Advising
The political science advising office advises undergraduate students in the political science major and students minoring in political science, nonprofit management and administration, and public management.
The advising office assists students with:
- Curriculum and career planning
- Processing of university forms
- Appeals
- Letter requests
- Graduation applications
We also consult students throughout the university interested in political science coursework. Additionally, we review and approve political science curriculum for B.I.S. focus areas and study abroad course equivalencies.
Advising Appointments
Academic advising appointments are designed to guide students through political science major requirements and to assist in developing curriculum and graduation plans that best serve individual student needs. Common advising appointment requests are:
- Reviewing graduation requirements, and semester by semester course planning
- Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) or Academic Regulations and Appeals Committee (ARAC) assistance
- Signatures on forms to verify degree progress, such as a request to Walk in Commencement form
- Signatures on forms to verify completed or planned coursework to fulfill degree requirements, such as military benefits forms
- Signatures for B.I.S. focus area curriculum approval and study abroad course equivalencies
We require that students schedule formal advising appointments to review degree requirements and develop graduation plans, and we highly recommend that students schedule appointments once per semester to ensure timely completion of degree requirements.
Students must schedule advising appointments at least one day prior to a desired appointment date and time.
If you are currently a political science major or minor you may make an advising appointment by clicking the advising appointments link in your VCU Portal and following the prompts. This is the fastest and easiest way to find a time that works for you.
If you are not yet a political science major or minor you may use email to set up an appointment. We encourage students to visit or contact us (via phone or email) for quick inquiries and general assistance.
Policies and Procedures
The Political Science Department processes course overrides only with the permission of the instructor teaching the course. Instructors grant overrides at their discretion, and as an additional service to our students. Common reasons for requests are overriding enrollment capacity or prerequisites for a particular course.
To initiate an override request, please contact the instructor scheduled to teach the course (emails are usually preferred). If you receive permission, please forward any documents granting permission (such as an email) as well as your name and V-number to poliadvisor@vcu.edu.
We cannot process overrides for courses without assigned instructors. Once a course is assigned an instructor we will process instructor-approved override requests.