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Muir College Writing Program

 

Every FALL QUARTER, we hold the majority of seats in classes (MCWP 40, 50, and 125) for incoming students.

 

MCWP Topics and Schedules

Students can find more information about our course schedule and topics on the following pages:

Enrollment Information

First-pass enrollment priority will be given to students during their first six quarters (and to transfer students during their first three quarters per required course) at UCSD. All other Muir students will be eligible to enroll during the second-pass enrollment period. Notification will be posted in your Virtual Advising Center the day before registration starts during regular quarters.

If you have more than 90 cumulative units and have not received a pre-authorization message in your Virtual Advising Center, please come in to our office or send a message to the Virtual Advising Center in order to be cleared to enroll.

Message From The Directors

Dear Muir Community,

We affirm our commitment as members of Muir College to fight white supremacy, police brutality, and defend the rights of the underrepresented and disenfranchised. Our community, who braved the COVID-19 pandemic these past weeks, must acknowledge and work to change racial injustice for George Floyd, Ahmaud Abery, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Justin Howell, Jamel Floyd and the uncounted numbers of Black men and women lost to what Provost Wayne eloquently calls “the deeper pandemic of structural racism” (https://muir.ucsd.edu/). 


We at the Muir College Writing Program know that language has power—and that the power of language has been frequently used for repression and injustice rather than justice and liberation as is seen in the rightful outrage in the distinction between “manslaughter” and “murder” in the charges brought against the killers of George Floyd. We are committed to examine the language we use here in Muir Writing so we advance racial justice, voices for change, and freedom. 


We recognize that as part of a university we have benefited from the structures of power that have systemized racism and we are committed to selecting readings that encourage us to question our assumptions about justice and systemic racism.


Despite our sadness and anger, it is time for us to consider what we can do as a writing program to disrupt racism in its many forms. The MCWP will work to

  • Redouble its commitment to hire and mentor instructors from diverse backgrounds and experiences
  • Include more Black writers in our course readers   
  • Focus the next iteration of MCWP 40 on the issue of antiblackness
  • Increase the number of MCWP 50 courses with themes focusing on antiblackness, abolition, and antiracism
 
As others have pointed out, it is vital to say the names of the recent victims of police brutality and racism. They are

George Floyd
Breonna Taylor
Tony McDade
Justin Howell
Jamel Floyd
 
We hope that we have written in right relationship to their lives, and the justice movements surrounding them.
Regards,
 
Carrie Wastal                                     
Director, MCWP                                
 
Marion E. Wilson
Assistant Director, MCWP

Textbook Information

All MCWP 40, 50, and 125 Readers are sold through the UCSD Bookstore.

MCWP 40 Required Textbooks for Fall 2023:

  • A Writer's Reference, 10th Edition by Diana Hacker and Nancy Sommers (for Muir College Writing Program)
  • Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism by Safiya Umoja Noble.

MCWP 50/125 Required Textbooks for Winter 2023:

  • A Writer's Reference, 10th Edition by Diana Hacker and Nancy Sommers (for Muir College Writing Program)
  • The Craft of Research, Fourth Edition by Wayne Booth, Gregory Colomb, and Joseph Williams

 

 

Important Dates for Winter 2024

Winter Quarter begins Wednesday, January 3
Instruction begins Monday, January 8
Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday
Monday, January 15
Last day to add classes and attend class as waitlisted student Friday, January 26
Deadline for all students to drop classes without "W" grade on transcript Friday, February 2
Deadline for Undergraduate students to drop with "W" grade on transcript Friday, February 16
Presidents' Day Holiday Monday, February 19
Instruction ends - Check with instructor for final paper due date. Friday, March 15
Final Exams Saturday – Saturday, March 16–23
Winter Quarter ends Saturday, March 23

  

Quick Links:

Link ti The Writing and Critical Expression Hub