College Writing and English Competency Requirement

All students must be able to write in English with a level of mastery equivalent to the demands of college course work. In addition, students need to acquire the critical reading skills needed for all their college courses.

Students satisfy the College Writing and English Competency requirement by taking one of the required 6-credit course sequences listed below during the freshman year. Students must achieve a grade of C or better. Nonnative and native speakers of English must meet the same requirements:

                (for AEL program students)

In those cases when a competency examination is required, students failing the exam twice must enroll in LIT-180 Writing Workshop and must pass the course with a grade of C or better.

The English Competency Examination is administered by the College Writing Program in the Department of Literature. Students who do not pass the examination may schedule a meeting with a writing consultant in the Writing Center who will review the student's exam, explain the deficiencies, and offer counsel about additional work on writing skills through courses, Writing Center tutorials, or independent study. A preparation packet for the examination, including a practice exam, is available at the Department of Literature, Battelle 237 or the Writing Center, Battelle 228. For more information about the English Competency Examination, contact the director of the College Writing Program at 202-885-3911. To schedule an appointment at the Writing Center, call 202-885-2991. Nonnative and native speakers of English must meet the same requirements, although nonnative speakers are given extra time to complete the English Competency Examination.

UNIVERSITY MATHEMATICS REQUIREMENT

All students must demonstrate skills in mathematics and quantitative reasoning at the college level. Students who do not satisfy this requirement by examination as specified below must enroll in an appropriate mathematics course before the completion of 30 credits at American University and must continue to enroll each semester until the requirement is satisfied. After students have matriculated at American University, no credit toward the University Mathematics Requirement may be earned through transfer credit. Students meeting the requirement through course work must receive a C or better. The University Mathematics Requirement may be satisfied in one of the following ways:

The Department of Mathematics and Statistics will recommend placement of students in mathematics courses. Students whose placement is below MATH-15x Finite Mathematics must take MATH-022 Basic Algebra before enrolling in Finite Mathematics. Students whose placement is above Finite Mathematics may enroll in Finite Mathematics to satisfy the requirement but are to be encouraged to enroll in appropriate sections of the course, as designated by the Department of Mathematics and Statistics.

Students may also satisfy the University Mathematics Requirement through examination:

Transfer students and graduates of secondary schools outside the United States may also satisfy this requirement by:

or

Transferring a course named "Calculus I" or a mathematics course for which "Calculus I" is the prerequisite with a grade of B or better from an AG-rated collegiate institution.

Eligible students should contact the Department of Mathematics and Statistics for more information about the Mathematics and Statistics Equivalency Examination.