Academic Advising
The Engineering Student Success Center Academic Advising Office provides the advice and support needed to help engineering students achieve their educational goals. The ESSC Advising Office provides assistance with:
- Pre-major advisement
- Academic programs and resources
- General Education advising
- MyCSULB's Degree Planner, Academic Requirements Reports, and other CSULB documents
- Academic policies and procedures, including the Rules to Degree Progress
- Prospective student advising and application processes
- Academic interventions and success strategies
- Referral to other campus resources
The home base for all engineering freshmen needs, the ESSC Academic Advising Office makes sure students transition smoothly from high school and start their engineering careers at CSULB on the right path.
Success in engineering is often determined by aptitude in math and science. To ensure success, the College of Engineering's Rules to Degree Progress requires all engineering students to complete important gateway courses within one calendar year (i.e. Calculus and Physics).
The advising office begins preparing freshmen for engineering at Student Orientation, Advising, and Registration (SOAR), and coordinates all Fall and Spring semester Mandatory Freshmen Advising activities. Academic advisors are also active in the Freshmen Engineering Experience courses, ENGR 101 and ENGR 102.
All CSULB freshmen are required to receive Mandatory Freshman Advising during their first and second semester at CSULB. Mandatory Freshmen Advising for Pre-Engineering students consists of advising workshops organized by major. Pre-Engineering students must attend a freshman advising workshop facilitated by the ESSC Academic Advising Office in order to have their advising hold lifted. Students are required to prepare for a workshop by consulting the following advising tools: Academic Requirements Report, Degree Planner and Major Roadmap or Flowchart.
The 60-minute Pre-Major Advising Workshops cover:
- General Education (GE) and Major Requirements
- Major Specific Declaration Requirements
- MyCSULB advising and scheduling tools (Degree Planner, Schedule Planner, etc.)
- Spring course planning and selection
- Campus resources
All CSULB transfer students must receive Mandatory Transfer Advising during their first semester at CSULB. During this advising session, students meet their faculty advisor, learn about their program's requirements, discuss transfer credits, and develop semester-by-semester graduation plans. Engineering transfer students must meet with their undergraduate faculty advisor in order to satisfy Mandatory Transfer Advising requirements and have their registration hold lifted. Please check MYCSULB for other holds and enrollment appointment dates/times.
In the College of Engineering, meeting regularly with your faculty advisor is recommended in order to stay on track with major and degree-completion requirements.
Advisors can provide:
The advisor in your chosen major provides advisement from sophomore year through graduation, including:
- Assessment of degree progress and graduation status
- Substitutions and waivers
- Credit/No Credit signatures
- Change of major approval
To prepare for your advisor meeting:
- Download an updated copy of your Academic Requirements Report (be sure to click on "Expand All") and/or Degree Planner.
- Prepare a list of questions.
- Review available classes beforehand on MyCSULB.
- Assemble your records in one file.
