2024-25 Important Dates

This list is not exhaustive.
Please also see the Graduate Calendar of Events page and Undergraduate Sessional Dates.

Beginning of Fall Term	September 1
Department of English New Student Orientation	September 3
All Graduate and Undergraduate Classes Start	September 5
Departmental Deadline to submit a SSHRC/OGS Doctoral Application	October 1
Last Day to Add Fall Term Graduate Course	September 30
Fall PhD Qualifying Exam Sitting	September 27
Thanksgiving - University closed	October 14
Autumn Convocation	October 15-18
Last Day to Withdraw from a Fall Graduate Course without academic penalty	October 31
Fall Reading Week	Oct 30-Nov 5
Deadline to submit a CGS-Master's Application	December 1, 8 pm
Last Day of Fall Term Courses for Graduate and Undergraduate	December 6
Mid-year Examination Period for Undergrad Classes	December 9-22
End of Fall Term	December 31
Beginning of Winter Term - Happy New Year!	January 1
Winter Term Graduate and Undergraduate Courses Begin	January 6
Due Date for Winter Term Tuition	January 6
Deadline to Submit an Application to our MA or PhD program	January 15
Last Day to Add a Winter Term Graduate Course	January 31
Family Day - University Closed	February 17
Reading Week - no classes	February 18-21
Last Day to Drop a Winter Term Graduate Course without academic penalty	February 28
Good Friday - University Closed	April 18
Easter - University Closed	April 20
Last Day of Winter Term Courses for Graduate and Undergraduate	April 4
Final examination period	April 7-30
Beginning of Summer Graduate Term	May 1
PhD Qualifying Exam Regular Sitting	early May (TBA)
Spring Convocation	June (TBA)
PhD Prospectus Due	June 25
Canada Day - University Closed	July 1
MA Independent Research Project Due	Approx. August 1
MA Thesis Submission & Defence	August
Last Day of Summer Term	August 31

What is a Graduate Dossier?

A Graduate Dossier is a repository of information used in applying for academic positions. The file may contain a CV (Curriculum Vitae, derived from Latin and meaning “course of life”), transcripts, letters of reference, writing samples, and teaching information, which is stored confidentially for PhD students.

What should I do first?

Searching for academic employment can be very time consuming. To help you prepare in advance, it is recommended that you: 

1. contact your referees (at least three) to request reference letters
2. order graduate transcripts
3. compile your CV and Teaching Dossier

Compiling a Dossier

Western offers valuable information to help you compile an effective dossier.  Please see the following resources:

• The Centre for Teaching and Learning provides information for instructors and graduate students on putting together a dossier that summarizes your teaching experiences and abilities, https://teaching.uwo.ca/awardsdossiers/teachingdossiers.html.
• Career Education and Western Student Experience offers the basics of writing a good CV, https://career.uwo.ca/resources/resume_cv/index.html

The quality of your documents may help determine whether you get to the next step.

There is no cost to keep a dossier in the department. For more information please contact vivian.foglton@uwo.ca.

Graduate Funding

The Department of English and Writing Studies offers a number of Graduate Teaching Assistantships (GTAships,) which may involve leading tutorials and other related duties averaging ten hours per week. These may include assisting in the teaching of first-year undergraduate courses or in upper-year and honors-level undergraduate classes. Students repeatedly cite their experience as a Teaching Assistant as one of the most rewarding aspects of their graduate program.

The Faculty of Arts and Humanities offers financial assistance to qualified graduate students. International MA Students in the Faculty of Arts & Humanities are eligible to hold a $3,000 Western Graduate Research Scholarship intended to help defray the cost of international tuition fees. Domestic Master's students are offered a Graduate Teaching Assistantship (in 2024-25 worth $14,589.12) and a Western Graduate Research Scholarship in the amount of $4,550.00.

Eligible students in the PhD program are guaranteed a minimum financial package (from all sources) of $17,000 plus tuition for each of four years, assuming satisfactory progress through the program. This package is normally composed of a Graduate Teaching Assistantship (in 2024-25 worth $14, 589.12) and a Western Graduate Research Scholarship ($10,050.00 for Canadian PhD students, $10,650.00 for International PhD students). All amounts quoted are for 2024-25.

Financial packages for winners of major external awards (Ontario Graduate Scholarships or SSHRC Fellowships) may be adjusted. Full-time MA students receive WGRS for the one year of the MA program; PhD students (assuming satisfactory progress through the program) will be supported for twelve terms (four years).

