Advising (FAQs)

Q: Who is my Chemistry Department advisor?

A: Advising information is located in the Advisor box (bottom right column) on your Student Center in SPIRE.

Q: Do I have to see the advisor the department assigns me?

A: Yes, you should meet with your assigned advisor but you may request a different advisor. You should arrange a meeting as soon as possible because during times of heavy advising loads, such as preregistration times, the advisor’s schedule may be full.

Q: What should I bring to the advisement session?

A: Your SPIRE transcript, your projected next semester schedule, and your departmental curricular requirement checklist.

If you do not have all of these items when you come to an advisor meeting, the advisor may ask you to schedule another meeting once you have them.

Q: When should I register for classes?

A. As soon as your scheduled registration time occurs. Classes fill rapidly and you may not be able to take an important course if you wait too long. Chemistry courses are in great demand, both for majors and non-majors. Do not assume that someone will take care of things if you leave things for late. Arrange a meeting with your advisor well before your scheduled registration time and register as soon your scheduled registration time occurs!

Q: How do I change my major?

A: To transfer into the Chemistry B.S. or B.A. program, please see the Chemistry Undergraduate Program Director or a Chief Undergraduate Advisor, to allow for some consultation about the curricular impact of such a change.

To transfer from Chemistry to another major, you need to see an advisor in that other department and get her or him to accept you into that dept, based on a study plan devised between the two of you.

In a nutshell: transferring majors must be accepted INTO a major before dropping the old major.

Q: If I want to petition to take a different elective for the B.A. Chemistry degree, other than those listed on the curriculum whom should I see, and how should I go about it.

A: Meet with one of the Chief Advisors or the Undergraduate Program Director to discuss the request. If acceptable, a memorandum of understanding will be prepared by a Chief Advisor, sent to the upper administration, and placed in your record as evidence of acceptability.

Q: I am taking Chemistry 112 over again in the summer session, right now. Can I get help to get into the organic course now?

A: No, students taking Chemistry 112 (or equivalent) during the summer, will need to wait until confirmation of an acceptable, finalized course grade is made before registering into an organic course. The department requires that the pre-requisite grade be finalized before accepting a student into a given course.

The Transfer Office should approve any off-campus coursework in advance, and a Prior Approval form should be submitted.

Q: What do I have to do to make sure that a summer course I take at another college is acceptable to the UMass chemistry department in place of a UMass requirement?

A Standard Prior Approval Form is required for all other students. If transfer coursework is to be used to satisfy major or college requirements, students should check with the Transfer Office for equivalency, and work with their departmental advisor.