University Composition Program

Preparing students to succeed in writing at CSU and beyond

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University Composition Program

Composition at a Glance

The University Composition Program is a vital part of The Department of English at Colorado State University. Over 6,000 students enroll in lower- and upper-division writing and rhetoric courses focused on preparing students to succeed in university and professional writing contexts. We offer ten lower-division and upper-division courses in writing and rhetoric, including College Composition (CO150), Writing in the Disciplines: Sciences (CO301B), Writing in Digital Environments (CO302), and Principles of Digital Rhetoric and Design (CO402).

Our courses, which fulfill the All-University Core Curriculum (AUCC) requirements, prepare students to write, research, and design documents across audiences, genres, and contexts. The English department also offers an undergraduate degree in Writing, Rhetoric, and Literacy and a graduate degree in Writing, Rhetoric, and Social Change.

Our composition faculty love what they do. Watch the videos below to learn more about why the teaching of writing is so important to student success at CSU.

Here’s what composition faculty value about teaching rhetoric and composition to their CSU students.

cookie egret standing near a ram statue on the CSU campus

“In composition students learn to research a topic they care about and are motivated by. They don’t just back up their ideas with research from one side but learn to listen to the whole conversation around the issues they care about and are invested. I want my students to write about and research what they want to know more about, who they want to be, and the changes they want to see in the world.” — cookie egret

James Roller smiling under a tree on the CSU campus

“I tell all of my students that they are their own mix of geniuses with their own mix of talents and their own mix of knowledge. I want to empower them to share their own particular genius through writing and rhetoric, so they can change the world.” — James Roller

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Composition Placement Program

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