Advising

Introduction Advising Keeping Informed Major Requirements Senior Essay Program Registration Procedures Course Distribution Lists
Writing Prizes The Williams Traveling Fellowship Columbia Journal of Literary Criticism (CJLC)

ADVISING

Faculty Advisors
Courses Requiring D.U.S. Approval
Transfer Credit and Study Abroad
Comparative Literature Courses
Student Records
Degree Audit Reports (DARs)

Faculty Advisors
Students are not assigned specific advisors, but rather each year the faculty members serving on the department’s Committee on Undergraduate Education (CUE) are designated undergraduate advisors. Upon declaring a Major or Concentration in English, students should meet with the Director of Undergraduate Studies (D.U.S.) or with one of the designated advisors to discuss the program, especially to make sure that they understand the requirements.

Faculty Advisors for Undergraduates 2009-10

Professor Nicole Horejsi
Professor Wen Jin (Spring 2010 only; on leave Fall 2009)
Professor Eleanor Johnson
Professor David Yerkes (Director of Undergraduate Studies)

Students are, moreover, encouraged to regard the entire faculty as available for academic advising. At this site’s faculty pages, students will find a list of faculty detailing their various areas of interest, and they should feel free to consult any faculty member whose interests accord with their own.

OFFICE HOURS OF FACULTY ADVISERS: Fall 2009

Undergraduate Advisor	Office Hours	E-mail Address	Office Location
Professor Nicole Horejsi	M & W 11-1	njh2115@columbia.edu	306 Philosophy Hall
Professor Eleanor Johnson	Tu 11-12:30 & 5:30-7	ebj2117@columbia.edu	408j Philosophy Hall
Professor David Yerkes	Tu & Th 2:30-4	dmy1@columbia.edu	615 Philosophy Hall

Courses Requiring D.U.S. Approval
With two exceptions, students must also obtain the approval of the D.U.S. if they seek to count any Columbia courses other than those explicitly recognized in the Department’s course distribution lists. The exceptions are writing classes and literature courses taught in a foreign language—see Course Option and Restrictions for details about how such courses may be applied to the major.

Transfer Credit and Study Abroad
Students must obtain the approval of the D.U.S. to receive credit for courses taken elsewhere. Transfer students and students planning to study abroad should bring or email relevant material—transcripts, course descriptions, syllabi—to the D.U.S., who decides whether and how outside courses may be used for the English major or concentration. No more than five courses taken elsewhere may be applied to the major, and no more than four courses taken elsewhere may be applied to the concentration. (Barnard College does not count as “elsewhere”: there is no limit on how many Barnard English courses may be used for the major or concentration.)

Comparative Literature Courses
Only Comparative Literature courses offered through the English Department may count toward the English major or concentration. These courses are designated by CLEN, and they appear on the distribution lists. Comparative Literature courses in other departments and courses taught in English in foreign-language departments normally cannot be used for the English major: see or email the D.U.S.

Student Records
For their own protection, majors and concentrators should regularly to fill out an “English Major Worksheet” to be reviewed by the D.U.S. or a designated advisor. It is the department that approves students for graduation as a major or concentrator, not a computer.

A note about the Degree Audit Reporting System (DARS)
The DARS report is a useful tool for students to monitor their progress toward degree requirements, but it is not an official document, and it does not replace consultation with departmental advisors. The department’s Director of Undergraduate Studies is the final authority on whether requirements for the major have been met; the DARS has no authority. Furthermore, the DARS report may be inaccurate or incomplete for any number of reasons—for example, courses taken elsewhere and approved for credit will not show up on the DARS report.