During your time as an undergraduate student, you will work with multiple advisors including a college advisor and a departmental advisor. If you are an honors student, you will also be assigned an honors advisor. In this blog post, we'll break down how to find your advisor(s)'s information, and common areas each advisor can support you with.
What is the role of a college academic advisor?
All students are assigned a college academic advisor during
their undergraduate experience. If you have been admitted to the University
Honors Program (UHP), you will be assigned a UHP academic advisor in addition
to your college advisor during your first semester.
Your college academic advisor is a professional staff member who serves as your
primary point-of-contact for academic planning and questions. College academic
advisors provide resources for academic success, personal wellbeing, and goal
setting. You can learn more about academic advising on the CSE Academic Advising
webpage. Although your college academic advisor will be available to you
throughout your undergraduate career, they will primarily work with you prior
to admission to your major (we call this “pre-major” advising).
What is the role of a departmental advisor?
Once admitted to your major, you will work more closely with
a professional staff member and/or faculty member within your major
department—known as a departmental or major advisor—for academic planning (we
call this “upper division” advising). You can learn more on the CSE Academic Advising
webpage. Your departmental advisor can also often assist with questions related to research, graduate school, and general employment questions.
How does an honors advisor differ from a college or departmental advisor?
While certain areas may overlap between honors (UHP) advisors and college or departmental advisors, such as preparing for registration and connecting with campus resources, an honors advisor works with honors students to ensure they are meeting the honors requirements and can help identify synergies between UHP and collegiate degree requirements.
How do I find out who is my college academic advisor,
honors advisor (if applicable), or departmental advisor?
Your advisor’s name(s) and contact information is listed on MyU, under the Academics tab.
How do I schedule an academic advising appointment?
If you have not yet been admitted to your major, you are
encouraged to use the online scheduling tool first to schedule an appointment
with your college academic advisor for appointments related to registration, major declaration required holds, or probation. If you cannot find an appointment that works with your schedule or if you are wanting to schedule a meeting that is not related to a hold, you may also email your advisor or contact the front desk of the
CSE Academic Advising and Career Services (612-624-2890), located in Lind Hall, Room 105, to
schedule an appointment. More information can be found about appointment
scheduling on the CSE
Academic Advising webpage.
Honors students should check their honor's academic advisor's availability, or
call 612-624-5522 to schedule an appointment to discuss questions or concerns
related to honors requirements
If you have been admitted to your major, you may visit, email, or call the
academic department’s main office to determine how to schedule an appointment.
That location and contact information can be found on the bottom of the major’s
Four-Year Plan, or on the department’s website.
