UNDERGRADUATE FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Undergraduate FAQs
Begin with the Office of Admissions.
Learn how to enroll as a post-baccalaureate student.
Unfortunately, our department doesn't have any scholarships that a student can simply apply for.
The Eleanor M. Pratt Scholarship is given to a junior- or senior-level English major nominated by an English Department faculty member. Nominees submit 1-2 page statements for a competition and the Undergraduate Committee for the Department of English selects one winner yearly based on these statements. We encourage juniors and seniors to ask one of their English professors to submit their name when the call goes out for nominations in January.
The Scholarship Endowment in Creative Writing is awarded to an outstanding applicant to the graduate program in creative writing upon his or her acceptance to the creative writing program. A student’s application to the graduate program in creative writing serves automatically as an application for this scholarship.
The Virginia Spencer Carr Scholarship is awarded to an outstanding prose writer on her acceptance to graduate study in our creative writing program. A student’s application to the graduate program in creative writing serves automatically as an application for this scholarship.
Often, transfer students will experience Prerequisite/Test Score errors in GoSOLAR when they try to register. Transfer students who have taken freshman composition classes and/or sophomore survey classes (British Literature, American Literature and/or World Literature) at other universities must seek transfer credit from the Department of English in order to have these blocks lifted. Contact Andrea Jurjevic at [email protected] to learn how to receive transfer credit and get the registration blocks lifted.
1) Go to GoSOLAR.
2) Select Schedule of Classes from the right-hand column
3) Select the appropriate term and year
4) Select English for Subject, leave the other windows as they are and submit
5) Scroll down to the 1000-4000 level classes (These are the undergraduate classes.)
Please remember that not all internships will qualify for English 4500 because English internships should be related to the discipline of English in some way. Also, we have a process that students must follow before doing the internship. For more information, contact Dr. Melissa McLeod [email protected].
Once portfolios have been scored, the department will send the seniors’ names along to the Graduation Office as passing. This step likely takes place just days before graduation, as the faculty generally needs several weeks to review the portfolios. The department will then process the portfolio results and send seniors a letter or email inviting them to pick up their work.
PLEASE NOTE: the notice on a student’s academic evaluation in GoSOLAR won't change once the portfolio has been scored. The evaluation form simply states that a portfolio is required for graduation; it isn't sensitive enough to know whether someone has actually fulfilled that requirement. If you want to double-check on the status of your portfolio, you can ask Heather Russel at [email protected].
Here are some of the most useful pieces of information for undergraduates:
Please note that the creative writing faculty does not allow overflows into filled classes.
If you are interested in Creative Writing/Poetry as your concentration for the English major, please note the following required courses. It is recommended you take them in sequence. You must earn a grade of C or better in each. Note the prerequisites for each class.
- Engl 3150A Introduction to Poetry Writing (prerequisite: Engl 2120 or Engl 2130)
- Engl 3170 Poetic Techniques (prerequisite: Engl 3150A)
- Engl 3180A Contemporary Poetry (prerequisite: Engl 2120 or Engl 2130)
- Engl 4310A Senior Seminar: Workshop in Poetry (prerequisite: Engl 3150A and Engl 3170)
If you are interested in Creative Writing/Fiction as your concentration for the English major, please note the following required courses, which you must take in sequence, earning a grade of C or better in each. Note also the prerequisites for each class.
- Engl 3150B: Introduction to Creative Writing (prerequisite: Engl 2120 or Engl 2130)
- Engl 3160: Narrative Techniques (prerequisite: Engl 3150B)
- Engl 3180B: Contemporary Fiction Craft (prerequisite: Engl 3150B)
- Engl 4310B: Senior Seminar: Workshop in Fiction (prerequisite: Engl 3150B and Engl 3160 and Engl 3180B)
In special cases, the Department of English may allow you to take simultaneously Engl 3180B: Contemporary Fiction Craft and Engl 4310B: Senior Seminar (if there are seats open in both classes), but you will have to get permission to do so.
Contact Heather Russel, Assistant to the Director of Creative Writing, at [email protected] for more information.
If you are a senior or a second-semester junior, it will be difficult (and perhaps impossible) to complete the fiction or poetry writing course sequence by your anticipated graduation date. Please note that the Literary Studies concentration allows more scheduling flexibility than the Creative Writing concentration. Remember that students can write creatively even when they are not in a creative writing class and a student pursuing the Literary Studies concentration is welcome to enroll in as many creative writing classes as he or she wishes (as long as the student meets the prerequisites and the classes have available seats). A student considering graduate study in writing might like to know that very, very few Georgia State graduate students have undergraduate degrees with concentrations in creative writing. In fact, some do not have undergraduate degrees in English.
If you have further questions about the English major and any of the concentrations offered by the department, you can make an appointment with a Department of English adviser at 404-413-5800.
Students who have taken an introductory creative writing class at a former college may be able to move ahead to the second class in the Georgia State sequence. Heather Russel, the Assistant to the Director of Creative Writing, can help if you email her at [email protected]. If you have taken a class elsewhere, email a syllabus and writing samples to her so that the faculty can consider moving you into the second class of the fiction sequence—if there is an open seat.
We do not "overflow" any creative writing classes because we want to ensure a small, vital community in the class and we want to guarantee that each member of the community receives individual attention from the instructor. (And we fight many battles to keep these numbers low, so the students benefit from small, intense classes.) Students should keep an eye on the numbers: people drop and add courses all the time for various reasons and a seat might open up.
Please email Andrea Jurjevic at [email protected] with your name, Panther number, the course number and CRN and a description of the problem. If you are a transient or transfer student, include the name of your previous institution.
Please email Dr. Heather Russel at [email protected] with your name, Panther number, the course name and CRN and a description of the problem.
English majors must submit senior portfolios no later than the official midpoint of the semester in which they intend to graduate. This date is available on the university’s academic calendar. Please see the portfolio requirements for your concentration and submission instructions.
Please see the portfolio requirements for your concentration and submission instructions.
All students who are majoring in English may earn Graduation with Distinction in the Department of English if they have a GPA higher than 3.75. This honor will appear on the students' transcripts and is separate from the Honors Thesis.
The academic evaluation will not reflect the status of the portfolio. If there is a problem with the portfolio, the student will be contacted. Please contact Dr. Heather Russel at [email protected] with any concerns.
Please call the front office at 404-413-5800 to schedule an appointment with an advisor to have your graduation audit signed.
See appointment information or call 404-413-5840 to book an appointment.
Please call the front office at 404-413-5800 to schedule an appointment.
Please visit Grade appeal policy for the Upper Division and graduate courses for instructions and information about the appeals process. For the First Year Writing program go to the First Year Writing Program site.
Please contact the Department of Applied Linguistics and ESL for information about ESL classes.
Contact Us
English Department
Office Hours:
Monday - Friday
8:30 a.m. - 5:15 p.m.
Department Specialist
Heather Russel