Morgan State University Paper Format & Writing Requirements

Morgan State University at a glance

Baltimore's public urban research university and one of Maryland's two Carnegie R2 HBCUs, begun in 1867 as the Centenary Biblical Institute, now known for a School of Engineering among the top producers of Black engineers in the country and a School of Global Journalism and Communication on the Hillen Road campus.

The campus sits in Baltimore, Maryland, operates as a public institution, and enrolls about 9,000 students — a scale that directly shapes how writing support works. Founded in 1867 with an acceptance rate around 85%, Morgan State University pairs selective admissions with the large-course writing loads typical of its category.

Citation styles Morgan State University actually requires

Morgan State University courses predominantly require APA 7 or MLA 9 or Chicago 18. That is not a trivial preference: it decides your title page, heading levels, in-text punctuation and reference format on every graded document.

• APA 7: used across social science, nursing and business courses
• MLA 9: used across humanities and writing-sequence courses
• Chicago 18: used across the university's signature programs

Verify against the specific course syllabus anyway — instructors can override departmental defaults, and the first paper is where they enforce it.

The writing requirement, decoded

The ENGL 101/102 pair anchors first years, journalism majors run deadline-heavy reporting sequences, and the Writing Center in the Earl S. Richardson Library tutors across every school.

Plan the sequence early: composition requirements compound, and students who defer them discover the advanced seminars — where the writing-intensity lives — conflict with major courses later. The registrar's degree audit shows exactly which flags remain; check it each semester.

Three things about Morgan State University papers that surprise new students

• The university began in 1867 inside Baltimore's Sharp Street Methodist Church as the Centenary Biblical Institute, training Black ministers, and took its name from Lyttleton Morgan, the pastor who donated the land for its first campus.
• In 1939 the State of Maryland bought the school to create a public 'colored university' under segregation, making Morgan the rare HBCU that moved from church to state hands — and it has grown into Maryland's designated public urban university.
• The Magnificent Marching Machine's homecoming parade shuts down Hillen Road each October, a Baltimore fixture that draws alumni back decades after graduation.

None of these appear in the course description. All of them appear in the rubric. Students who learn them in week one report smoother first-semesters than students who meet them at the deadline.

Assignments Morgan State University students face most

• Research Paper — most frequently assigned across Morgan State University's programs
• Essay — most frequently assigned across Morgan State University's programs
• Coursework — most frequently assigned across Morgan State University's programs
• Case Study — most frequently assigned across Morgan State University's programs
• Literature Review — most frequently assigned across Morgan State University's programs

Popular programs at Morgan State University include engineering, business, global journalism and communication — each pairs the assignment list above with its own capstone or practicum expectations, detailed on our subject pages.