Education is like a journey. This is a simile for your most important undertaking, and it still applies today. Elementary and high school prepared you for this singular journey, your undergraduate years. As with all journeys, you must chart a course before beginning; you must be prepared to take unexpected paths while remaining focused on your destination. Start off the right way, by meeting with your Advisor in the Office of Advising Services, 1119 East Building. Stay on course by meeting periodically to review and revise your goals. S/he can help you develop a plan of study—a map—to ensure that your journey will be intellectually challenging and academically successful.

Chart a Course

To help you develop a general overview of your undergraduate experience, download Chart a Course (PDF), a file that contains recommendations pertaining to academic and career planning for each stage of your undergraduate journey.

Plan of Study

A plan of study is the map of your undergraduate journey. It's more than what you will register for next semester. It's why you select the courses for next semester, the one that follows, and thereafter. It's thinking about where you want to be in the future. It's striving to become who you want to be.

One of your guides on this journey will be your Advisor in the Office of Advising Services.

If you have declared a major, your Advisor can help you select courses that satisfy the General Education Requirement (GER) while choosing subject areas that complement your major and prepare you for graduate study or a career. If you have not declared a major, your Advisor can help you select courses that satisfy the General Education Requirement while exploring potential majors, internship and study abroad opportunities, and possible careers. In either case, you should prepare for your advisement meeting by reviewing the GER (PDF) and completing the GER Worksheet (PDF).

Your immediate questions will be related to your plan of study for the next semester: "Should I register for HIST 151 or POLSC 110? ANTHP 101 or GEOL 101?" Your Advisor will remind you how your course selections advance both your short-term and long-term educational and career goals. Together, you and your Advisor will create your plan of study.

Interested in developing your plan of study?
Do not wait until the day of your registration appointment! The best times to schedule an appointment with an Advisor are from mid-September through October, July, and February through early April.