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Analytical Writing Program Analytical Writing Program
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  3. Course Enrollment

AWP Course Enrollment Instructions

Incoming First-Year Students

Writing Course Options

The Writing Placement Process will place you in one of the three course options: College Writing, AWP 3, or AWP 4A-4B. 

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 enrollment questions.

If you are placed in an AWP course, you must enroll in the course you are placed into during the first quarter it is offered at UC San Diego. 

  • If you are placed in AWP 3: You must enroll in the course in your first fall quarter. 
  • If you are placed in AWP 4A-4B: You must plan to enroll in AWP 4A in your first winter quarter and AWP 4B in the subsequent spring quarter. Students who enroll in AWP 4A are required to enroll in AWP 4B in the subsequent quarter with the same instructor and cohort. We do not offer AWP 4A in the fall quarter.

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. 

General Enrollment Advice

  • Enroll in the first quarter your AWP course is offered. 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 enroll in your AWP course when you are required to and should not delay enrollment. 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 3 or AWP 4A and fulfill the ELWR within the allotted time frame, you will be disqualified and will be prohibited from future enrollment at UC San Diego. 
  • Enroll in your second pass. If you receive your placement result before your freshmen enrollment period starts, you may enroll in the AWP course you are placed into in your second pass.
  • Do not over-enroll. We strongly advise you not to enroll in 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 enroll in three to four courses per quarter so you can balance academics and other activities. 
  • Do not waitlist unless all sections are full. Find a section with an available seat. We will only take students off the waitlist when all sections are full. 
  • Do not attempt to bypass AWP courses. Please refer to the Ideal Pathways. 
    • Students from Muir, Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Colleges: The course registration system may not block you from enrolling in College Writing courses, 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. 
    • Students from Marshall and Roosevelt Colleges: You may be allowed to enroll in 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.
    • Students from Revelle and Warren Colleges: You will not be allowed to start your College Writing series until you pass AWP and fulfill the ELWR. 
  • Do not miss classes in the first week. Attendance in every class and conference is mandatory and expected. We'd like you to have a good start of a new quarter from day one. Please refer to our Attendance and Assignments policies. 

First-year Enrollment Period

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

Continuing Students

AWP 3 and AWP 4A Enrollment

If you are required to take AWP 3 or AWP 4A in Spring 2026, you must enroll in the course. Please refer to the General Enrollment Advice above. Do not delay enrollment as you have limited quarters of eligibility to fulfill the ELWR. If Spring 2026 is your last ELWR quarter, you'll receive a message in the VAC. 

AWP 4B Enrollment

AWP 4A and 4B are linked courses that offer writing instruction to students who need extra support. If you are currently enrolled in AWP 4A, you must enroll in AWP 4B in the next quarter with the same instructor and cohort. This will allow for consistency of instruction, and you will benefit significantly from working with the same community of learners for two quarters.

Your instructor will let you know the designated AWP 4B section number you must enroll in in the next quarter. You will be preauthorized to enroll in your designated AWP 4B section, and you will not be allowed to enroll in other sections or switch sections with the same instructor. 

We recommend that you enroll in AWP 4B in your second pass, so you can use your first pass to enroll in two other courses that do NOT conflict with the time of your designated AWP 4B section. You must schedule other courses around your designated AWP 4B section. 

If you have a legitimate class conflict that you cannot resolve, you must send the course name and course number that conflicts with your designated AWP 4B section to awp@ucsd.edu right away. We will find a solution that best serves your interests. 

If you do not enroll in AWP 4B in the quarter after you complete AWP 4A, you must enroll in AWP 3 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 4B classes have a higher pass rate than AWP 3, so completing and passing AWP 4B is your best opportunity to fulfill the ELWR.

Updated 1/21/2026