Graduate Services

The Writing Center is an academic center supported by the Department of English and the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences for students to come to work on their writing. Students must be enrolled at the University of Pittsburgh in order to register for an appointment. Our faculty and undergraduate peer tutors have been trained to help others with their writing.

In addition to one-on-one tutoring for graduate students, we support five-day Project Camps, one-day Project Workshops, and Writing Days in collaboration with the Writing Institute.

When the Writing Center Is Closed

The Writing Center is always closed during the following times of the year: Fall Break; finals week; between terms; Spring break; Juneteenth; July 4th; Thanksgiving week; Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Making an Appointment

You can make an appointment by visiting our online scheduler and selecting the schedule for the current term.  You can choose a 25-minute appointment or a 55-minute appointment, in person or online.  You can also drop in during our operating hours at 317B O'Hara Student Center.  If a consultant is available, you'll be seen right away. 

You may schedule 2.5 hours of appointments per week; however, more than one appointment a day is not permitted, whether booked in advance or as a walk-in.  Using multiple identities to book additional time is a violation of academic integrity.

How to Prepare for a Tutorial Session

The best preparation is to consider what you want to get out of your time at the Writing Center. You may have a long document, such as a chapter, that we will not be able to go over line by line. Since we will have limited time together, what are your priorities? Read over your document thoughtfully. What questions do you have?

Proofread your writing so that the consultant knows that any errors that are left are those that you might need to talk about in the session.

If your project is more than four or five pages, please identify the pages you want to focus on in this session. You can mark these sections in the margins, for example.

No-Show Policy/Cancelling Appointments through WCOnline

Students who miss three appointments in a single term without cancelling will be unable to schedule Writing Center sessions for the remainder of that term.

Our online scheduler allows students to cancel their own appointments online up to 10 minutes prior to a scheduled session.