Department of English

First Year Writing Placement

All incoming students take a writing placement examination. During the examination period, they have 75 minutes to compose an essay on one of two topics provided. Their score on the examination determines which first-year writing class the student is placed into. As of February 2010, a score of 10 places them in ENG-W 31 Pre-Composition 1; a score of 20 places them in an enhanced, 4-credit hour version of ENG-W 130 Principles of Composition; a score of 30 places them in ENG-W 130 Principles of Composition; and a score of 40 places them in ENG-W 131 Elementary Composition 1, which fulfills the campus-wide General Education Fundamental Literacy Writing requirement. If a student has taken the SAT within the last three years and has a combined score on the Critical Reading and Writing sections equal to or greater than 960, they may opt for automatic placement at level 30 and enroll in ENG-W 130 Principles of Composition.

Practicum/Internship Option

Students may, with permission of the Writing Certificate Committee, enroll in one supervised writing internship (ENG-W 398 Internship in Writing) or practicum after they have completed at least 12 of their 18 hours of coursework in the program. Approval of an internship or practicum is based on the strength of the proposal and the value of the proposed work experience.

Approval of Substitute Courses

Certificate students may petition (only once, and in advance) to have an unlisted second-level writing course from another department applied to their certificate.

Academic Standards

A candidate for the certificate must earn a grade of B or higher in any course for which he or she seeks credit within the certificate program.

Means of Enrollment in the Program

At the time of enrollment in the certificate program, each candidate for the certificate must submit to the Writing Certificate Committee or the chair of the English department a brief formal declaration of intention, including a statement of professional goals and an explanation of how the certificate program aids in the achievement of those goals.

Enrollment Eligibility

For Undergraduate Students |

A grade of B or higher in any IU South Bend course approved for the certificate is the prerequisite for enrolling in the program. Because the Certificate in Professional Writing is a directed program and not merely a collection of writing courses, candidates for the program must officially enroll and be assigned an advisor prior to receiving credit for any course beyond the first 6 credit hours that are eligible to be counted toward completion of the certificate. A student may initiate an appeal of this rule by submitting a portfolio of writing from the previous courses he or she wishes to have counted toward the certificate, along with a cover letter in which the student makes a persuasive case for the coherence of his or her previous coursework in the context of specific career or educational goals.

For Returning IU South Bend Graduates |

Returning IU South Bend graduates seeking to enroll in the certificate program must submit to the Writing Certificate Committee a brief formal declaration of intention, including a statement of professional goals and an explanation of how the certificate program aids in the achievement of those goals, no later than the end of the second week of classes in the semester or session in which the student is taking his or her first class in the program.

Returning IU South Bend graduates may petition to have up to 6 credit hours of prior eligible coursework at IU South Bend (for which they received a grade of B or higher) counted toward the certificate if the coursework in question was completed no more than two (calendar) years prior to the date of enrollment in the certificate program. Enrollment may be granted to such students when the declaration of intention is accompanied by a successful petition. Any returning IU South Bend graduate may count 3 credit hours of prior eligible coursework at IU South Bend (at a grade of B or higher) toward completion of the certificate, but enrollment is considered probationary until the student has successfully completed 6 credit hours within the program.

For Other Graduate Students |

Students who have at least a bachelor’s degree from another accredited university may enroll in the certificate program on a probationary basis. To qualify for probationary enrollment, the candidate must submit to the Writing Certificate Committee a brief formal declaration of intention, including a statement of professional goals and an explanation of how the certificate program aids in the achievement of those goals. Enrollment is considered probationary until the student has successfully completed 6 credit hours within the program.

Note | MATH-A 100 Fundamentals of Algebra is a prerequisite for all certificate programs in liberal arts and sciences at IU South Bend.

Transfer Credit Hours

Students may, with committee approval, transfer one course of no more than 4 credit hours from another university. They must supply the committee with copies of the course syllabus and their papers written for the course. Such course credit may not serve as the prerequisite for enrollment in the program.