Advising: Who Can Help

Association Deans

To facilitate academic advising, every student is placed in an advising "Association."

Association Deans provide broad academic support to students in the College of Arts & Sciences. Every student in the College, by virtue of their placement in an Advising Association, has an Association Dean. Your dean can advise you on academic matters, help you to think broadly about your long-term plans, and connect you to the appropriate support services at the University. They are committed to your academic success. If your Dean does not know the answer to your question, they will connect you to the person or office who does.

All the College Association Deans have offices in Monroe Hall, where the undergraduate advising offices are located. Each Association Dean schedules regular office hours in Monroe Hall and the College staff will be happy to arrange an appointment with you. To schedule a meeting with your Dean, you can call the undergraduate advising office main phone at (434) 924-3351 or visit 101 Monroe Hall (M-F, 8-5) and the College staff will gladly assist you.

Additionally, on every weekday during the semester, Monroe Hall hosts walk-in advising hours from 2:30-4:00pm. Feel free to drop in and chat with the Dean of the Day during those hours. No appointment is necessary.

Faculty Advisors

Faculty advisors are assigned to each College undergraduate student; they assist students with:

  • Choosing a major
  • Selecting courses
  • Making long range plans
  • Finding appropriate persons with similar academic interests

New students typically meet their faculty advisor during fall orientation. The College of Arts & Sciences makes every effort to initially match students with an advisor who is in their area of interest (e.g., social sciences, humanities, fine arts, sciences). Students can find the name of their advisor in their SIS (Student Information System) Student Center.

College Advising Seminars (COLA 1500 classes)

Students can match themselves with a member of the faculty who is teaching something they want to know more about. Students enrolled in these classes will be assigned to the instructor as an advisor. Click here to see fall class descriptions
NOTE: Forum students cannot also enroll in a COLA class; students in the New College Curriculum may also select a COLA class.

Director of the Undergraduate Program

Each major program in the College Arts & Sciences is overseen by a Director of the Undergraduate Program. When students have questions about program requirements or areas of study, the Program Directors are excellent resources

Major Advisor

At the end of the second year, all College of Arts & Sciences students declare a major and are assigned an advisor from the major department you choose.

Changing a Faculty Advisor

Students who want to change their advisor may select another College of Arts & Sciences faculty member who will then notify the College's admnistrative office by e-mail (send to Judy Updike at [email protected]). Students can also print out the Change of Faculty Advisor Form and ask that the new advisor send it to:

College of Arts & Sciences
101 Monroe Hall
P.O. Box 400133
Charlottesville, VA 22904-4133