Department of English || Students

It's a strange world of language in which skating on thin ice can get you into hot water. ~ Franklin P. Jones

Student Advising

Advisors can help you select classes with an eye to efficiently and productively fulfilling requirements while helping you find classes you’ll enjoy.

For information about degree requirements, see the list on our degree requirements page.
English majors (and minors) are advised by full-time faculty in the English Department under the coordination of Jim Powell, Associate Chair for Students. Your advisor, if you have one, will be listed in Onestart. To be assigned an advisor in the department, e-mail Mr. Powell at jepowell@iupui.edu. You may also ask faculty members directly to advise you. If they agree, please inform Mr. Powell.
New majors, especially transfer students, are encouraged to meet with Jim Powell, Associate Chair for Students, who coordinates departmental advising. Jim Powell can be reached by email (jepowell@iupui.edu) or phone at 278-2985. You can also contact him with questions when your advisor is unavailable.
When you need an advisor’s signature for a drop/add form or any other official academic form, please contact your assigned advisor. In an emergency, Powell or any other advisor can sign a form and notify your regular advisor. You are encouraged to seek signatures well ahead of any posted deadlines.
For more information, read our Undergraduate Advising Guide
If you entered the program under the old concentration requirements, you can find a handy checklist here.

Remember that you as a student have the final responsibility for understanding degree requirements and meeting them.
Don’t accept advice from just anyone. Assert yourself. Ask questions not only about what’s required of you but about what options you have and what programs are available to you.
Ask to see course descriptions and instructors’ syllabi before enrolling in a course. Sometimes you can find links to course descriptions and syllabi online.
Talk with each of your professors outside of class at least once a semester.
Meet or talk with your advisor regularly. Don’t wait for a crisis to develop or for the preregistration rush.
Take notes during all advising appointments. Don’t rely on memory. Your advisor likely sees many students during the semester, and as the semester progresses, you will become busier as well, so remembering the specific details of your case between meetings may be impossible for both of you.
Set goals for yourself. Revisit and sharpen them periodically.
Get involved in extracurricular activities whenever possible. Give yourself an opportunity to apply in practical settings outside the classroom the communication and analytical skills an English major helps build.
If you find yourself having difficulty with your classes, or other circumstances are negatively affecting your academic work, let your professors and/or advisor know.

425 University Blvd
Cavanaugh Hall 502L
Indianapolis, IN 46202
Ph: 317.274.2258 | Email: english@iupui.edu