Departments wanting to offer students a research-focused, writing-intensive course (491) now have two options: one administered by an outside office and one by their own department.

The first option is to have students take a W course offered through the Office of Undergraduate Research, under the direction of Associate Dean Robert Webb. To do this, students must be participating in the Undergraduate Research Scholars program. Such courses are listed as being in the students' major, for example BIOL 491 or CHEM 491, but personnel in the Office of Undergraduate Research administer and monitor the writing component, with the help of students' faculty advisors.

To meet the requirement for writing instruction, the Office of Undergraduate Research sponsors workshops on topics including library techniques, writing styles, and grammar. Students are expected to attend three of these.

The second way for departments to pursue a 491 W option is to seek approval to administer their own 491 W course. Departments currently offering their own writing-intensive version of 491 include Physics and Biochemistry & Biophysics.

For more information on this option, contact Dr. Valerie Balester, at the University Writing Center, at v-balester@tamu.edu.