Advising Center (VAC) for course booking questions.

If you are placed in an AWP course, you must pass AWP-003 or AWP-004B with a C or better within a limited time frame to fulfill the ELWR. 

If you later realize that you actually have an ELWR-fulfilling test score or composition course received prior to matriculating at UC San Diego, you can submit the official score/college transcript to meet the ELWR and do not need to take the AWP course. Visit Submitting Official Scores/Transcripts for detailed instructions. 

AWP Course Booking Instructions

• Take your AWP course in the first quarter it is offered. 

  • If you are placed in AWP-003: You must take the course in your first fall quarter. 
  • If you are placed in AWP-004A & 004B: You must plan to take AWP-004A in your first winter quarter and AWP-004B in the subsequent spring quarter. Students who take AWP-004A are required to take AWP-004B in the subsequent quarter with the same instructor and cohort. We do not offer AWP-004A in the fall quarter.
  • We cannot stress this enough - DO NOT delay enrollment. We plan seats for every student who needs to take an AWP course based on placement results, and courses are only offered in certain quarters. You must take your AWP course when you are required to. If you skip a quarter, you may not be guaranteed a seat in the subsequent quarter and will lose an ELWR quarter of eligibility.

    If you do not pass AWP-003 or AWP-004A and fulfill the ELWR within the allotted time frame, you will be disqualified and will be prohibited from future enrollment at UC San Diego. 

• Do not attempt to bypass AWP courses. You can't. (See Ideal Pathways.)

  Once you have enrolled at UC San Diego, the only way for you to fulfill the ELWR is to pass the AWP course you're placed into with a C or better. There is no other option. 
  • If you are from Muir, Sixth, Seventh, or Eighth College: The course registration system may not block you from booking a College Writing course, but you will be dropped in Week 1 when the system performs prerequisite check. You will not be allowed to start your College Writing series until you pass AWP and fulfill the ELWR. 
  • If you are from Marshall or Roosevelt College: You may be allowed to take AWP and the first course of the College Writing series concurrently, but you will not be allowed to progress to the second College Writing course until you pass AWP and fulfill the ELWR.

  • If you are from Revelle or Warren College: You will not be allowed to start your College Writing series until you pass AWP and fulfill the ELWR. 

• Book your AWP course in your second pass. 

  If you receive your placement result before your freshmen course booking window starts, you may book the AWP course you are placed into in your second pass.

• Do not over-book.

  We strongly advise you not to take more than 16 units in total when you are taking an AWP course. UC San Diego operates on a quarter system, and each 10-week quarter passes by fast. The recommendation is to take three to four courses per quarter so you can balance academics and other activities. If you plan to book your AWP course on the first day of instruction and have to turn in assignments late because you do not have access to Canvas, we will count these assignments as late. 

• Do not waitlist unless all sections are full.

  Find a section with an available seat. We will not take students off the waitlist when there are empty seats.

• Do not miss classes in the first week.

  Attendance in every class and essay discussion is mandatory and expected. Our curriculum scaffolds the writing process and engage students in in-class writing exercises and group workshops throughout the quarter. We want you to have a good start of a new quarter from day one. Please refer to our Attendance and Assignments policies. 

First-Year Course Booking Window

If you complete the WPP in May or July, you will receive your placement results before your course booking window starts. If you complete the WPP in late August or in September, you most likely will not be able to book any writing courses during the course booking window, but you can book other courses at the time. After you complete the WPP and receive your placement result, you can book the writing course you are placed into and adjust your class schedule if needed. 

Continuing Students

AWP-003 and AWP-004A Booking Instructions

If you are required to take AWP-003 or AWP-004A, you must book the course without delay. Please refer to the Course Booking Instructions above. Remember, you have limited quarters of eligibility to fulfill the ELWR.

Students who have only one quarter of ELWR eligibility left are informed by email and in the VAC that if they do not pass the course, they will be disqualified and will be prohibited from future enrollment at UC San Diego. 

AWP-004B Booking Instructions

AWP-004A & 004B is a linked course that stretches across two quarters. If you are currently taking AWP-004A, you should take AWP-004B in the next quarter with the same instructor and cohort. You will benefit from consistency of instruction in the same community of learners. 

After the Schedule of Classes is available for the upcoming quarter, your instructor will let you know the designated AWP-004B section you should take. You will receive a preauthorization notice for that section around Week 7. You are only allowed to book the section you are preauthorized for.

We recommend that you book AWP-004B in your second pass, so you can use your first pass to book two other courses that do NOT conflict with your designated AWP-004B section. You must schedule other courses around your designated AWP-004B section. For example, if MATH-020C offers three sections, you must book a section that does not conflict with your designated AWP-004B section. If a GE course conflicts with your designated AWP-004B section, you need to find a different GE course. 

If you have a legitimate class conflict that is impossible to resolve (i.e. a major course only offers one section once a year), you must send the course name and course number (i.e. PHYS-004B) that conflicts with your designated AWP-004B section to awp@ucsd.edu right away. We will find a solution that best supports your learning. 

If you do not take AWP-004B in the quarter after you complete AWP-004A, you must take AWP-003 in the quarter after next. This means that you will lose one quarter of ELWR eligibility, study a new topic, and take a much more rigorous course. Note that AWP-004B classes have a higher pass rate than AWP-003, so completing and passing AWP-004B is your best opportunity to fulfill the ELWR.

Updated 07/01/2026