About FWIS Courses

These courses fulfill Rice’s Writing and Communication Requirement, which all students must complete in order to earn a bachelor’s degree from the university. They are capped at 16 students to support group discussion and foster relationships between students and faculty. The small class size, and also ensures that students receive substantive feedback from instructors on their writing, speaking, and visual communication skills.

Writing and communication play a significant role in assignments and grading in FWIS courses, though assignments may not be a traditional essay or presentation. Some assignments might ask students to reflect on field trips to local museums, conduct interviews with members of the Rice and Houston community, or even critically examine the experience of strolling through campus.

Based on the summer composition evaluations, some students are required to take an additional writing course in the fall, FWIS 100: Introduction to Academic Writing, before enrolling in a FWIS in the spring. For more information, see FWIS 100 Overview.