Undergraduate FAQs

Both the UG ELPE and the CWP are writing placement exercises offered to undergraduate students. Normally, international students do not take the CWP. If you are an international student entering UCSB as a freshman, you should take the UG ELPE unless otherwise notified.

Contact the EMS UG ELPE Placement Committee to find out if you are eligible to take a makeup UG ELPE. The e-mail address is EMSinfo@linguistics.ucsb.edu. 

Note: For the 2025-26 academic year, the EMS Program will offer makeup UG ELPE placement processes on Friday, March 13, 2026 and Wednesday, June 3, 2026.

If you recently completed the UG ELPE, your results will be emailed to you within one month.

Students cannot re-take the UG ELPE. However, we do want to make sure the results of your placement are accurate. For that reason, you will be given the opportunity to write a brief essay on the first day of your writing class. The placement process is very accurate, and it is rare for a student’s placement to be changed. But if your instructor sees that your writing significantly differs from your UG ELPE placement, s/he will recommend that your placement be reviewed by the EMS Program Director. It is important that you continue doing your best in the EMS course in which you were placed so that your instructor can collect evidence of your academic writing performance. 

Note: It is very important to attend the first class meeting. If you miss the first day of class, you may miss this opportunity to have your placement confirmed.

If English is the only language that you have used at home and at school, then you should consult with the Director of the EMS Program.

We have found that many multilingual students who are U.S.-educated continue to benefit from specialized instruction in academic English, particularly in reading and writing. The EMS course series supports students' academic English language skills in order to prepare them for success in courses across the curriculum. 

The answer depends on your course placement. Based on the result of your UG ELPE, you may be placed in LING 3A, 3B, 3C, or 12. Wherever in this course sequence you are placed, you will also take all the higher-numbered courses in the sequence. For example, if you are placed in LING 12, then that is the only LING course that you will take; if you are placed in LING 3A, then you will take LING 3A, 3B, 3C, and 12.

First, see the EMS webpage on Testing Information and Dates for news about the date, time, and location of the next UG ELPE. If the date has passed, contact the EMS UG ELPE Committee to find out if you are eligible to take a makeup UG ELPE.

No, the courses in the undergraduate sequence are LING 3A, 3B, 3C, and 12.  LING 4 is a graduate level course, and courses numbered 8-14 are undergraduate elective courses.

No. If the EMS Program has notified you that your placement is LING 3A, 3B, 3C, or 12, then you should take the LING course into which you have been placed. See below.

These two courses have some similarities and some differences. Like Writing 1, LING 12 satisfies the UC’s Entry-Level Writing Requirement (ELWR). Both courses qualify you to take Writing 2. However, they are different. LING 12 provides specialized instruction for multilingual students, whereas Writing 1 is designed for students who were born in the U.S. and have spoken English at home and at school.

Yes. If you have a LING course placement, you need to enroll in that course and drop WRIT 1.

No. If you have been placed into a LING course, you may not take WRIT 1. Other courses in the Writing Program, like WRIT 2 and above, require that you first satisfy the UC’s Entry-Level Writing Requirement (ELWR) by completing LING 12.

Possibly. However, you should consult with the Director of the EMS Program first. We’d like to help make sure you take the course that is best suited to your needs and goals.

If all the sections are full, your first step should be to try to get on the class’s waiting list. Please consult the EMS Wait List Policy.

In some cases you may have to wait until next quarter to take your required class. Please note that not every class is offered every quarter; in some cases, if you do not enroll in your required class, you may have to wait two quarters or longer.

Students may not enroll in courses that are a higher level than the one into which they have been placed. It is sometimes possible to enroll in a lower level class, but you should first speak with the Director of the EMS Program.

As noted above, not every class is offered every quarter; in some cases, if you do not enroll in your required LING course, you may have to wait two quarters or longer to take it. For that reason, students are usually advised to enroll in their LING course and drop or postpone taking other courses which overlap.

You should e-mail your instructor immediately. Missing the first class meeting could have several consequences. First, students who miss the first day of class may be dropped so that space can be given away to those on the waiting list. If you contact your instructor, this is less likely. Also, EMS courses have a mandatory attendance policy, and this kind of absence may affect your grade. Finally, as noted above, you may miss the chance to give a writing sample to have your placement confirmed. We understand that these travel situations are sometimes unavoidable, but we do ask that you make every effort to attend all classes.

No. Students in the EAP reciprocity program are not required to take EMS writing courses. However, those who are interested in doing so must take UCSB’s Entry Level Placement in English (ELPE) and receive a course placement. Currently, EAP students should not take the regular fall administration of the UG ELPE, but may take a makeup UG ELPE. You should check this page for news about the date, time, and how it will be offered.

EMS occasionally offers non-writing courses for multilingual undergraduate students. LING 8, LING 10, and LING 14 do not require the UG ELPE or other prerequisites. Please see our undergraduate courses page for course descriptions.

Please note that space in EMS courses is limited, and degree-bound students must be given priority. For that reason, we cannot guarantee that there will be space available for EAP students.

UIP students may enroll at the instructor’s discretion if there is space in the class. Contact the instructor of the course you wish to take. As explained in the previous section, you must take the UG ELPE and take the course that is appropriate to your level. Degree-bound students take priority; we cannot guarantee space in our courses.

Transfer students who have satisfied the requirements for the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) are exempt from LING course requirements. However, if you wish to enroll in a LING course, you should first consult with the instructor of the course you wish to take. You should also be aware the LING courses do not offer credit toward degree for students who have already satisfied the Entry Level Writing Requirement (ELWR).

In general, undergraduate EMS courses are only available to UCSB students.  Therefore, visiting scholars and others not enrolled at the university are not allowed to audit or take undergraduate EMS courses. Please see our FAQs for graduate courses for more information.

LING 3A is graded Pass/No Pass. Such courses are recorded differently by the registrar and show up differently on GOLD. However, the EMS Program faculty will know which students have passed LING 3A. So if you passed the course, you’ll be eligible to take LING 3B.