Advisors

Staffed by welcoming and well-trained peer advisors, the Peer Advising Office in N323 Integrative Learning Center (ILC) is your first stop for most routine advising questions. They work on a drop-in basis.  The Spring 2025 Peer Advising hours are:

Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday 10AM-2PM

Thursday 10:30AM-Noon

The peer advisors can help you with:

• Information about the Communication major
• Course planning and registration
• Applying to the major
• Questions about major requirements and how these fit with Global Ed and Gen Ed requirements
• Opportunities for Communication majors, such as internships, study abroad, and independent study
• Getting involved with the Communication department

You can email the peer advisors with questions at @email.

Make sure to check out the peer advisors' Instagram page @umasscomm.

Your Academic Advisor

Once you become a Communication major, you will be assigned your own academic advisor. This is a full-time advisor with extensive training in student development, advising, and regulations and resources in the department and across the university. Your advisor will remain with you throughout your time in the major, enabling them to guide and support your ongoing academic and co-curriular decision-making.

Your professional advisor can help you with:

• Course planning
• Questions about major requirements
• Checking your progress toward graduation
• Opportunities outside the curriculum—internships, independent studies, etc.
• Course approval for study abroad or domestic exchange
• Course substitutions and approval for Communication transfer courses
• Careers and graduate study in Communication

Look for your advisor's name on your SPIRE Student Center Homepage, then make an appointment. Our academic advisors are:

• Marianne Neal-Joyce, ILC N322, Director of Undergraduate Advising
• Mary Pion, ILC N326

If you are considering joining the Communication major, please drop in to see one of the Communication Peer Advisors in ILC N323. They are your best source of information about applying and getting the most out of the Communication major and the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences (SBS). If you have additional questions, feel free to make an appointment with one of the academic advisors by clicking on the link above.

The Director of Undergraduate Advising

Marianne Neal-Joyce, Director of Undergraduate Advising, can help you with:

• Issues related to probation or academic warning
• Advisor or credit alert holds
• Particularly complex advising problems
• Questions about the Peer Advisor Program