Advising
Welcome to the Department of
English advising information. For your
convenience we have 4 different sections below:
If you do not find the information you need
in the sections below, please contact Janis Smith.
Janis Smith
Chief Departmental Advisor
jksmith@odu.edu
BAL 5006
757.683.4036
In the Department of English,
all majors have 28 hours of core courses and then 15 hours of concentration in
emphasis. There are 6 emphasis areas
from which students will choose:
- Creative Writing,
- Journalism,
- Linguistics,
- Literature,
- Professional
Writing, and,
- Teaching.
Students who
choose teaching will also be advised in the College of Education. Please note: all students must take and pass the Writing Sample Placement Test prior
to registering for upper division English courses.
ODU students wishing to declare their majors as English.
Once you have successfully
completed English 110C and either 112L or 114L, we encourage you to declare
your major. You may do so by meeting
with Janis Smith for initial advising. After this appointment, you will be assigned to a faculty member for
advising prior to the beginning of each new semester.
ODU students wishing to declare their minors as English.
You may minor in any
of the emphasis areas described above, or you may have a general minor. In any case, you will have 5 classes at the 300/400
level with at least one 400 level. Once
you have successfully completed English 110C and your 200 level English, we
encourage you to declare your minor. You
may do so by filling out the Minor Declaration Form. Once that is completed, please e mail the
form to Janis Smith. If you have
questions, you may make an appointment for advising.
Transfer students wishing to declare English as a major or minor.
If you have not yet been admitted to Old Dominion, start with admissions.
Once you have been admitted to Old Dominion, you will be advised initially by Mr. Jeb Midyette. Mr. Midyette’s email is jmidyett@odu.edu. If you wish to see an initial assessment of what will and will not transfer to Old Dominion, please use Monarch TRANSFERmation.
Students returning to the University after an absence.
Upon your decision to return to ODU, you must reactivate your status. Once you receive word that your reactivation is complete, you may email Janis Smith for an appointment for advising.
Additional information
Directions to Old Dominion: To reach Parking Services and obtain a visitor’s parking permit for your advising appointment, add these directions to what you see on the link: if you are traveling from the north, you will proceed on Hampton Blvd and turn right on 43rd Street. Parking Services is located at 4310 Elkhorn Ave. If you are traveling from the south, you will proceed on Hampton Blvd and turn left on 43rd St.
For general University information visit the Catalog.
For more information specific to the Department of English visit the Catalog.
Once again, welcome to the Department of English at Old Dominion University! We look forward to working with you as you achieve your educational goals.
