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Important Dates

Express Advising from 10-11:30am: Tuesday, Oct. 14
Express Advising from 1:30-3pm: Wednesday, Oct. 15
Deadline to drop a full-semester course without a “W”: Friday, Oct. 17
Registration Time Tickets are available to view: Monday, Oct. 20
POT B (second 8 weeks) courses begin: Monday, Oct. 20
Advising Office Open House with LAS Career Services: Wed., Oct. 22
Deadline to add a POT B course to schedule: Friday, Oct. 24
Priority registration begins: Monday, Nov. 3

Resource of the Week

Course Explorer is the online tool for browsing course offerings at Illinois. It also includes a browsable catalog of courses that satisfy general education (GenEd) requirements. Spring 2026 courses are now viewable on Course Explorer, so make sure to check it out as you begin planning next semester’s schedule!

Creative Writing Courses Added to the “Cheat Sheet”

Attention creative writing majors! You can now find courses offered each semester that satisfy your Writing & Literature and Difference & Diaspora requirements on the Major Requirements Cheat Sheet we update each semester. We hope that this will prove to be helpful when finding courses to complete these major requirements! The updated cheat sheet for Spring 2026 and live and ready for you to consult.

Meet Your Imposter Monster: Understanding & Managing Imposter Syndrome

Study Abroad in Prague!

HIST 354: European History in Prague
Interested in a short-term study abroad program for Summer 2026? Study European history in Prague! Tour one of Europe’s most beautiful cities and visit locations where history was made: Wenceslas Square, the Jewish Quarter, Prague Castle, the Theresienstadt Ghetto, and the National Opera. Immerse yourself in Czech culture while exploring the region’s complex history of ethnic and confessional pluralism, medieval legacies, the rise and fall of empires, and the transformation of European identity.

The program does not have any prerequisites and is appropriate for students at any year or major, as long as they have an interest in the topic.  Last year, the billable cost was approximately $2400+ airfare and expenses, which compares favorably with most other summer short-term faculty programs. 

An information session about the study abroad program is being hosted next week on Wednesday, Oct. 15 from 5-6pm for interested students. If you have any questions about the program, you are also welcome to reach out to Stefan Djordjevic at djordje1@illinois.edu

Embracing Trans Regret Under Authoritarianism – CWS Brownbag Event

AWP Intro Journals Project – Collecting Submissions!

Media Ecology PhD Cohort at the University of Colorado Boulder

CU Boulder English is embarking on a new kind of PhD that is collaborative, experimental, and that affords students a chance to work closely with each other and with faculty. They are introducing a “Media Ecology” lab and team-taught courses where PhD students work with faculty and one another to map, theorize, and develop dissertation specialties via intensive mentoring, reading, and co-writing and -publishing in the lab. They offer competitive funding packages, along with excellent teaching and networking opportunities. Students will work with established academics and professionals in the fields of their interest.

What are “media ecologies”? If “ecology” refers to the relationships between humans and the more-than-human, mediaecology takes its cue from manuscripts, archives, as well as printed and digital environments to consider how text technologies and material infrastructures shape readers and their worlds. Conversely, readers perceive the material world through the lens of media. In addition to asking traditional questions in literary scholarship like “What does the text mean?” we theorize texts as occupying an ecological niche, suggesting that both medial form and its content occupy a symbiotic and competitive relationship with other texts. Like capital itself, text is always in motion and always innovating. The field of cultural production shifts, morphs, combines, and mutates. The university is seeking students interested in both environmental and media studies. They encourage those working in any literary period, with interests anywhere from medieval manuscripts to AI.

If you are interested in this topic and in pursuing a PhD in English, you are encouraged to apply! You can find information about applying here.

Coping with Communication Apprehension

Registration Form: https://forms.illinois.edu/sec/1408633323
Thursday, October 23, 3:30-4:30pm (Main Lib #106)

Roughly three out of every four people face some degree of anxiety when speaking in front of others. Tremors, butterflies in the stomach, and “blacking out” are common, but that does not make them any less uncomfortable. In this workshop, learn strategies and mindsets to help cope with these experiences and more related to speech and presentation apprehension. Pre-registration required using the link above.

Kevin T. Early Memorial Scholarship

Submissions are open for the 2025-2026 Kevin T. Early Memorial Scholarship. This scholarship is made possible from an endowment by William and Donna Early in memory of their son, a poet, Kevin T. Early. It awards a $2000 scholarship (applied to the student account) to a student with freshman standing at UIUC for the 2025-2026 school year.  

For consideration, students must submit 5 poems via email to jdudek4@illinois.edu. The complete submission should not exceed 5 pages (so 1 poem to a page). Submissions should be attached to the email as .docx (Word) files.

The subject line of the email should read: “EARLY PRIZE SUBMISSION: Last name.”

The body of the email should include the student’s name, address, phone number, e-mail, UIN, and the titles of the poems. The name should not appear on the entry file itself.

The deadline for application is Thursday, October 30, 2025. If you have any questions, please email jdudek4@illinois.edu.

Critical Language Scholarship

Are you interested in learning a less-commonly taught language? Do you want to participate in a fully-funded intensive language program abroad? If so, apply for a Critical Language Scholarship!

