College Writing Programs

College Writing Programs was created in 1992 to provide first-year writing instruction to Berkeley students, helping them meet the entry level and first year writing requirements while developing writing and critical thinking skills required for academic work at the university. In over 30 years of teaching, CWP has helped thousands of Berkeley students develop their academic reading and writing through numerous sections of CWR1A and CWR4B every semester. And our program continues to grow: In spring of 2023, we are running over 40 sections of CWR1A and over 20 sections of CWR4B.

However, these foundational classes only tell part of our story. Since the department’s founding, CWP faculty and directors have worked to build a program that offers a robust array of writing classes, including Writing in the Biological Sciences, Public Speaking, Academic Writing for Multilingual Students, Creative Nonfiction, Short fiction, Poetry, and Dramatic Writing. In addition, CWP regularly hosts colloquia, workshops, and other events, such as the Chiang Research Festival and Berkeley Writers at Work.

This year, we celebrate 30 years of writing instruction at UC Berkeley with a look at our history and exciting plans for future classes and events.