College of Media

Advising:
Frequently Asked Questions

Registration

• How are time tickets assigned?
• I will be a junior in the College of Media next year. Why can't I register for COMM 101?
• I am a Media Studies major and am unable to register for an Advertising course due to a major restriction. Why am I not able to get into this class?
• How am I supposed to fulfill my College of Media' elective requirement if all courses are being held for majors?
• I cannot get into a specific course in my major that I need for graduation but it still shows there are spots available. What should I do?
• Why can't I register for an advanced level course outside the College of Media?
• If I cannot get into a class I want/need, what should I do? Should I still register for my other courses?
• How many hours can I take in the summer at the U of I? If I want to take more, how do I go about getting this approved?

Transfer courses

• Will the courses I plan on taking in the summer at a community college transfer into the U of I? If I am taking a general education course or trying to fulfill a major requirement in the summer how can I be sure that it will count?
• I am taking courses at Parkland College next semester. Where do I pick up a Concurrent Enrollment form?

Degree progress

• I have registered for next semester Does my schedule look like I am still on track to graduate?
• How do I run my own DARS report?
• I have fulfilled a requirement that is not showing up on my DARS report. How do I get this fixed?

Graduation requirements

• How many hours do I need to graduate from the College of Media? Are there special requirements or restrictions about what I should take? How many hours do I need in my major? What courses are required?
• Are there different graduation requirements for the department, the College and the University?
• Do I have to take a course in the College of Media every semester to stay in the College?
• Do I have to receive at least a "C" in all of my College of Media courses for them to count toward graduation?
• What classes can I take to fulfill the 80 hours that I need outside the College of Media?

Minors

• Can I get a minor inside the College in another department?
• Am I allowed to minor outside the College?
• How do I declare a minor?
• Am I on progress to complete my minor?

Applying to the College

• I'm already a University of Illinois student. When should I apply to the College of Media?
• How do you decide who gets in?
• I have Advanced Placement credit. How do those hours count?

Specializations

• Will a minor take care of my Media Studies specialization requirement?
• As a Media Studies major, do the courses I take toward my Area of Specialization requirement need to be numbered 200+?
• If I take a course outside the College of Media that is tied with a Media course, can I still count it toward my specialization requirement?

Study Abroad program

• May I study abroad?
• How do I qualify for study abroad?
• My study-abroad coursework is not on my DARS. Does that mean I did not get credit?

Procedures and more

• Am I allowed to double major?
• What courses can I take credit/no credit?
• How do I get an Independent Study?
• I don't know what to take in my major or in the College. I also am confused as to what to take outside the College of Media. Can you help?
• What's the difference between the "department," the "College" and the "University"?

 

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Registration

• How are time tickets assigned?
  

  Time tickets are assigned based on the number of credit hours you will have completed by the end of the current semester. See more about this at www.oar.uiuc.edu/current/registration/register_FALL.html.



• I will be a junior in the College of Media next year. Why can't I register for COMM 101?
  

  Only freshmen and sophomore students are allowed to take COMM 101. If you were planning on taking this course as your Advanced Composition requirement, you will need to choose a different course.



• I am a Media Studies major and am unable to register for an Advertising course due to a major restriction. Why am I not able to get into this class?
  

  As with most colleges across campus, departments hold their required courses for majors so that they can complete their requirements in enough time to graduate. The same goes for Advertising, Media Studies, and Journalism courses. There is always a chance that some of these courses will open up later on for non-majors. Please check back later on in the semester to see if the course controls have been loosened for the courses you would like to take.



• How am I supposed to fulfill my College of Media elective requirement if all courses are being held for majors?
  

  While it can be a challenge to get into the specific elective courses you would like to take, as some courses are more popular than others, you need to keep trying. Your course may become available later on, or someone may drop the course at any time. If waiting does not help, please remember that there are no required elective courses, and you may have to take what electives are available.



• I cannot get into a specific course in my major that I need for graduation but it still shows there are spots available. What should I do?
  

  It may be that the spots available are being reserved for a category of students that you do not fall into (graduate students, seniors, freshmen). You may contact the Student Services Center at 244-4329 to find out the specific answer.



• Why can't I register for an advanced level course outside the College of Media?
  

  Reasons differ. The most common reason is that the course has a major restriction. This restriction may or may not be lifted after the department's majors have had enough time to get into the course. However, no matter the error message you receive when trying to register for a course outside the College, please contact the department that houses the course. If the course is ADV, JOUR or COMM, contact our College of Media Student Services Center. If the course starts with any other department prefix, contact that department.



