Advising

If you would like to declare or change your major/minor to Environmental Science, please contact the Environmental Science department at envs@usfca.edu. The department coordinator will help you schedule an informal advising meeting with the department's Chair or a faculty member in our program.

The department Chair or faculty member will set up a meeting with you to talk more about the major/minor, advise you on what classes to take, and answer any questions you have about the program. After meeting with someone from the Environmental Science department, the next would be to complete a Change of Academic Program (COAP) form. The COAP form will be processed and you will receive confirmation of your new advisor in Environmental Science. 

The courses that are only offered in the Fall are:

• General Chemistry I (CHEM111/112L and CHEM150/150L)
• Air and Water (ENVS212//212L)
• Physics 100

The courses that are only offered in the Spring are:

• General Chemistry II (CHEM113/114L)
• Ecology and Human Impacts (ENVS210/210L)
• Environmental Data Analysis (ENVS250/250L)

Your major advisor is a faculty member in the Environmental Science department who will help you track your progress in the major and give you advice about which classes to take. Your major advisor is assigned to you during your first semester at USF, or shortly after you declare/switch to an Environmental Science major. You can view who your major advisor is by going to the "Banner Self Service" section on myUSF and clicking on the "Student" tab. Then, click on "Registration" and then "Registration and Adviser Information" to view your assigned major advisor.

If you have not been assigned a major advisor, please contact the Environmental Science department at envs@usfca.edu.

In addition to your major advisor, all USF students are assigned an Academic Success Coach from CASA. Your Academic Success Coach will help you explore academic programs at the university, connect you to resources on campus that will support your success, and give you advice on the "big picture" goal of completing USF's 128-unit degree requirement. 

All students are required to meet with their major advisor each semester for academic advising on course requirements, substitutions/transfer credits, progress towards your degree, and career and internship opportunities specific to their major. Major advisors will remove a student's "advising" hold placed by the major department after meeting with them prior to registration. CASA Academic Success Coaches can only remove holds placed by CASA, and they cannot remove "advising" holds.

Each semester, the Environmental Science department holds a group advising session prior to registration. Faculty and staff from the department will be present to provide a general overview of the courses available for the upcoming semester, talk about the typical path toward completing the ENVS degree, and answer any questions from attending students. All students who attend the group advising session will have their "advising" holds removed and will not need to meet individually with their major advisor to be eligible for registration.

If you have questions about your specific progress and next steps in the major, it is highly recommended you set up a one-on-one meeting with your major advisor. 

You can view your holds on Banner by going to the "Banner Self Service" section on myUSF and clicking on the "Student" tab. Then, click on "Registration" and then "Registration and Adviser Information" to see if you have any holds preventing you from registering. 

Additionally, clicking on the "Student Hub" link on myUSF will allow you to view your active holds. For any holds other than the "advising" hold, please contact the office that has placed the hold on your account prior to registration.

If a class is full, and there is a waitlist available for the course, please follow these step to add yourself to the waitlist:

1. Select "Student Self-Service"
2. Select the "Student" tab
3. Select "Registration"
4. Select "Add/Drop"
5. In the CRN input bot, enter the CRN number (5-digits) of your course
6. Select "Add of Make Changes"
7. The course will indicate that it is closed - select "Waitlist" in the drop-down menu next to the course
8. Select "Make Changes"

If you are able to secure a spot on a waitlist, make sure that you are enrolled in a backup course so that you have a minimum of 16-18 units (in order to stay on track for graduation) or at least 12 units (to be a full-time USF student). Waitlisted course units do not count towards your total class units (i.e. a full-time student could register for 16 units and also add themselves to the waitlist for 1 or more courses).

When a seat becomes available, either the instructor of the course or the Program Assistant will contact a waitlisted student via email to extend an offer. The student must respond by the deadline indicated in the message, otherwise, the seat will be forfeited and offered to the next student on the waitlist.