AdvisingANSC Advising Policies
The Animal Science Department has mandatory advising, which means that you must meet with your advisor prior to being allowed to register.
**It is important that you meet with your advisor before your designated registration date. Once you have met with your advisor, they will lift the specific departmental block that prevents you from registering. If you do not meet with your advisor, this block will not be removed and you will NOT be able to register. Since space in some classes can be competitive, it is in your best interests to get cleared of ALL blocks well in advance of your registration date.**
What should you do before visiting with your advisor?
You should be prepared to discuss what courses you're planning on taking in the coming semester. There are sample four-year course plans available on the Department website, as well as curriculum worksheets, on the Program Options page. Many students find the 'worksheet' of requirements more helpful to use. You can also look at your course requirements in Degree Navigator. ALSO - all students in Animal Science are expected to complete a 4-year plan within their first year. The College of AGNR Peer Mentors can assist you in creating your graduation plan. Please plan to discuss this with your advisor on your first meeting.
You should also check Testudo for additional registration blocks, if you have any of those. Examples of a block are if you have not had your immunization or you owe money. You need to clear those blocks up with the corresponding offices, as our Department cannot lift those blocks.
What should you do when visiting with your advisor?
You will discuss which courses you're going to take. You should also discuss your career plans with your advisor, so that they can forward career-related opportunities to you as they come to their attention. You should also feel free to discuss any problems or challenges you have to learning. Your advisor can help you identify University resources to help with that problem.
Becoming an ANSC Major
If you are interested in switching to ANSC, you are required to attend a major change seminar. There will be two of these held during fall and spring semesters, on the following dates:
Spring 2010 Seminars
Please check back for the date of the next seminar
Please contact Libby Dufour at libbyd@umd.edu if you would like to sign up for one of these sessions. You must sign up to attend the session, and you must attend a session to be eligible to change to the ANSC major.
Prior to attending the session, you should visit our website and familiarize yourself with the courses required for the option you are interested in. You can find curriculum worksheets for all of the options ABOVE.
At the session, you will learn about the differences in our options, and be given tools to formulate a plan of how you would complete your ANSC requirements in a timely manner.
After attending the session, you will be required to create and submit a semester by semester academic plan for completing the required coursework. This plan will be reviewed, and admittance to the major will be granted pending approval of your academic plan. Students should be aware that after the end of the Schedule Adjustment Period, (usually the first two weeks of classes), their major change cannot go into effect until the following semester.
The ANSC department has a mandatory advising policy. This means that you must have a face-to-face meeting with your faculty advisor every semester before you will be allowed to register for courses. You will be assigned to an advisor when you officially switch majors. Because advising is required, it is imperative that you schedule a time to meet with your advisor well in advance of your registration date.
You should come to your advising session with the list of courses you plan to take the next semester, as well as your full academic course plan. Once you have met with your advisor, they will lift a specific block that prevents you from registering. If you do not meet with your advisor, this block will not be removed and you will NOT be able to register.
For students interested in switching options within the ANSC major
We have five different options within our major, so if the option you are in is not right for you, you can look at the others and see if one is a better fit. To change options, you need to meet with your advisor and discuss the difference in course requirements. You should use Degree Navigator (http://www.testudo.umd.edu/dnentry.html) to see what courses would be required in the new option.
If you decide you want to switch options, you should fill out this simple form, and you and your advisor should both sign it. Bring that form to Libby Dufour in ANS 1415A, and your option will be switched. Please note that after the end of the Schedule Adjustment Period, (usually the first two weeks of classes), the option change will not show in your records until the following semester.