Eligibility:
Applicants must be U.S. citizens or U.S. nationals, at least 18 years of age, and enrolled in a degree-granting program at the undergraduate or graduate level. The Critical Language Scholarship, provided by the U.S. Department of State, is a fully-funded, intensive overseas language and cultural immersion program for undergraduate and graduate students.  A list of eligible languages is available here. CLS institutes are 8 to 10 weeks in length, are held over the summer, and cover one academic year of university-level language coursework. CLS Institutes include cultural programming, local language partners, and in-country excursions. Participants receive academic credit at their U.S. institutions.  

Deadline:
The national deadline will be in mid-November – exact date TBD in the upcoming weeks.

Application Preparation:
If you are interested in applying, please attend our informational session:   

IN-PERSON Critical Language Scholarship Information Session
Thursday, October 16th, 2025, 3:30- 4:30 pm
514 Illini Union Bookstore Building, Floor 5

ONLINE Critical Language Scholarship Information Session
Friday, October 17, 2025, 9:00-10:00 am
Register in advance for this Zoom session

For more information, contact the scholarships office at topscholars@illinois.edu or visit our website at www.topscholars.illinois.edu 

Open House

Our next open house is coming up on Monday, October 22, 8:30-10am. We will also be hosting folks from LAS Career Services, so stop by to meet them and find out more about how they can help you with your internship and career goals! As always, we will have snacks, coffee and tea, and assorted games and puzzles.

The Illinois Club Scholarships

The Illinois Club Scholarships online application closes at 5PM on Saturday, October 11, 2025. The 2026-2027 scholarships will support junior and senior students at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign who have a minimum GPA of 3.0. Recipients are selected based on academic achievement, financial need, and participation in activities that enhance academic and professional development. Additional information can be found on the club’s website and the attached flyer. Interested students can apply here.

There are a number of awards but the ones most relevant to English department majors and minors are listed below. It’s well worth applying!

Global Focus Scholarship
Open to students with any major. This scholarship honors Peri Ceperley, a dear friend who left us too soon. Peri loved traveling, studying foreign languages, and exploring internships and volunteering opportunities abroad. Applicants must have international experience or an internationally focused program of study. Applicants should demonstrate how their internationally focused work and/or volunteer plans will make a difference in the world.

Humanities and Social Sciences Scholarship
Open to students majoring or minoring in the Humanities or Social Sciences. Applicants should demonstrate the benefits that studying the Humanities or Social Sciences provides to themselves and their community.

Isabelle Purnell Education Scholarship
Open to students earning a Secondary Education Certificate or College of Education majors. Applicants should indicate how they hope to make a difference in the classroom and in students’ lives.

Judith Life Ikenberry Scholarship
Open to students majoring in the creative arts including all majors within the College of Fine & Applied Arts and Creative Writing. Applicants should demonstrate how their art impacts their lives and the world and what they hope to accomplish with their art. This scholarship is generally given to a student who plans to make a living as a working artist, performer, or writer (e.g., painter, sculptor, musician, composer, dancer, actor, novelist, playwright, poet, screenwriter, essayist, or other creative profession). 

Library Research Consultations

Illinois Consulting Academy

Illinois Consulting Academy (ICA) is looking for driven, collaborative sophomores and juniors from all majors who are interested in exploring consulting and preparing for careers in the industry.

Info Night
Date: Tuesday, October 14
Time: 6:00 PM
Location: Business Instructional Facility, Deloitte Auditorium

At Info Night, students will learn more about ICA, what consulting is, and hear directly from current and former ICA students about their experiences.

Students who are interested in learning more or applying should complete this form: ICA Interest Form

Don’t Forget These!

Fall 2025 First Gen Series

Scholarship Opportunity

The LAS Get Experience Scholarship is designed to support students with financial need in hands-on learning experiences that enhance and complement their academic coursework (such as unpaid and underpaid internships). Click the link above to find out more.

How to Connect with LAS Career Services

• Mondays- 1-3 pm 105 Greg Hall (short chats)
• Tuesdays- 10-3 pm LAS Hub (Lincoln Hall) with peer mentors
• Wednesdays- 10-3 pm LAS Hub (Lincoln Hall) with peer mentors
• Thursdays- 10-3 pm LAS Hub (Lincoln Hall) with peer mentors
• Thursdays- 1-3 pm 105 Greg Hall (short chats)
• Handshake Appointments (in-person or virtual) are 30 minutes during available staff times. We have an energetic team to help you. Reach out to connect. Having trouble? Reach out to us at las-careerservices@illinois.edu. 

Montage – Call for Submissions!

Montage publishes art and literary work by undergraduate students at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Submissions are now open! For more information and to submit your work, please visit: https://www.montageartsjournal.com/submit

Sharing News

As a reminder, if you have an award, a publication, or some other triumph to report please send news to engl-news@illinois.edu so the social media interns can celebrate you and your accomplishment. Also, if you are a member of a student group affiliated with the English department and you would like an upcoming event posted on our undergraduate calendar (now available at the bottom of the advising page) please send that info to the same address. Thanks!

Boost Your Speaking Skills

We offer a friendly, low-stakes space for students from any major or discipline to practice and work on oral communication with a peer-consultant, including using visual aids such as powerpoint and research posters. Our main location is in the Armory, with satellite hours in the Main Library, Grainger Library, ACES/Funk Library, and the LAS Hub. We also offer synchronous online appointments. 

Free Little Library

WRC Fall Hours