ELWR-Fulfilling College Courses

Students may also meet the requirement by earning a grade of "C" or better in a UC-transferable English composition course from an accredited college or university, prior to enrollment at UC San Diego.

If you plan to enroll in a course in the summer months, you must make sure that it is indeed a summer term course. Many colleges are on the semester system, and their fall semester starts in late August. You CANNOT take a fall semester course that starts in August to fulfill the ELWR. Please double check the academic calendar of the institute you plan to take the course from. 

First-Year California Students

To find ELWR-fulfilling courses at your local community colleges, please visit ASSIST. Once you are on the homepage, go to "Search below for transferable courses" on the right, select a community college, and click UC Transfer Admission Eligibility Courses → View Transferability Lists  → UC Transfer Eligibility Area → UC-E English Composition. 

First-Year Out-of-State Students

Contact the Analytical Writing Program at awp@ucsd.edu with the following information. We will let you know whether it is a qualifying English composition course. 

• College name (please spell out) and the state it is located in
• Course number and course name
• Letter grade earned

For example: 

• Cascadia Community College, WA 
• ENG 101, English Composition I
• A

First-Year International Students

None of the college composition courses taken outside of the U.S. can be used to fulfill the ELWR.

Transfer Students

All transfer students must complete two UC-transferable English composition courses prior to their transfer. If you are a transfer student, from California or out-of-state, you have met the ELWR and do not need to complete the Writing Placement Process. Prospective transfer students should contact admissions@ucsd.edu to verify English composition courses. 

Updated 12/03/2025