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Important Dates
Majors & Minors Fair: Monday, September 29
Express Advising: Tuesday, September 30 from 10-11:30am
Express Advising: Wednesday, October 1 from 1:30-3pm
Spring 2026 courses viewable on Course Explorer: Monday, October 6
Deadline to drop a full-semester course without a “W”: Friday, Oct. 17
Resource of the Week
The McKinley Self-Care Stations provide over-the-counter self-care supplies. All supplies are included as part of your health service fee, and are provided at no extra cost to you. You will need to present your student i-card before you can receive any items. Click the link above to find Self-Care Station locations on campus!
Read & Resist Fest
Banned books week is the first week of October, and here at Illinois we’re celebrating with Read & Resist fest from October 8-14th! The attached flyer has more information about the activities throughout the week, but the first event is on Wednesday, October 8, 12-2! In partnership with all of the cultural centers (AACC, BNAACC, La Casa, NAH, and Salaam MENA Center), GSRC, WRC, Skeuomorph Press, and the University Library, the AACC will be hosting a pop-up library to promote student awareness and action surrounding intellectual freedom.
Additionally, any students who attend October 8 can participate in the Banned Books Crawl for an opportunity to win a swag pack and gift card to the Illini Union Bookstore!
Please come out to support intellectual freedom and reading banned books at Illinois!
Summer Remote Internships at Penguin Random House
Interested in gaining experience at a major publishing house over the summer? Intrigued by remote opportunities? Check out Penguin Random House’s summer remote internships! They are filling positions for the following departments: Bookmaking, Art & Design, Editorial, Publicity, Marketing, DEI, Sales, and Finance.
Deadline to apply is October 6, 2025.
New Minor!
Effective Fall 2025, the College of Fine and Applied Arts and Hip Hop Innovation Center are excited to announce the launch of a new interdisciplinary undergraduate minor in Hip Hop Culture & The Arts. Students completing this program will explore fundamental content in Hip Hop history, generate original creative work, engage with critical cultural considerations, develop introductory skills with relevant digital media, and participate in youth programming in the Champaign-Urbana community. For more information, please visit http://go.illinois.edu/hiphopminor.
If you have any questions about the Hip Hop Culture & Arts undergraduate minor, please contact Dr. Adam Kruse at faa-hiphop@illinois.edu.
I-Explore Week Events
I-Explore Week is next week (September 29-October 4) and there will be lots to do! This is a series of events for all students who are exploring majors, minors, career paths, etc. The week kicks off with the Majors & Minors Fair on the 29th, and then there will be a series of events taking place throughout the week. We have listed a few events below that you may be interested in, but don’t forget to check out the calendar!
Speak Cafe
When: October 2 from 6-7:30pm
Where: Krannert Art Museum
What: SPEAK stands for Song, Poetry, Art, and Knowledge. It is an open-mic public performance space at Krannert Art Museum curated by local artist, Shaya Robinson, featuring guest performers and welcoming all to the mic.
Scholarship Opportunities
- 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.
- The Truman 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. 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.
Writer’s Workshop Welcome Week
Call for Submissions for Green Observer
Humanities in Action (HIA)
HIA is a semester-long community engagement program that helps students apply their humanities training in new ways while addressing a vital area of need in our Champaign-Urbana community. Selected students can expect to connect with like-minded peers, participate in workshops, and have access to mini grants that offset the costs associated with their service. Additionally, to help remove some of the financial barriers that prevent humanities students from taking advantage of community engagement opportunities selected students will receive $1000 to support their participation. Participants will also become acquainted with HRI and the opportunities available to students studying the humanities at the undergraduate and graduate levels. At the culmination of the program, participants will learn how to communicate this experience in resumes and job applications.
The application deadline is October 10, 2025.
LAS Career Services
Upcoming Event:
When Plans Change: How to Make an LAS Major Work for You (9/29, 5pm, virtual event)
Connect with LAS Career Service Team:
- 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.
Carr Visiting Author Series Event on October 9, 2025
Where: Illini Union Bookstore – Authors Corner
When: Oct 9, 2025 at 4:30 pm
What: A fiction reading by Leland Cheuk made possible by the Robert J. and Katherin Carr visiting author series.
Leland Cheuk is an award-winning author of three books of fiction, most recently the novel No Good Very Bad Asian (2019). Cheuk’s work has been covered in Buzzfeed, The Paris Review, VICE, San Francisco Chronicle, and elsewhere, and has appeared or is forthcoming in publications such as NPR, The Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, Salon, among other outlets. He is the founder of the indie press 7.13 Books. You can follow him on Twitter @lcheuk and at lelandcheuk.com.
English Advising Office Open Houses
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!
Library Research Consultations
Students at the University of Illinois have access to free, personalized research support through the Research Consultations at the Main Library. Research consultations offer individual consultations for any student at any stage in the research process, including brainstorming ideas or topics, forming search strategies, and more. For more information and to schedule an appointment, visit go.library.illinois.edu/ResearchConsultations.
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
Check out the ESA Free Little Library outside EB 200. We have a rotating stock of donated books (thanks to all our anonymous donors) and you’re always welcome to stop by and pick something up. If you want to leave a book as well of course you can, but it’s not expected. If you feel like it, you can sign the sheet on the top shelf and tell us what you picked and why!
WRC Fall Hours