• If I cannot get into a class I want/need, what should I do? Should I still register for my other courses?
  

  The best thing to do is to keep trying in the hopes that another student will drop the course. You could also check back later in the semester to see if course controls were changed or more seats were added to the course. Please go ahead and register for the other courses you are interested in taking. It is always a good idea to have back-up courses in mind when it comes to registering.



• How many hours can I take in the summer at the U of I? If I want to take more, how do I go about getting this approved?
  

  You may take a maximum of 9 hours throughout the summer on campus. If you wish to take more, please pick up the Academic Petition from the Student Services Center in 18A Gregory Hall and request to "overload." Please include the amount of hours you would like to take and why the load is necessary. The petition also is available online at www.comm.uiuc.edu/current/forms/academic_petition.pdf.

Transfer courses

• Will the courses I plan on taking in the summer at a community college transfer into the U of I? If I am taking a general education course or trying to fulfill a major requirement in the summer, how can I be sure that it will count?
  

  Please visit www.transfer.org. This site houses the Course Applicability System and will tell you which courses at Illinois community colleges will transfer to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. If you need a summer course to count toward a specific elective, be sure that you look at how the course will transfer to the Urbana campus and if it comes in as the course you need. Always be sure to check the "Effective Dates" column for each course you plan to take. If the Effective Date is in the past, the course will no longer count as what is listed under the Urbana campus column. You also should consult residency requirements for graduation before you take a class somewhere else: courses.uiuc.edu/cis/programs/urbana/2006/fall/undergrad/oar/graduation_reqs.html



• I am taking courses at Parkland next semester. Where do I pick up a Concurrent Enrollment form?
  

  You may pick this form up in the Student Services Center in 18A Gregory Hall and gather the necessary signature from your adviser or other staff member. It also is available online: Concurrent enrollment form. The form must be turned in to Parkland College.

Degree progress

• I have registered for next semester. Does my schedule look like I am still on track to graduate?
  

  Please run a DARS report through this link: www.oar.uiuc.edu/current/dars/generate.html. If you have specific questions after looking at your report, you may contact your academic adviser.



• How do I run my own DARS report?
  

  www.oar.uiuc.edu/current/dars/generate.html



• I have fulfilled a requirement that is not showing up on my DARS report. How do I get this fixed?
  

  If you think you have found a mistake on your DARS, print a copy and note the mistake. When you go in for your next advising appointment, be sure to bring your copy and tell your adviser of the mistake.

Graduation requirements

• How many hours do I need to graduate from the College of Media? Are there special requirements or restrictions about what I should take? How many hours do I need in my major? What courses are required?
  

  All of these questions and more are answered in the requirements section of the campus Web site and in the Degree Programs section of the College site.



• Are there different graduation requirements for the department, the College and the University?
  

  Some. The University has general education requirements that all colleges must follow. Each college also has its own requirements, and each major within each college has its own. To graduate, a student must meet all levels of requirements.



• Do I have to take a course in the College of Media every semester to stay in the College?
  

  We encourage this but if a special circumstance prevents it and your adviser approves (for example, if you are studying abroad), you may finish your requirements however you choose as long as you do so within the four semesters you are here.



• Do I have to receive at least a "C" in all of my College of Media courses for them to count toward graduation?
  

  No, but you must earn a cumulative 2.00 GPA for all courses taken in the College.



• What classes can I take to fulfill the 80 hours that I need outside the College of Media?
  

  There are very few courses that do not count toward this requirement. As long as a course is not crosslisted with a College of Media course, it will count as an outside elective. The only other courses that will not count are the few that the College does not count toward graduation. For information about these classes, please see the Programs of Study.

Minors

• Can I get a minor inside the College in another department?
  

  No.



• Am I allowed to minor outside the College?
  

  Yes. Go to the department offering the minor and see what you need to do to meet the requirements. For more detailed information visit www.provost.uiuc.edu/students/advising/minors.html.



• How do I declare a minor?
  

  You will need to visit the department that houses the minor that interests you and ask them how you can declare a major with them. Different departments have different requirements; some, such as those in the College of Business, have an application process. After you have things set with the minor department, ask them for a Intent to Minor form and have a departmental representative sign the form. Turn it into the Student Services Center in 18A Gregory Hall. See also: www.provost.uiuc.edu/programs/advising/minors.html



• Am I on progress to complete my minor?
  

