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Important Dates
March 15-23: SPRING BREAK
March 24: Time Tickets available to view
March 28: Deadline to add 2nd 8-week course
April 7: Priority registration begins
Schedule Your Pre-registration Appointment!
Registration will start April 7. Students are assigned a time on or after that day according to the schedule found here. Time tickets (which tell you when you can register for Summer and/or Fall 2025 classes) should be visible to you starting March 24. Log in to Student Self-Service to view your time ticket. When you are ready to schedule your appointment call 217-333-4346 during the hours 8:30-noon or 1:00-4:30. You may request an in-person or a virtual appointment, whichever suits you. Remember that we are very busy during the registration period so please don’t wait until your time ticket opens up and then send an email demanding an immediate reply. Plan ahead!
Here are some things you can do ahead of time to make your registration appointment more productive:
- Run your degree audit and see what you can make of it. Even if you find it a little confusing, try to get a sense of what requirements you have left to fulfill, and then when we do your registration appointment we can confirm (or correct) your interpretation of the audit and help explain anything that’s confusing.
- Think about what you want to accomplish in the spring. What major/minor/Gen Ed requirements would you like to complete, and what other areas would you like to explore?
- If you are thinking of adding a major or a minor, do you know what you need to do to get started? If you’ve already begun, can you figure out the next step? You can explore major and minor requirements listed here: http://catalog.illinois.edu/undergraduate/
- Consult Course Explorer and be sure to read the course descriptions in full. Remember that if a course is called “Topics in X” then you must click through to see the individual sections and find out what topics are available. It’s also worth clicking through on any 199 (usually called Undergraduate Open Seminar) because there you may find some interesting and unusual topics being piloted, and they’re usually unrestricted.
- Consult the resources available on the Planning Coursework section of the advising site. You’ll find checklists of major requirements and a “cheat sheet” that tells you which variable topics courses satisfy which requirements in the coming semester (the new FA25 cheat sheet is visible there now).
We’re Hiring! Deadline Approaching!
For the 2025-26 academic year, the Department of English is looking to hire a Social Media Management Intern from any major in the English Department. This is a great opportunity for students to apply their love of writing and literature while gaining valuable media-writing experience.
Eligibility: Undergraduate in the Department of English with at least Sophomore standing for AY25-26
Position Responsibilities:
- Develop creative thematic post series for Facebook and Instagram
- Promote, attend, and create social media posts about department events when safety allows
- Design flyers, memes, and other posts for informing and entertaining students
- Develop creative semester-long multimodal projects
- Attend weekly meetings for brainstorming, task assignments, and collaboration
- Edit videos and design flyers or posts
- Collaborate with Advising Office in creating content
- Conduct and publish interviews with faculty, alumni, students, and visiting speakers
- Average hours worked per week: 5 (about 75 hours over a semester)
Position Wage: $15/hour
Position Starts: April, 2025
Recommended Skills and Experience:
- Concise and catchy writing
- Writing for social media
- Develop and follow through on creative ideas
- Tailor message and style to genre and audience
- Visual design
- Work independently
- Interpersonal communication
- Collaboration
- Reliability
- Word, Publisher, Adobe, photo & video editing
- Photography, video, and editing skills a plus
To Apply: Submit a resume and cover letter. Application materials can be addressed to John Dudek, Associate Director of Creative Writing, and sent as email attachments to jdudek4@illinois.edu by no later than 9:00 am on Friday, March 28.
Calling All Graduating Seniors! Registration required!
If you expect to graduate in May or August you are invited to participate in the English & Creative Writing Convocation in May. Please read on to ensure that you know all about when, where, and how you can register for our ceremony and/or the universitywide ceremony and order regalia.
English & Creative Writing Convocation: Saturday, May 17, 5 pm, Smith Memorial Hall
Universitywide Commencement: Saturday, May 17, 9:30 am, Memorial Stadium
Please note that you must have regalia (aka “cap and gown”) to participate in any ceremony. Information about how to rent your cap and gown can be found here.
Questions about the English department ceremony should be sent to englishadvising@illinois.edu. Questions about the universitywide ceremony, or about regalia, should be sent to commencement@illinois.edu.
Junior Quinn Award 2025: Deadline is now March 27!
The Junior Quinn Award recognizes achievement and potential in Creative Writing MAJORS or minors with junior class standing by awarding one or more recipients with financial support to attend a writing workshop or conference. This year’s prize will be issued as a flat $1000. We recognize that it is not always easy to determine eligibility. If you are not technically a Junior this academic year but plan to graduate no earlier than December 2025 and no later than December 2026, you may be eligible (check with an advisor if you’re not sure). You may apply for the Junior Quinn only once.
If you are eligible, we want to see a sample of your unpublished prose OR poetry:
Prose submissions can be either fiction or creative nonfiction. Limit your submission to 1-2 pieces, no more than 15 pages total. Poetry submissions should contain 3-5 poems, no more than 7 pages total. The first page of your submission (not included in page count) should be a statement of purpose explaining how attending a writing conference or other professional development opportunity would impact your writing. This statement should be no more than 250 words.
Submit your statement of purpose and creative work in one file (.docx only) to John Dudek at jdudek4@illinois.edu by noon, March 27. To make sure your submission does not get lost, the subject line of the email should be ALL CAPS and either JUNIOR QUINN POETRY or JUNIOR QUINN PROSE. The body of this email should include: Your name, address, phone number, e-mail address, and UIN.
Chancellor’s Senior Survey
All students graduating in May 2025 are invited to take the Chancellor’s Senior Survey, which prompts students to reflect on their Illinois experience by answering questions about participation in activities and services, perceived gains in abilities linked to the Illinois (campus-wide) student learning outcomes, campus climate, disability support services, attributions of success, barriers to success, and overall satisfaction with the Illinois experience.