Graduate students at Western have had outstanding success in winning SSHRC and OGS scholarships (see https://grad.uwo.ca/finances/external_funding/index.html). Every year the University and the Department offer grant-writing workshops and many opportunities for individual consultations to assist candidates in the preparation of their applications.

Fees are paid in three instalments in the Fall, Winter, and Summer terms. For more information on fees, please see: http://www.registrar.uwo.ca/student_finances/fees_refunds/index.html.

Scholarships & Awards

Please visit our Scholarships & Awards page for information on various Scholarships available for Graduate students in the Department of English and Writing Studies.

Graduate Student Travel/Research Funding

The Department of English provides support to its graduate students each year to assist with expenses incurred on travel for certain academic purposes (as listed below). To be eligible for this funding, PhD students must normally be within the regularly fundable period, i.e., their first four years of the program. If, however, a PhD student did not make a claim on the travel fund during one or more of the four years of eligibility, he or she may make a claim in year 5, and similarly in year 6 or beyond.

No more than four claims may be made for the entire period of PhD study.

MA students are eligible to apply for funding only in the single funded year of the program.

Claims must be associated with travel undertaken for one or more of the following purposes:

1. to present papers at conferences in academic fields relevant to the English graduate program.
2. to make library or archival visits when this work is clearly integral to the student's thesis or project and the resources towards it are demonstrably not available at Western
3. to interview oral informants (e.g., authors) when this work is clearly integral to the student's thesis or project and when ethical clearance has been obtained.

Before their proposed travel, students should submit a Graduate Student Request for Travel Expenses form in order to receive pre-approval for funding reimbursement. The form can be downloaded and printed here: Travel Funding Request Form.

Completed forms, with the necessary signatures (the applicant's, as well as his/her supervisor, if one has officially been named) and supporting documentation, should be submitted to the Graduate Coordinator (UC 2401C) for the approval of the Graduate Chair.

After the travel has been completed, students should complete an online travel expense report. Log in using your Human Resources user id and password (works best in Internet Explorer): Click on Employee Self-Service, then on Travel and Expense Center, and under Expense Report, click on Create. Add as much information as you can. You won’t be able to complete the process online, however, because we’ll need to insert an account code. Once you’ve done as much as you can, hit the Save and Hold button, and then print the claim form using your browser Print button. Bring the form, along with your original receipts, to Beth McIntosh in UC 2401E. Once Beth has added the appropriate account code(s), the claim will be forwarded electronically to the central Travel Office for final system checking and payment. You will be able to inquire on the status of your expense reports at any time. Claims will continue to be reimbursed by cheque, three to five days after approval. If you need assistance with this process, please see Beth.

The amount of funding available to each student will be advised as close as possible to the beginning of the current fiscal year. For the 2024-25 fiscal year (1 May - 30 April), the amount will be $800 per student. When submitting an expense claim students must include receipts to document this amount. Equally, they should retain in their possession any receipts that exceed this amount. Even though these excess receipts cannot be reimbursed at the time, they can be made the subject of a supplemental expense claim later if more funding becomes available. Reimbursement is based on the fiscal year, which runs 1 May - 30 April each year. All claims and receipts for any given year must be submitted well before the 30 April end of year deadline.

The Graduate English Society includes all graduate students in the Department of English and Writing Studies at Western University. We aim to foster a sense of social and academic community among the graduate students in English at Western. Through our events, services, and connections to various bodies on campus, we facilitate communication and connections between English grads, faculty, administration, and other grad students across Western’s campus.

For more information about upcoming events and participation, please visit https://uwoges.wordpress.com/.

Western is committed to achieving barrier-free accessibility for all its members (including graduate students) who have ongoing or temporary conditions that may include but are not limited to:

• Chronic illnesses (for example, fibromyalgia, migraines);
• Chronic pain;
• Attention deficit disorders;
• Learning disabilities;
• Mental health conditions (for example, anxiety, depression);
• Acquired brain injuries and concussions;
• Vision, hearing impairments;
• Mobility impairments, and
• Injury related to an accident.

This applies to all persons with disabilities studying, visiting and working at Western.
--Section 15, Graduate Calendar <https://grad.uwo.ca/resources/regulations/15.html>

As part of this commitment, there are a variety of services on campus devoted to promoting accessibility and to ensure that individuals have equitable access to meet graduate and undergraduate program requirements and to access services and facilities.

• Academic Support & Engagment (formerly Student Accessibility Services)
• Health and Wellness

The following is a list of graduate students in the Department of English who have expressed an interest in providing private tutoring and/or editing services. The Department posts this list without commenting on the qualifications or on the quality of persons named herein and assumes no liability related to tutoring/editing services. Individuals set their own fees/rates.