  If you have turned in your Intent to Minor form, you can run a DARS report to check on your progress. If you have not, or you have more specific questions, please contact an adviser in your minor's department. More information: www.provost.uiuc.edu/programs/advising/minors.html

Applying to the College

• I'm already a University of Illinois student. When should I apply to the College of Media?
  

  The deadline for applications is usually around the end of the third or fourth week of each semester. Specific dates are posted on the College Web site at the beginning of the semester.



• How do you decide who gets in?
  

  We consider number of hours, grade point average, courses completed, your essay and your demonstrated interest in your major. All applications are reviewed by a panel of representatives from the major and the College.



• I have Advanced Placement credit. How do those hours count?
  

  Advanced Placement, other test-based credit and transfer courses count as earned college credit. A student's status is based on total college credit, including AP credit.

Specializations

• Will a minor take care of my Media Studies specialization requirement?
  

  Yes.



• As a Media Studies major, do the courses I take toward my Area of Specialization requirement need to be numbered 200+?
  

  While you are encouraged to take all or most of your specialization courses at the advanced level (200+), any level of course taken in your area of specialization will be counted toward the 18 required hours. Higher level courses give students more depth in a particular area then an introductory course would. Another good thing about taking 200+ specialization courses is that they also will count toward the College's 20 advanced-hour requirement.



• If I take a course outside the College of Media that is tied with a communications course, can I still count it toward my specialization requirement?
  

  No. Any course that is crosslisted with a communications course will only count as a communications elective.

Study Abroad program

• May I study abroad?
  

  Yes, if you meet the requirements. Both the University and the Department of Advertising sponsor study-abroad programs. The University places students around the world. The Department of Advertising currently places students in Ireland and France.



• How do I qualify for study abroad?
  

  For the University study-abroad program, go to the Study Abroad Office, 115 International Studies Building, 910 S. Fifth St., Champaign and see: http://www.ips.uiuc.edu/sao/. For the Department of Advertising's study-abroad program, make an appointment to see Cinda Cornstubble-Robbins in 103 Gregory Hall.



• My study-abroad coursework is not on my DARS. Does that mean I did not get credit?
  

  No. It takes awhile for the credit to be recorded. Typically, study abroad will show up as 12 hours of DF (deferred) credit on your DARS. That is the default no matter whether you had 12 or 18 credits. When your actual coursework comes in, it will replace those deferred hours. Adrienne Harris is the study abroad records expert in the Student Services Center, 244-4329.

Procedures and more

• Am I allowed to double major?
  

  No, we have no double majors within the College of Media. It may be possible for you to pursue a second major in a different college on campus, but this would be called a dual degree and would require earning at least 150 total hours. An alternative you may wish to consider is obtaining one or the other of your majors as a master's degree instead of a second bachelor's degree. The College of Media offers master's degrees in advertising and journalism, but not media studies. Both master's programs accommodate students without bachelor's degrees in the same discipline.



• What courses can I take credit/no credit?
  

  The only courses that you cannot take credit/no credit are College of Media courses or those crosslisted with a College of Media course and those that are fulfilling a general education requirement, the advanced-hour requirement or any specific course that is required by your department to graduate (for example, BADM 320 for Advertising majors).



• How do I get an Independent Study?
  

  An Independent Study is a class that you take one-on-one with a professor. It usually requires fewer "classroom" hours but more research and asks you to complete a specific project or paper. Ask the professor you are interested in working with if he/she will do an independent study with you. A written proposal outlining your course of study must be included and your professor will need to sign it so that the course can be added to your schedule. You also must complete an Academic Petition. The forms can be found at:
  Academic Petition
  Independent Study/Professional Internship Course approval form



• I don't know what to take in my major or in the College. I also am confused as to what to take outside the College of Media. Can you help?
  

  Yes. Ultimately you will have to decide what you want and need in your education, but advisers can offer information on courses and requirements. Look up courses at www.courses.uiuc.edu. Many instructors also have syllabi, lists of readings and descriptions of assignments online. You also may want to talk to students who have taken a course in which you are interested. Make sure you talk with several people to get a better idea. Opinions vary.



• What's the difference between the "department," the "College" and the "University"?
  

  A university is composed of colleges with undergraduate and graduate programs of study, usually run out of departments. It is analogous to the United States being composed of 50 states, most of them with counties. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is composed of nine colleges with undergraduate programs. The College of Media iincludes the Department of Advertising, the Department of Journalism and the Institute of Communications Research, which runs the Media Studies program.