Advising
Make Every Semester Count
Seek advising regularly. Meeting with an academic advisor at San Francisco State University is essential to staying on track with your academic goals.
Whether you're an undergraduate or graduate student, advisors help you navigate course selection, degree requirements, and career planning, ensuring you make informed decisions about your academic path.
Advising Resources
Use the table below to guide you to the best advising resource based on your needs.
| Advising Need | Advisor Recommendation |
|---|---|
Undergraduate Students:
| Academic Advisors at the Undergraduate Advising Center (UAC) OR For EOPP Students - Academic Advisors from the Educational Opportunity and Pathway Programs (EOPP)
|
Undergraduate and Second Baccalaureate Students:
| Faculty Advisors (see advisor list and hours below)
|
| Department of Humanities and Comparative World Literature
|
| See SF State Abroad as the first step
|
Graduate/Second Baccalaureate Students:
| Division of Graduate Studies & Career Development Advising
|
Graduate Students:
| See the Graduate Coordinator for your program or contact your Culminating Experience Committee Chair
|
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Majors in the College of Liberal & Creative Arts (LCA) should consult with two advisors each semester:
- an advisor in the major and
- a general education and university requirements advisor in the Undergraduate Advising Center
Students who are completing a minor or an additional major should see an advisor in those programs as well.
The Division of Graduate Studies offers counseling and advising regarding issues ranging from applications to graduation.
American Studies Advisor
| Advisor | Location | Office Hours | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cristina Ruotolo | ruotolo@sfsu.edu | Humanities 454 | Tue: 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.In Person (HUM 454) Wed: 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.Zoom (email for appointment) |
For advising in American Studies email Cristina Ruotolo at ruotolo@sfsu.edu.
You may sign up as a major or minor via your Student Center. Please meet with Professor Ruotolo to plan your course of study as soon as you can after signing up.
Before you meet with an advisor:
- Please study the requirements for the major;
- Look over the courses you've taken, at SFSU or previous institutions, that have focused on the U.S. and might count as an elective in your major/minor.
- Give thought to what kind of focus you might want to guide your selection of electives going forward. What are you most interested in studying in depth? What are your educational and career goals?
Comparative World Literature Advisors
| Advisors | Location | Office Hours | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dane Johnson | danej@sfsu.edu | Humanities 457 | Mon: 3:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. Drop-in hours HUM 457. Email to make an appointment on another day. |
| Shirin Khanmohamadi | shirin1@sfsu.edu | Humanities 326 | |
| Christopher Weinberger | csw1@sfsu.edu | Humanities 455 |
To ensure adequate planning of a student's program, all majors must consult an advisor at least once per year.
Students are advised to take CWL 400GW - Approaches to Comparative and World Literature - GWAR as early as possible in the major.
All students in the Comparative World Literature major are urged to acquire reading competence in at least one language in addition to English.
Humanities Advisors
| Advisors | Location | Office Hours | |
|---|---|---|---|
| George Leonard | gleonard@sfsu.edu | ||
| David Peña-Guzmán | davidmpena@sfsu.edu | Humanities 337 | |
| Cristina Ruotolo | ruotolo@sfsu.edu | Humanities 454 | Tue: 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.In Person (HUM 454) Wed: 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.Zoom (email for appointment) |
Humanities majors/minors should meet with a faculty advisor as often as they find necessary, but particularly at the beginning of their pathway through the program.
All full-time Humanities faculty are undergraduate advisors. Consult the professors with whom you are taking courses for advice on your coursework and career prospects. We strongly recommend that you talk to your advisors at least once a semester.
Before you meet with an advisor, get acquainted with your Degree Progress Report, and take note of any concerns you may have with its tracking of your Humanities coursework.
M.A. in Humanities Advising
You should seek an advisor as soon as possible after beginning the program. You may seek advice from the graduate coordinator, the chair or any faculty member in the program about who might be the most appropriate advisor for you. Your advisor will work with you to plan your graduate program, discuss any problems you might encounter and serve as a liaison with the Division of Graduate Studies.
After completing 12 units of graduate studies, and at least one semester before you intend to file for graduation, you must file an ATC (Advancement to Candidacy) form with the Division of Graduate Studies. The ATC lists all the courses completed, in progress or planned for the Master’s degree, and the culminating experience you have chosen (thesis or comprehensive exam).
You should work closely with your adviser to ensure that everything you intend to list on the ATC has the approval of the department. Do not list any additional courses beyond the minimum necessary for the degree. The form must be signed by the graduate coordinator and the department chair.
Check the Grad Division calendar for ATC deadlines, normally in mid-October for spring graduation and mid-April for summer or fall. If you change your plan of study after you have filed your ATC, you must file a ATC substitution form.
The Proposal for Culminating Experience Form includes a summary of your plans for the culminating experience and the signatures of the members of your committee. You should file it in the semester before you enroll in an 898, 895 or 896. Check the University Calendar for the exact deadlines, normally in mid-October for spring graduation and mid-April for summer or fall graduation.
If you change your plans for your final project, thesis topic or any of the members of your committee, you must file a new Proposal for Culminating Experience. When you are thinking about a possible culminating experience project, remember that faculty members are experts in particular fields of study, and that if you propose a project in an area in which no one on our faculty has the appropriate expertise, you will have difficulty in assembling your committee. This is why it is so important to seek faculty advice and commitments to your project at an early stage, and to be in touch with the members of your committee — especially your committee chair/first reader — at every stage of your work.