Undergraduate students have a variety of resources for academic advisement. As you progress through the academic program, each member of your advisement team will play a different role, depending on your status and needs. Key advisement personnel are reviewed below and summarized in the Advisement Table below. Students enrolled in the Access to College Excellence (ACE) Program, Daniel Acker Scholars Program, Educational Opportunity Program (EOP), and University Honors College, as well as student athletes, are also served by their unique program offices.
An academic advisor from the SEAS Office of Undergraduate Education (hereafter, your engineering advisor) is often the first student contact, usually as part of the orientation process. Meetings with an engineering advisor are generally recommended on a semester basis for the first two years and on an as-needed basis thereafter, usually upon student request. In addition to providing general academic advice, the engineering advisors make decisions regarding transfer credit for basic math, science, and general engineering (EAS) courses, provide information on General Education requirements, and provide a final review to ensure that the student has met all degree requirements at the time of graduation.
When you enrolled as a civil/environmental engineering major, you were assigned an academic advisor who is a full-time member of the CSEE faculty (hereafter, your faculty advisor). The role of the faculty advisor is to provide general guidance regarding the civil engineering curriculum and career paths. You can also speak to your faculty advisor about undergraduate research opportunities.
Juniors and seniors are required to meet with their faculty advisor at least once each semester prior to the start of registration for the following semester. This is accomplished through forced-registration in several required junior and senior year courses. In conjunction with the advisement meeting, juniors and seniors must complete an Advisement Form with the help of their faculty advisor, and submit a signed copy of the completed form to the Undergraduate Academic Coordinator. The purpose of the advisement meetings is to help you choose the best available courses in proper sequence, and to facilitate completion of the degree program within the desired length of time and with your best performance. Without proper advisement, you can make mistakes in selecting courses that can delay graduation. Consultation with faculty advisors can help minimize the possibility of such errors. Nevertheless, it is ultimately your responsibility to see that all degree requirements are met in time to enable graduation at the desired date.
Determine who your faculty advisor is by accessing the SEAS portal
The Director of Undergraduate Studies (hereafter, referred to as DUGS) is a faculty members who perform a variety of functions, including, but not limited to: approval of upper level course transfers or substitutions, assistance to students with academic or registration problems, advisement of students in combined degree programs, resolution of academic integrity issues, and coordination of ABET accreditation activities. The Director of Undergraduate Studies may also approve waivers for MAE 177. Students may request a meeting with the Director of Undergraduate Studies at any time.
The Undergraduate Academic Coordinator provides general assistance to the undergraduate students and helps the Director of Undergraduate Studies with daily functions. The Undergraduate Academic Coordinator, Ms. Amanda Allen, has an office in 212 Ketter Hall, or can be reached by emailing arallen2@buffalo.edu.
| If you need help with: | Contact: |
|---|---|
| General education, transfer credits, HUB errors, degree audit, Finish in 4 | SEAS engineering advisor |
| Elective choices, career opportunities | CSEE faculty advisor |
| Academic integrity issues | Course instructor, Director of Undergraduate Studies, Department Chair |
| Forms, forced registration | Undergraduate Academic Coordinator |
| Advisor list, MAE 177 exceptions, any other issues | Director of Undergraduate Studies |
Interactive flowsheets show the recommended sequence of courses to satisfy the degree requirements for undergraduate engineering programs. These online versions highlight pre-requisite and co-requisite courses to help you identify which courses must be completed before moving forward.
The HUB Academic Advisement Report is an advising tool that tracks progress toward graduation by showing how courses taken meet graduation requirements. Students should examine their reports carefully and speak to an engineering advisor if there are questions or discrepancies.
In general, acceptance of transfer credits is determined by the SEAS Office of Undergraduate Education in consultation with the Director of Undergraduate Studies. However, for colleges and universities within the SUNY system and other selected institutions, a large number of courses have been prescreened to establish articulation (equivalence) with UB courses. TAURUS is a searchable, online version of the articulation database.
A variety of tutoring resources are available for CSEE students.