As part of the undergraduate core curriculum at Illinois Institute of Technology, students must complete a minimum of 36 hours of courses with a significant written and oral communication component, identified with a “C” in the bulletin, with at least six of those hours being in their major. You’ll take C courses when meeting your Basic Writing Proficiency requirement and when taking upper-level and disciplinary courses.
Basic Writing Proficiency
The Basic Writing Proficiency requirement is designed to ensure you have some fundamental reading and writing skills that you need to succeed in the curriculum at Illinois Tech. It can be fulfilled in several ways:
- Achieving one of the following scores on the ACT or SAT exam:
- 8 or higher on ACT Writing
- 600 or higher on SAT Writing
- 9 or higher on SAT Essay
- 33 or higher on new SAT Writing and Language
- Presenting transfer or AP credit (4 or higher on the English Language exam) for COM 101: Writing in the University
- Passing the Illinois Tech Basic Writing Proficiency Examination (offered before starting classes in your first semester)
- Taking and passing COM 101: Writing in the University
Upper-Level C-Designated Courses
There are many other courses across the curriculum designated with a “C,” including in each major. Every student is required to take at least 36 hours of C-designated courses, with at least 12 of those hours being in their major, per the university’s core curriculum. These courses are designed to teach students about the types of writing and communication that are typical in their unique fields. The Communication Across the Curriculum (CAC) program aims to work closely with faculty who are teaching C-designated courses to ensure those courses offer a robust writing education.