400-level Creative Writing workshops are a requirement for the Creative Writing track of the English major. Majors must take 10 credits of 400-level workshops, but can continue taking additional credits, so long as there is space available. Non Creative Writing majors can also take 400-level workshops if space is available.
Successful completion of ENGL 283, 284, 383, and 384 are required to take 400-level workshops, unless written faculty approval is obtained by a student.
Interested in taking a 400-level course? See below for a step-by-step overview of the 400-level registration process.
Step One: Student Fills out Registration Request Form
Students—even Creative Writing majors— cannot add themselves into 400-level Creative Writing courses. Students must fill out the form below to request to be added to 400-level workshops. The HAS English liaison will then hand-add students to workshops based on their graduation priority.
Access the registration request form here: https://forms.office.com/r/Z6kkrtk8Df
This form will open at 12 PM on the first day of registration period 1 and close two weeks later at 12 PM. Specific dates will be updated on the form quarterly.
Other key details:
- Students should use this form even if they are not Creative Writing majors and/or haven't completed the necessary prerequisites.
- Students who have not completed all four prerequisites (ENGL 283, 284, 383, and 384) will need to obtain written faculty approval after filling out the request form.
Step Two: HAS Liaison Organizes Requests
After the form closes, the HAS English department liaison will organize registration requests by priority. This is done before registering students to ensure those who need the courses most are added first. Priority is organized in the following categories:
High priority:
- Creative Writing majors graduating within the upcoming quarter who need one or both 400-level workshops.
Priority:
- Creative Writing majors graduating within the upcoming two quarters who need one or both 400-level workshops.
Lower Priority:
- Creative Writing students who have already completed two 400-level workshops.
- Creative Writing majors who have completed the prerequsites (ENGL 283, 284, 383, and 384) and are graduating in three or more quarters.
- Non-majors who have completed the prerequisites (ENGL 283, 284, 383, and 384).
- Students without prerequisites who have written faculty permission to take the course.
Other priority considerations:
- Creative Writing majors can take more than one 400-level workshop per quarter. If you request to be added to more than one class, your priority will only apply to the classes you need to complete major requirements.
- Students that have the same priority will be added in the order in which they made their request. Fill out the form as soon as possible to increase your chances at being added to the workshop(s) of your choice.
Step Three: HAS Liaison Begins Registration
Once results are organized, the HAS English department liaison will begin registering and holding spots for students.
Students will always be individually emailed with their registration status. Possible registration statuses include:
- Being successfully registered by the liaison for all courses you requested.
- Having a spot in a course held for you by the liaison. This will occur when students have high priority or priority but already 1) are registered for 15 credits or 2) have a time conflict between classes.
- Being on a waitlist due to low registration priority.
Because there is no way to anticipate how many registration requests will be received in a given quarter, there is no centralized time when students can expect this email. Highest priority and priority students will be registered and hear back from the liaison first. Registration for lower priority students typically will not begin until a week after the form closes to ensure registration for all high priority and priority students has already been handled.
Further Questions?
Use the FAQ accordion below to find answers to common questions about 400-level Creative Writing workshop registration.
The current English department liaison is Rachel Zuraek. You can email them at rzuraek@uw.edu with any additional questions and/or concerns.
400-Level Creative Writing (CW) Course Registration FAQ
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Students who have successfully completed all of the prerequisite courses (ENGL 283, 284, 383, and 384) are eligible to take a 400-level course.
Students who have not completed these prerequisites can email the faculty teaching the courses with a writing sample to request written permission to be added to the course. Any student who receives faculty permission will need to send that permission to the HAS English department liaison so they have that permission on file.
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At least two 400-level courses will be offered during every academic quarter (Autumn, Winter, Spring) of every year.
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No. CW majors need 10 credits of 400-level coursework and each course is 5 credits, so two courses will complete the requirement.
Your ability to register will be based on how many students requesting a seat need one or two additional courses in order to graduate on time. Students who have already completed 10 credits in 400-level coursework have lower registration priority than those who need those credits in order to graduate on time.
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Yes. Creative Writing majors need 10 credits of 400-level coursework and each course is 5 credits, so two courses will complete the requirement. Majors are welcome to take additional credits if they have room in their graduation plan.
Your ability to register will be based on how many students requesting a seat need one or two additional courses in order to graduate on time. Students who have already completed 10 credits in 400-level coursework have lower registration priority than those who need those credits in order to graduate on time.
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Yes. HAS advisers recommend that students register for a back-up course in case they are not at a high enough priority to be added to a 400-level course during the quarter of their request.
If you are at a high enough priority, the HAS English liaison will email you with confirmation that you are eligible to register. In this email, they will ask if you'd like to drop a course to make room for the 400-level course(s) you are interested in taking. You can drop this/these back-up course(s) yourself or the HAS adviser can drop you-- you simply have to confirm this preference, as sometimes, students end up no longer interested in taking a 400-level course, even after filling out the request form.
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Yes! Whether or not you are able to do so will depend on your priority.
If you have high enough registration priority to be added to a 400-level course, but are already registered for 15 credits, the HAS English liaison will reach out to ask if you want to drop a course or take 20 credits. In your response, indicate you want to take 20 credits.
Students cannot register for 20 credits until period 3 of registration/the first day of the quarter. On the first day of the quarter, email the English liaison with a reminder to add you to the 400-level course of your choosing and you will be added. Make sure to send this email before the first class session of the quarter-- if you miss the first session, you will have to receive written faculty permission to add the course.
Students who receive an email from the HAS liaison with indication of high registration priority will not be at risk of loosing their spot if they wait until the first day of the quarter to register. This space will be held for them unless they indicate they are no longer interested in taking the class.
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Students who want to talk more 1:1 about their priority can email the current English liaison with their questions. You are also welcome to make an appointment or visit drop-in advising.
Generally speaking, students who need these courses in order to graduate on time will be added to them, but every situation is different. Feel free to reach out to have a more personalized discussion and receive support.
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Yes. The form has a question asking students to rank the 400-level courses offered based on their preferences.
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Email the current HAS English liaison to be hand-added to the registration list. The same eligibility requirements will apply for any student who fills out the form late.
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The form can only be submitted once, but feel free to email the current HAS liaison with that information.
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Please email the current HAS liaison with this information so they can open that space to the next eligible student.
If you receive an email stating you are eligible to be added to a 400-level course and no longer are interested to be added, you can reply to the email with a request to be dropped from the class.
This process is subject to change at any time. If there are changes, this webpage will be updated as needed.
Last update: March 25, 2024