Follow English Department communities on social media

How to schedule a registration appointment

Here’s an abbreviated version of the email we recently sent out about advising processes during the registration period. If you didn’t read the email, please read this!

First-semester students (whether first years or transfers) are required to meet with us. Continuing students are not required to meet with us but we certainly recommend that you check in one way or another; email is fine for quick questions or confirmation of your plans, but longer conversations are best had in real time either in person or over zoom.

Registration will start October 30. Students are assigned a time on or after that day according to the schedule found here. Log in to Student Self-Service to view your time ticket (see “preparing for registration”). When you are ready to schedule your appointment call 217-333-4346 during the hours 8:30-noon or 1:00-4:30 to request an appointment (we do not schedule via email).

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.

We need just two more focus group participants!

As part of our ongoing assessment of the undergraduate program in English, we are hoping to conduct another small focus group at some point in the coming month. Participants will be asked to talk about their general learning experience in the major and their answers, which will remain anonymous, will help us gauge and strengthen the program’s goals and learning outcomes. Students who participated in the last focus group are not eligible this time around (but we thank you once again for the feedback you gave us).  We plan to hold this meeting at lunchtime (noon to 1pm) on a Wednesday in October (specific date TBD), and will provide lunch in the form of empanadas from Manolo’s!

If you are willing to help out with this, please do let us know. Just email englishadvising@illinois.edu ASAP.  

Upcoming ESA Event!

How-to panel on English honors thesis

The English Honors Program will be hosting a ‘how-to’ panel on preparing for and writing the 20-25-page English honors thesis featuring three of our recently gradated students: Zoe Fieweger, Abby Masucol, and Ashley Wills.  

When: Wednesday, November 1, 5:15pm-6:15pm
Where: Zoom
Meeting ID: 821 7210 2693
Password: 066034

I encourage all of you who are considering entering the English Honors Program or writing an English honors thesis at some point to come! 

Professor Catharine Gray (Director of the Honors Program) writes:

“At the meeting, I’ll briefly go over some basics. Then our panel of UIUC graduates, all of whom successfully completed an honors thesis in Spring 2023, will share their experiences of the process, while also offering tips and insights on preparing for, researching, and writing the thesis. We’ll talk about how to go about figuring out a topic, director, and proposal; how to research; and how to draft and revise such a long paper. If there’s time, we’ll have a Q&A session afterwards.”

book event with Luis Alberto Urrea

apply now!

Join the WRC student staff team as an intern! The WRC is recruiting student interns for course credit for the Spring 2024 semester. Interns have a substantial relationship with the Women’s Resources Center. Those who intern at the WRC have the opportunity to be more heavily involved with project planning and execution, strengthen their leadership skills, and develop a body of work across the semester.

3 types of Internships:
Gender Equity
Advocacy 
Prevention Outreach 

Internship Application Timeline: 
October 22: Spring 2024 internship application deadline
October 30 – November 10: Spring 2024 internship interviews
November 17: Applicants notified of decisions

CU Small press Fest

Check out the activities coming up at the CU Small Press Fest!, but especially the experimental printing and bookbinding workshop on Friday morning (10/27). Space is limited for this and requires registration.

There are four main elements to the festival:

On Thursday, 10/26 book artist Ben Denzer will be giving the CU-SPF Keynote lecture at the Krannert Art Museum (room 62) at 5:30pm. More info here on the KAM calendar. (Facebook Event: https://fb.me/e/3ANHt1Mso)  Ben will also be giving a workshop on experimental book binding for students at Skeuomorph Press (within the CU Fab Lab) on Friday 10/27 at 10am, registration required at https://go.illinois.edu/Denzer

On Friday, 10/27 we will be holding the Small Press Soiree at the Prairie Glass House in Champaign from 6-8pm. There will be snacks, zines, and talks by Phill Kalantzis-Cope of Immaterial Books, Dominique Arnold from University High, E. Ainsley from Fresh Press Paper, and Emilee Matthews from the Ricker Library of Art & Architecture! (Facebook Event: https://fb.me/e/35MGWP07N)

The main Expo Day of the fest will be held on Saturday, 10/28 from 11am-4pm at the Lincoln Square Mall in Urbana, IL. The show will take place in the hallway outside of the Art Coop Inc. We currently have 40+ artists and collectives (both local and from all over the Midwest) registered to exhibit and sell their work at the Expo. (Facebook Event: https://fb.me/e/1qypp8sv3)

And finally there is an exhibition of zines and small press publications from the collections of the organizers, the Ricker Library of Architecture and Art, and the UC-IMC Zine Library on display in the Art Coop Gallery until 10/29. No specific opening/closing reception for the show, it will be up all month and be viewable the day of the Expo.

find out more about the legal studies minor

workshop on delivery skills for presentations

Volume, tone, vocal variety, eye contact, and more. There are a lot of delivery skills to master, each difficult to crack in their own right. This workshop focuses on strategies for building and improving effective delivery skills for presentations. Registration is limited to undergraduate students and required ahead of time.

Wednesday, October 25, 2023
4:00pm – 5:00pm
Register here!

Please reach out to the Speaking Center at speakingcenter@library.illinois.edu with any questions.

do research with impact!

Spend your summer conducting research that makes an impact on our local community through the Community-Academic Scholars Program. This 10-week summer undergraduate research experience empowers Illinois students from any major to work with an Illinois researcher and community organization on a project designed to directly benefit the community. Hear from past scholars and learn more at a virtual information session Nov. 9 at 6:30 p.m. Register for Zoom details and a link to the recorded info session

great new spring course!