Name	Areas of Specialization	Contact Information
Kastoori Barua	Writing, editing, tutoring students in English (composition writing).	kbarua2@uwo.ca
Caroline Diezyn	American Literature, 20th C literature, Literary Theory, Gender and Sexuality Studies, 19th C British and Irish Literature. Proofreading, editing, writing and research skills.	cdiezyn@uwo.ca
Anmol Dutta	Proof-reading and Editing; Tutoring; Helping with exam prep. Areas of specialization are: Cultural and Media Studies, Film Studies and Postcolonial Theory. I have experience in grant writing, and am happy to look over grant proposals, CVs and resumes.	adutta24@uwo.ca
Eden Eidt	Proofreading and Editing (all disciplines from high school to university), Tutoring and Guidance - (including but not limited to) Creative Writing, Shakespeare and Renaissance Literature, American Literature, Theatre Studies/Dramaturgy/Production/Reviewing, Gender/Sexuality/Queer Studies, Film Studies (experience as TA for Disney course).	eeidt2@uwo.ca
Luke Jennings	Essay writing.	ljennin6@uwo.ca 416-725-0364
Sidra Khan	Editing, Proofreading, Tutoring, Essay writing, Queer studies (Gender and Sexuality studies) and postcolonial literature, 20th and 21st century British literature, Modern American Literature, Literary studies.	skhan844@uwo.ca
Alexandra Lukawski	Tutoring available for high school and undergraduate courses in English Literature and the Social Sciences (esp. Psychology). Editing, proofreading, composition, writing/research guidance, exam prep, etc.	alukawsk@uwo.ca
David Mitterauer	Nineteenth-Century American Literature and Critical Theory.	dmittera@uwo.ca
Tom Prime	Along with having been published in multiple issues of UCLA’s world renowned and highly prestigious journal Lana Turner, I was shortlisted for the Gerald Lampert Memorial prize in poetry and have 4 books of creative writing published on a variety of presses (Anvil, New Star, and Gordon Hill Press). I have 2 years of tutoring experience in creative writing from my time at the University of Victoria where I completed an MFA in Creative Writing. I am dedicated to helping you improve your writing and will aid in editing work if needed. I am a PhD candidate at Western and am well educated in academic writing too, so I can likewise work as a tutor and/or editor in this department.	tprime2@uwo.ca 778-350-4626
Alexander Sallas	My areas of specialization include Canadian literature, essay writing, literary criticism and critical theory, proofreading, and public writing. I'm happy to look over resumes, CVs, and proposal letters.	asallas@uwo.ca
Mohammad Sharifi	Tutoring in essay writing (advanced and general), American Literature, Literary theory and criticism, and ESL (TOEFL and IELTS exams); Proofreading and editing; Translation (English/Persian).	mshari5@uwo.ca
Taylor Tomko	Areas of specialization include Renaissance and Victorian studies, and literary/cultural theory	ttomko@uwo.ca
Kate Traill	General essay writing (all disciplines); proofreading and editing (all disciplines); GRE/LSAT tutoring; translation (French/English); business/professional writing (including proposals, statements of interest and scholarship applications).	ctraill@uwo.ca or text 519-859-9794
Panteleimon Tsiokos	Tutoring available for high school and undergraduate/graduate courses in Literature (American, Canadian, British, Comparative), and History, English as a Second/Foreign Language (IELTS) , English for Specific Purposes and Academic English. Editing, proofreading, composition, writing/research guidance, exam preparation, CVs, resumes, and translation (languages available Greek, English, French, Romanian) also available.	ptsiokos@uwo.ca

Word Hoard is an interdisciplinary journal of the arts, literature, and humanities. Affiliated with the Department of English and Writing Studies at Western University, it exists to publish the work of artists and scholars at all levels.

Our editorial strategy aims to create dialogue: after selecting which submitted essays and creative works will comprise our next issue, we solicit a response for each piece from an established or emerging artist, critic, or scholar. Submissions and responses are then published side-by-side in the issue, where they reinforce, challenge, and supplement one another. Past submission and response forms have included scholarly and personal essay, interview, creative non-fiction, fiction, and poetry—but our editorial board is eager to include new genres, especially those taking advantage of our digital format.

At the journal’s core is the premise that submissions should be not only presented but also discussed, giving contributors the pleasure of seeing their words read and answered. Word Hoard publishes annually.

For more information, please visit https://ojs.lib.uwo.ca/index.php/wordhoard/about or contact wordhoard.editors@gmail.com.