Scholarship Information Sessions
Poetry and Jazz!
The Humanities Research Institute presents an evening of jazz and poetry with award-winning poet Janice N. Harrington and musician Charles “Chip” McNeil. Harrington will read selections from her book Yard Show with musical accompaniment by McNeill and student musicians from the University of Illinois School of Music. The book will be available for purchasing and signing!
March 26, 7:00 p.m Levis Faculty Center, Rm 300
First-Gen Series Event
Upcoming Events with Guest Speaker Theo Gonzalves
NEW SECOND 8-WEEK COURSE OPTION
English 103, Introduction to Fiction, taught by Peter Mortensen
What good is fiction in a world hungry for truth? We’ll search for answers on familiar ground: the college campus. Fiction about collegiate life abounds. We’ll study it by reading novels and short stories that challenge us to imagine our place and ourselves differently, which is to say critically. The critical imagination sparked by fiction can reveal larger truths about humanity and its institutions. These truths may be beautiful or ugly, lasting or fleeting, comforting or disturbing, broadly accepted or sharply contested. Whatever the case, finding truths in fiction requires a particular kind of reading: close reading. The techniques and vocabulary of close reading will equip us to make arguments in writing, arguments aimed at persuading others to share (or at least appreciate) our understanding of what we have read. Fiction on the syllabus includes Jean Hanff Korelitz’s Admission, Richard Powers’ Galatea 2.2, Weike Wang’s Chemistry, and Richard Russo’s Straight Man. With Admission and Straight Man, we’ll use close reading to evaluate what happens when the truths of prose fiction are adapted for presentation to mass audiences on screen.
Interested in Gaming?
Check out these 2nd-8-week courses, open to students in all majors! No prior experience necessary.
INFO 490 SBU/SBG
Makerspaces: Made for Learning
This course is an exploration of the history and function of community and education-oriented makerspaces. Students in this section will evaluate emergent makerspace curricula for learning in formal environments, like schools, as well as informal settings, like libraries. The students’ coursework will culminate in a final project that will involve the development of a makerspace workshop activity that will be a part of a community event. In preparation for this final project, students will be familiarized with several methods of teaching and learning rapid prototyping and iterative design techniques. This will include a variety of low/no-tech projects and computer-driven tools, such as e-textiles, 3D printing, electronic cutting and small board electronics.
GSD 390 DHP
Improv for Games
Whether you’ve seen it in your favorite Tabletop Role Playing game, on a television show like Whose Line is it Anyway, or in person at Second City, improvisation is everywhere. In this course, students will learn and practice basic improvisational techniques, with the goal of exploring fictional characters and scenarios in and around games and game design. Students will also get the opportunity to create new Improv games, and approach the space from a designer’s perspective. No theater or game design experience is required!
GSD 390 JAI
AI Systems in Games
Guided exploration of AI tools and how they can be used to design and build games including the use of large language models (LLM).
GSD 390 RPG
2D Game Design with RPG Maker
An introduction to the design behind 2D games. You will become proficient in RPG Maker MZ, a game engine designed for 2D forced perspective games. By the end of class you will have developed a small demo for personal reference for what you’ve learned as well as for your portfolio. No prior programming knowledge is required for students to be successful in the course. BYOL course (Bring Your Own Laptop). Students must purchase their own license of RPG Maker MZ.
Image of Research Competition–Submit by 3/25
Upcoming LAS Career Events
- Finding an Internship March 26th, 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm 715 South Wright Street
Careers in Human Resources and Labor Relations
Don’t Forget These!
Summer Language Learning
• June 16th – August 8th, 2025 •
Session includes
• Arabic, Persian, Swahili, Turkish, and Wolof courses
• Small class sizes and dedicated faculty and staff
• Immersive experience, complete with instruction
• Cultural activities, opportunities for language practice, conversation tables,
cooking classes, movie nights, and more!
Program registration timeline
April 24th – May 12th, 2025
Application & Registration
For more information contact silmw@illinois.edu
A New Way to Share Good News
Do you have good news to share? Have you published something? Won an award? Taken on a new role or had an adventure? If so, please let us feature you and your news on the department’s website and/or social media. Just send a message to engl-news@illinois.edu with whatever information you’d like to share. This is a great way for other students to learn about opportunities so please don’t be shy!
Preview of Spring 2025 Creative Writing Events
We’ll advertise these individually as they approach (with location info) but now would be a great time to get them all in your calendar.
Carr Visiting Author Series: Dante Micheaux
Thursday, April 10, 2025 | 4:30
Poetry Reading by Janice Harrington and Angie Estes
Thursday, April 17, 2025 | 6:00
Yard Show: Black Life, Prairies, and Place Making In the Midwest.
Reading and performance featuring Janice N. Harrington and Chip McNeill
Wednesday, March 26, 2025 | 4:30
MFA Public Reading
Saturday, May 3, 2025 | 1:00
Research Workshops
The Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) announces its Spring 2025 workshop calendar. We are offering a variety of workshops to support you regardless of where you are in your research journey. Information for each workshop, including how you can register, can be found on our website . For all workshops, participation is by advanced registration only; there are a limited number of spots available for each workshop, so please sign up as soon as possible. Workshops will be added throughout the term based on demand.
Tuesday @7 Workshops with the Counseling Center
Confidential Advising Resources
The Women’s Resources Center (WRC) is the designated confidential campus resource related to sexual assault/rape, sexual harassment, stalking and abuse within a relationship (sometimes called dating or domestic violence). That means when we talk with students, staff, and faculty who have experienced harm, we make sure you get what you need and on your terms! There are several Confidential Advisors at the WRC who can provide you – or someone looking to support you – with support and advocacy services.
