Academic Advising

ADVISING

Because of the large number of majors in the political science undergraduate program, monitoring each individual student's progress is not always possible. The Department is, however, dedicated to providing whatever assistance a student requires. The Academic Coordinator, Jerry Fisher, is the primary advisor, and the Undergraduate Director, William Claggett, is also available. Students should feel welcome to bring any questions or concerns they have about the major requirements, their classes, or life at FSU in general.

Students can expect occasional announcements from the Department via the FSU e-mail system. These might include reminders about upcoming events, information on changes in the schedule of classes, etc.

For employment assistance, students should consult the Career Center at the University Center. For personal counseling, students may visit the professional counselors at Thagard Health Center. The College of Social Sciences provides a variety of advising and support services through the College’s Academic Affairs Office (101 Bellamy).

DECLARING THE MAJOR

There are no courses required as prerequisite to becoming a political science major. The Department does not admit each student individually but relies on the College to accept those students who meet the criteria (completion of the English and mathematics requirements for liberal studies, 2.0 GPA, completion of the CLAST exam). Depending on your status, there are various ways to declare Political Science as your major:

Freshmen and Sophomores who are completing liberal studies need to inform the Office of Undergraduate Studies if they did not do so at the time of admission.
Upper division students (juniors and seniors) who are already in another major, need to have the appropriate form approved first by both the the College of Social Sciences (101 BEL) and then by the dean of the college being left. The form is then submitted to the Registrar's Office.
Transfer students should indicate on their admission forms that they wish to declare Political Science as their major.

REGISTRATION

It is important that students register for classes as soon as they have access for each semester. Students requiring any sort of assistance with registration should contact the Department's Academic Coordinator. The dates and procedures for on-line registration, as well as the schedule of classes, are available at StudentsFirst.fsu.edu.

The drop/add period usually begins one or two days before the start of the semester, and always ends on the fourth day of classes.

The University has a first-day attendance policy whereby students not attending the first meeting of any class for which they are registered will be dropped from that class by the Department. All students should verify their registration before the end of the drop/add period. Students who know they will miss the first day can request through the Course Instructor that they not be dropped.

GRADUATION CHECK

There are two checks students should take advantage of to assure that all requirements are being met. Students who have completed 90 hours must apply for a one-time check of liberal studies and University requirements at the Office of the Registrar. At that same time (and as many subsequent times as the student wants), a graduation check should be requested at the The College’s Office of Academic Affairs (101 BEL).