Writing Minor Frequently Asked Questions

When can I start doing coursework for the minor?

The Writing Minor officially takes effect in Fall 2009, so you can graduate with the minor in Fall 2009 or later.

If you are an upper-division student and you have satisfied the prerequisites, you can start taking courses any time.  You do not need to declare the minor until you file for graduation.  To enroll in units for the writing internship, you must meet with Gary Sue Goodman, the Writing Minor and Internships Faculty Advisor, to get the CRN, and you may consult with her earlier to discuss your course selections or sequence.

Some courses in Group C permit lower-division students to enroll, after they have satisfied the prerequisites.  Check with the department offering the class that you want to take.

What is the writing internship?

The internship is an opportunity to practice writing “in the real world” and to gain both practical experience and writing samples, and possibly a letter of reference.

How do I find an internship?

Many students find or develop their own internships: working for a local publication, writing for the Aggie, writing for a University unit or department, writing for a government unit or non-profit—any organization that could use writing skills for specific projects. . . .  The possibilities are endless.

Some of the internships listed on Aggie Job Link, the Internship and Career Center (ICC) job website, would work: https://iccweb.ucdavis.edu.  You can search for writing internships on the site in two ways:  1) do a key word search for writing or writing internship, or 2) select "writing, editing, publishing" as a Job Function option.

You can also consult with a counselor at ICC — Lisa Sanders is especially interested in writing internships.

Your internship need not be advertised specifically as a "writing internship," as long as you do a significant amount of writing.  This writing could even be above and beyond what you are doing for another internship: say, you are volunteering in a clinic and want to write educational materials on STDs and AIDS for their clients.   (Make sure that you won’t exceed the maximum units of internship for your college.  Also, if you are getting other credit for the internship, make sure the writing is extra: you can't get course credit twice for the same work).

May I get writing internship credit for writing done in a work study position or other job?

If your work study position or job involves a significant amount of writing and you are not receiving other units for it, you may enroll in the writing internship course (UWP 192) and satisfy the internship requirement. 

What are the requirements for internship credit?

For 4 units of writing internship credit, you must work a total of 120 hours over the quarter on writing: researching, planning, drafting, revising, editing, talking with your editor or supervisor about the writing, etc.    

You must have upper division standing to take the units of internship required for the minor (UWP 192).  You may gain valuable experience and skills by doing a writing internship earlier (UWP 92), but it wouldn’t count towards the minor.

You don't need to do the required 4 units for the minor all at once.  For fewer units, you must work an average of 3 hours per week per unit.

You must meet with the faculty supervisor (usually the Writing Minor and Internships Faculty Advisor, Gary Sue Goodman) at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end of the internship.  At the end of the quarter, a portfolio of the written work, a 4-5 page essay on the internship experience, the site supervisor’s evaluation , and your log of hours worked are due.  (The essay, supervisor’s evaluation, and log also meet ICC’s requirements for transcript notation of an internship.)

Make sure that you won’t exceed the maximum units of internship for your college.  Also, if you are getting other credit for the internship, make sure the writing is extra: you can't get course credit twice for the same work.

How do I enroll in the internship units?

To sign up, first secure an internship, fill out the two-sided form Request for Approval of Internship for Academic Credit (Student and Faculty forms), then make an appointment to consult with the Writing Minor and Internships Faculty Advisor, Gary Sue Goodman.  If your internship meets the requirements, Dr. Goodman will approve your request, sign your form, and give you the CRN# to enroll through Sisweb in UWP 192 Writing Internship.  

The deadlines to add and the late fees for internship units are the same as for other courses. 

You can’t earn credit retroactively for an internship that you have already done.

If you plan to do an internship over the summer, talk to Dr. Goodman by the end of spring quarter to make arrangements, as she won’t be on campus regularly over the summer.  Chris Thaiss, the Director of the University Writing Program, can also help you to enroll in an internship during the summer.

If you want a more specific notation of your internship on your transcript, you must complete a minimum of 40 hours over the quarter and fill out ICC’s Transcript Notation proposal, available online at Aggie Jobs: https://iccweb.ucdavis.edu.

Does the Writing Ambassadors internship fulfill the minor internship requirement?

The internship for the writing minor must involve writing or editing, not teaching writing, which is the focus of the Writing Ambassadors internship.  This is a great opportunity for you if you are considering becoming a K-12 teacher, as you will learn writing to learn strategies useful across the curriculum and get hands on teaching experience, which helps with getting into certificate programs.

It is possible to create a writing internship connected with your teaching in the Writing Ambassadors program, but it would require extra work: writing for your school site that is not required by the Ambassadors program.  Pamela Major, the Coordinator of the Writing Ambassadors Program, will help you, if you want to develop an appropriate writing project for your site.

May I use an internship from another department to meet the writing internship requirement?

Another internship might substitute for the UWP writing internship, if the work is focused on writing enough to be considered equivalent.  If you prefer to sign up for an equivalent internship rather than UWP 192, consult with the Writing Minor and Internships Faculty Advisor, Gary Sue Goodman, for approval.  Taking the internship in another department wouldn’t change the work, but would affect how it would appear on your transcript.

How do I declare the minor?

You officially declare the minor when you file for graduation.  There is a window of time each quarter during which you can file for graduation and declare a minor.   To request certification of a minor, by university policy, you must have a GPA of 2.0 in all courses required for the minor.

Fill out a Petition to Declare a Minor and take it to the Writing Minor Staff Advisor, Cindy Dufern, who will verify the information that you provide and sign the form.  You then file this form with your Dean’s office at the same time as you file for graduation.

Before this official declaration, you may ask the Writing Minor and Internships Faculty Advisor, Gary Sue Goodman, to put you on the UWP listserv for writing minors.  This list will inform you about newly posted writing internships, writers speaking on campus, meetings for minors, or other information pertinent to writing minors.

May I take courses for the minor Pass/No Pass instead of for a letter grade?

You may take some courses for the minor Pass/No Pass, but at least one course for the minor must be completed for a letter grade, because you must have a GPA of 2.0 in courses required for the minor.  To receive a Pass, you must earn at least a C- grade.  All the writing internship units are Pass/No Pass. P/NP courses do not affect the GPA.

Does the expository writing minor meet the graduation requirements in L&S for a certified minor or a mini-minor consisting of three upper division courses in an L&S teaching department or program other than the major?

Yes, the writing minor does satisfy the College Area/Breadth requirement in L&S.  Three upper division UWP courses may also satisfy the "mini-minor" for Area/Breadth, as long as none of the three courses is used for the upper division composition requirement.

How do I find more information?

You are welcome to consult with Gary Sue Goodman, the Writing Minor and Internships Faculty Advisor, at any time, to discuss the aspects of your writing that you wish to improve, your reasons for considering the writing minor, and appropriate courses and internships to meet your goals.  E-mail her at gsgoodman@ucdavis.edu for an appointment or check for her office hours on the website: http://writing.ucdavis.edu/faculty-staff/office-hours/.

For announcements of new writing internships or courses, speakers or events related to writing, writing contests, or gatherings for minors, you may add your address to the UWP listserv for writing minors by contacting Gary Goodman at gsgoodman@ucdavis.edu.

General Information about Minors

Read the General Catalog section about minors.  Check your college’s rules about maximum units for graduation, maximum internship units, using the same courses to satisfy both major and minor requirements, and electing more than one minor.

Note that you can only count ONE course towards both the major and the minor.  If you elect more than one minor, the minors may not have any courses in common.