FORMER DGS students invited to apply!

Don’t Forget These!

Social Group for Neurodiverse Students meets every wed!

new tutoring resource

Here’s a message from Brian Becker (academic outreach specialist at OMSA and an alum of our department!):

On behalf of the Office of Minority Student Affairs, I am thrilled to share our new partnership with NetTutor®! Through this partnership, the OMSA now provides FREE 24/7, 1:1 online tutoring across over 350+ subjects and disciplines. Each tutoring session is facilitated by professionally trained, degree-holding NetTutor staff who are committed to providing a welcoming, accessible virtual learning experience! Thanks to our integration with the NetTutor platform, students can conveniently log in using their Illinois credentials at: 

NetTutor Student Log-In: https://go.illinois.edu/OMSANetTutor

All of the information pertaining to our partnership with NetTutor, including a comprehensive User Guide, quick Log-in button, and accessibility options can be found on our dedicated OMSA Online Tutoring landing page.

critical language scholarship program

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.

The CLS institutes cover one academic year of university-level language coursework in 8 to 10 weeks over the summer, and include cultural programming, local language partners, and excursions. Participants receive academic credit at their U.S. institutions.  Applicants must be U.S. citizens at least 18 years of age and enrolled in a degree-granting program at the undergraduate or graduate level. For more information about this scholarship, please visit: http://www.clscholarship.org/. 

If you’d like to talk to an advisor about preparing your application, contact the National and International Scholarships Program at topscholars@illinois.edu or visit our website at www.topscholars.illinois.edu

truman scholarship

Are you concerned about issues facing your community, campus, or country, and are you actively working to make change? 

The prestigious Harry S. Truman Scholarship is available to College juniors who are U.S. citizens with a record of strong academic work, leadership, community service, and commitment to a career in public service. The scholarship awards $30,000 for use toward a graduate degree in public service fields. Public service includes government, uniformed services, public interest organizations, non-governmental research or educational organizations, public and private schools, and other non-profit organizations. Truman Scholars have pursued many fields of study, such as agriculture, engineering, economics, education, government, history, international relations, law, political science, public administration, and public health. Recipients of the scholarship are required to work in public service for three of the seven years following completion of a Foundation-funded graduate degree program; this is non-negotiable condition of receiving funding. 

Application Deadline
The campus deadline for submission is November 6, 2023, at 12:00 pm (noon).

Application Preparation
Please contact the scholarships office at topscholars@illinois.edu to schedule an appointment with us. Appointments are generally scheduled for 1 hour and can be either in-person or Zoom meetings. Our office is located at 514 Illini Union Bookstore Building.

Material Review Policy 
If you are wanting your scholarship materials reviewed, we require that those materials be submitted to us as email attachments along with a few dates and times you would be available for an appointment no earlier than 2 business days after your submission.

For more information, visit our website at www.topscholars.illinois.edu 

awp intro journals contest

get involved with montage

new RSO

There’s a new RSO in town and it’s called Uplift! Uplift’s mission is to foster a community of pre-professional students at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign dedicated to collaboration, unity, and mutual support. Our RSO will serve as a hub for students of all backgrounds. We are committed to fostering an environment wherein members feel seen, heard, and empowered to pursue their goals. The RSO will provide resources for pre-professional students to prepare for their future careers and professional or graduate schools. We will also enable students to pursue their goals through study hours and access to review resources. Check out their site and sign up for email notifications if you’re interested.

apply now to be a golden apple scholar!

Resource for our LGBTQIA+ Students 

Lisnek Hub

The Hub  is open again! Stop by Tuesday- Thursdays from 10 am to 3 pm. Under the Lincoln Hall theater is the Lisnek Hub where you can chat with peer mentors.

find a workshop for you!

If you’re struggling in one or more of your STEM courses, perhaps there’s a workshop that could help. Check out the LAS Success Workshop Schedule, and be sure to click on “see more” at the bottom for the full list of options.

Tuesday@7 Workshops

Each week, undergraduate Counseling Center paraprofessionals offer interactive workshops on various topics. Please visit our website for login information and upcoming topics.

writers workshop

Writers Workshop drop-ins are available beginning 4-9 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, 100b Main Library. These sessions are best for brainstorming, specific questions, or shorter documents (1-3 page papers, application materials, etc.). These sessions are first-come, first-serve.

UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES

Want to keep up with research-related opportunities and events hosted by the Office of Undergraduate Research (OUA)? Subscribe to OUA’s monthly newsletter and you won’t miss a thing!

You might also want to learn more about the Humanities Research Institute (HRI), particularly opportunities for undergraduates (did you know that they hire student interns and that some of them are English or creative writing majors?) in which case you should check out the Undergraduate section on the HRI website.

ACCESSIBLE COUNSELING RESOURCES

It can be hard to take the first step when you’re in need of counseling, so for ease of access the College of LAS has its own embedded counselor, Andy Novinska and you can contact him directly to schedule an appointment at anovinsk@illinois.edu.

Students can also access Counseling Center services by calling 217-333-3704 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday – Friday to set up an appointment via the same-day scheduling system. There is also an online scheduling system (please note that appointments are limited via this option so if you try to schedule online and cannot find anything that works please call the office or email Andy).

Workshops for Test Anxiety, ADHD Symptoms, Perfectionism, Body Image, etc. can be found here.

PSA–HEARD ABOUT 211?