Advising

Academic advising is key to a successful undergraduate experience. Stanford offers a wealth of intellectual opportunities, both in and outside the classroom. The central role of advisors is to help you take full advantage of all that’s available as you create your unique path through your undergraduate career.

No one path is right or recommended. An advisor’s role is to challenge you to stretch your mind and question your assumptions. They help provide a compass for you, not a roadmap, and encourage you to take intellectual risks. They can also help you create relationships with faculty and staff mentors who can support you as you pursue opportunities.

It is in your best interest to seek advising early and often from many different sources. Even the most common academic concern can relate to your deepest aspirations. This is why the relationships you form with multiple mentors - Pre- Major Advisors, Academic Directors, and other UAR advisors in the AARC and Sweet Hall - are an essential element of your undergraduate experience.

Advising Freshman Year

Freshmen entering Stanford in Fall 2009 will be assigned two academic advisors. The first, the Pre-Major Advisor, is a faculty or academic staff advisor.  The second is the Academic Director, a professional full-time advisor in the residence or, for student athletes, in the Athletic Academic Resource Center (AARC).

• Pre-Major Advisor.  UAR matches your academic interests with the scholarly interests of one of the Pre-Major Advisors associated with your residence. In some cases, your Pre-Major Advisor may represent a field that is not identical to your interests, but rather that broadly aligns with an interest you described in your Approaching Stanford forms.  This might be particularly true if your interests changed since you completed your Approaching Stanford forms.  Pre-Major Advisors can assist you in selecting courses, choosing a major, deciding among equally compelling options and preparing for graduate or professional studies.
  
  
• UAR Academic Director. Your Academic Director is a full-time academic Advisor whose office is in your residence.  Student Athletes form a unique group that works primarily with the Academic Director and other advisors in the AARC, particularly with regards to NCAA compliance, but can also see their Residential Academic Director.
  
  Academic Directors are available to all Stanford undergraduates at every stage of their academic careers, providing assistance with routine and complex matters. Academic Directors provide information about curriculum, academic standing, research opportunities, fellowships and scholarships, professional school requirements, academic rules and regulations, petitions, and preparation for graduate and professional school.
  
  In 2009-2010, there are Academic Directors for Crothers, Freshman Sophomore College (FroSoCo), Toyon, Roble, Governor's Corner, the Row, Lagunita, Manzanita, and Stern.  A list of Academic Directors, their office location, and their contact information can be found here. 
  
  
• UAR Advisors. Professional advisors are centrally located in Sweet Hall and include specialists in preparation for the health professions (for example, pre-medical advising), law school, and teaching. As with the Academic Directors, these advisors provide information about all undergraduate requirements and considerations, including petitions, as well as the resources and opportunities that Stanford offers you.  In addition to appointments, they hold walk-in hours every afternoon, when you can have quick questions answered. You can make an appointment with a UAR advisor by calling 723-2426 (after hours messages will be returned the following workday) or by coming to first floor Sweet Hall, Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. 
  
  

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Advising Sophomore Year

In the sophomore year, UAR continues to connect you with multiple advisors, each of whom is interested in discussing your interests and goals.  Seeking out multiple perspectives is particularly helpful when thinking through the choices that ultimately lead to major declaration. 

• Pre-Major Advisor:  Your Pre-Major Advisor continues to be the faculty or academic staff person assigned to you during your first year at Stanford.  When you first arrived to Stanford, UAR attempted to match you with a Pre-Major Advisor whose intellectual interests matched your own.  Since that time, your interest in a discipline may have strengthened, or it may have diverged considerably.  Your Pre-Major Advisor continues to be available to discuss the development of your intellectual interests and can help you identify supplementary sources of information. 
  
  

• Academic Director:  There is an Academic Director associated with every residence that houses sophomores, and we encourage you to seek her/him out.  You may also continue to work with the Academic Director from your freshman residence, if you wish.  Student athletes continue to work with the Academic Director and other advisors in the AARC.  They can provide information about the curriculum, major declaration processes, academic rules and regulations, research, fellowships and scholarships, academic standing, petitions, and preparation for graduate and professional school.  In 2009-2010, there are Academic Directors in Crothers, Freshman Sophomore College (FroSoCo), Governor's Corner, Toyon, Roble, the Row, Lagunita, Manzanita, Wilbur, and Stern.  The Academic Director for Crothers Hall serves sophomores in Branner and Mirrielees.  A list of Academic Directors, their office location, and their contact information can be found here. 
                                                                                 

• UAR Advisors:  UAR Advisors are centrally located in Sweet Hall.  These advisors include specialists in preparation for the health professions (for example, pre-medical advising), law school, and teaching.  As with the Academic Directors, these advisors provide information about all undergraduate requirements and considerations, including petitions, as well as the resources and opportunities that Stanford offers you.  In addition to appointments, they hold walk-in hours every afternoon, when you can have quick questions answered. You can make an appointment with a UAR advisor by calling 723-2426 (after hours messages will be returned the following weekday) or by coming to first floor Sweet Hall, Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

 

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Advising After Declaring a Major

Once you declare a major you will choose (or have assigned to you) an academic advisor in your chosen field.  Declared Majors may seek additional advising as well.

• Honors Advising. If you pursue Honors, you will also work with an Honors Thesis Advisor who may or may not be your departmental academic advisor.
• Faculty Research Advisors. Throughout your time as an undergraduate, you will have a variety of opportunities to be involved with research. In all cases, your research will be supervised by a faculty member.

Students who apply for a Student Research grant through the Office of Undergraduate Advising and Research will be required to have a faculty advisor. Students may have to seek them out to request their guidance.

For more information about working with faculty advisors and mentors, see Working with Faculty.

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