Gwynedd Mercy University 2026-2027 University Catalog
The Writing Program
The Writing Program at Gwynedd Mercy University is informed by best practices in the Rhetoric and Composition field, as established by peer-reviewed, scholarly research. As such, the Writing Program aims to achieve the Learning Outcomes as set forth by the Council of Writing Program Administrators. The Writing Program course sequence is designed so students can achieve these outcomes.
Students at Gwynedd Mercy University encounter the writing program at several stages during their undergraduate careers. Students are expected to meet the following requirements:
1. Take and pass, or transfer in credit for, ENG100: Critical Reading and Writing, in either a Workshop or Traditional Format, depending on placement score
2. Take and pass, or transfer in credit for, ENG101: College English, in either a Workshop or Traditional
Format, depending on placement score and / or ENG100 instructor recommendation. 3. Take and pass a writing-intensive Signature Seminar Course 4. Complete a major-specific Capstone course, which often includes a significant writing project.
Director: Patrick Messina, PhD
HONORS PROGRAM
Mission Students who are enrolled in undergraduate degree programs may be invited to participate in the Honors Program based on admission criteria. The Honors Program provides an academically rigorous and challenging curriculum, steeped in the liberal arts and sciences, to the University’ s brightest and most industrious students. The Program is committed to preserving an academic culture that inspires a genuine eros for learning. Honors courses are designed to delve deeply into their subject matters in a way that allows students and professors to enter into a conversation of discovery.
Program Description The Honors Program is a 6-course, alternative general education curriculum designed according to a modern interpretation of the original, medieval“ artes liberals( liberal arts).” Each course comprising the Program falls under one of the following categories: dialectic, rhetoric, grammar( trivium); math, science, music( quadrivium). There is a variety of courses within each category, all of which substitute for an appropriately corresponding general education course.
Type: Term Program Modality: On-Ground
Admission Requirements First-Year / Transfer Students
• 3.5 GPA
• Interview with Honors Program Director
Current Students
• 3.33 cumulative GPA
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