Hello All, I hope that your semester is ending well. I’m writing with a few announcements: SPRING REGISTRATION Please remember to register for Spring classes as soon as you can. Shortly after the semester concludes, the Dean make determinations about canceling classes with low enrollments. If you intend to take a class, it would be good to enroll in it soon. I’ve attached the Spring course descriptions to this message. Right now, everything is open except for ENGL 643 (Young Adult Literature) and ENGL 781-02 (Horror, the Gothic, and the Weird). If you are interested in those classes, contact me to be placed on the department’s wait list. SPRING THESIS WRITERS If you intend to write your culminating thesis in the Spring semester and have not attended a Thesis Information Session, please contact us. To register for that class, you will need to submit a proposal form that requires the approval of a thesis adviser. Because faculty are not as available once the semester starts, you should try to get in contact with your potential adviser before the term ends. The deadline for Spring 2025 thesis proposal forms is January 6, 2025. INCOMPLETES The Office of Graduate Studies is beginning to enforce the existing rules about Incompletes. If you take an incomplete, please remember that you should be passing the class at the time you request the incomplete. You have two semesters to complete an incomplete. Thus, a Fall 2024 incomplete can be finished as late as Fall 2025. If you don’t complete it in that time, you’ll be asked to retake the class. Accelerated students who are still undergraduates should avoid taking incompletes because they can affect your graduation. If you are an accelerated student in this situation, contact Bill to go over your options. SUMMER 2025 REGISTRATION The College is changing its summer schedule. There will be a 4-week session and a 7-(instead of 6) week session. The first one runs through June, as in previous years. The second runs right up until the start of classes. Registration for these begins in March. We know, though, that in the 4-week session we will have a class on Medieval Epic and on American Women Playwrights. In the seven-week session, we’ll have classes on Latinx Childhood and on Modern & Postmodern Poetry. Further information on these will be sent out at the start of the next semester. CCNY PUBLISHING CERTIFICATE PROGRAM The staff at City College have asked us to share information about their Publishing Certificate Program. I’ve attached their flyer to this message. This is a separate program for undergrads and grad students interested in careers in publishing. The courses can’t be used to satisfy MA requirements, but you can register for some of their courses as an MA student. See their attached flyer for details. MA CONFERENCE Over the winter break, we’ll have a meeting or two about the MA Student Conference, which is scheduled for March 10, 2025. If you are interested in being on the planning committee, which comes up with the theme, selects the papers, and organizes the program, please send me an email at William.Orchard@qc.cuny.edu. Conference planning is item that you can add to your CV or resume as you move forward in your career. It’s also a chance to get to know other students and faculty in the department. If you have any questions as the semester ends, feel free to contact me. Otherwise, I hope that your final work goes well and wish a wonderful winter break! Best, Bill ________________________________________ William Orchard Associate Professor Director, MA Program Department of English Queens College, CUNY