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: Choosing courses/degree planning for general education, major, minor, and certificates Understanding transfer credits Graduation check Academic success strategies Academic notice and clearing holds Exploring options for majors, minors, and certificates Petition of study abroad courses for general education Referrals to campus resources Academic policy inquiries and assistance with appeal forms	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: Selection of appropriate major/minor/certificate courses based on career and professional goals Course substitutions and exceptions for major/minor/certificate Opportunities for research or teaching assistantships Mentorship, careers, internships, and graduate school preparation Approval of study abroad courses for major/minor Requests and approvals for forms requiring major advisor approval	Faculty Advisors (see advisor list and hours below)
Requests and approvals for forms requiring department chair approval Request meeting with department chair	School of Liberal Studies Office Email: ls@sfsu.edu Location: FA 410
Information about Study Abroad opportunities and application process/timelines	See Study Abroad as the first step
Graduate/Second Baccalaureate Students: General advising questions (petitions, policies/procedures, registration, and academic notice)	Division of Graduate Studies & Career Development Advising Email: gradstudies@sfsu.edu Phone: (415) 338-2234 Location: ADM 254 (8:00 am – 4:30 pm)
Graduate Students: Graduate student course planning, academic advising, Advancement to Candidacy, and Graduate Student Culminating Experience	See the Graduate Coordinator for your program or contact your Culminating Experience Committee Chair

Advising Need

Advisor Recommendation

Undergraduate Students:

Choosing courses/degree planning for general education, major, minor, and certificates
Understanding transfer credits
Graduation check
Academic success strategies
Academic notice and clearing holds
Exploring options for majors, minors, and certificates
Petition of study abroad courses for general education
Referrals to campus resources
Academic policy inquiries and assistance with appeal forms

Academic Advisors at the Undergraduate Advising Center (UAC)

For EOPP Students - Academic Advisors from the Educational Opportunity and Pathway Programs (EOPP)

Undergraduate and Second Baccalaureate Students:

Selection of appropriate major/minor/certificate courses based on career and professional goals
Course substitutions and exceptions for major/minor/certificate
Opportunities for research or teaching assistantships
Mentorship, careers, internships, and graduate school preparation
Approval of study abroad courses for major/minor
Requests and approvals for forms requiring major advisor approval

Faculty Advisors (see advisor list and hours below)

Requests and approvals for forms requiring department chair approval
Request meeting with department chair

School of Liberal Studies Office
Email: ls@sfsu.edu
Location: FA 410

Information about Study Abroad opportunities and application process/timelines

See Study Abroad as the first step

Graduate/Second Baccalaureate Students:

General advising questions (petitions, policies/procedures, registration, and academic notice)

Division of Graduate Studies & Career Development Advising
Email: gradstudies@sfsu.edu
Phone: (415) 338-2234
Location: ADM 254 (8:00 am – 4:30 pm)

Graduate Students:

Graduate student course planning, academic advising, Advancement to Candidacy, and Graduate Student Culminating Experience

See the Graduate Coordinator for your program or contact your Culminating Experience Committee Chair

Advising

Advising in Liberal Studies

All full-time Liberal Studies faculty are undergraduate advisors. Additionally, Liberal Studies has a full-time advisor, Andrea Olson, who can help you with the major and its relation to GE. To make an appointment with an LS advisor, please call, email, or drop in on Andrea Olson in HUM 409, or email one of your professors directly. Andrea can be reached by phone at (415) 338-6927 or by email at ayo@sfsu.edu.

General Advising

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.

General Education met in the LS major

For General Education and University Requirements

Liberal Studies students can complete almost all their upper-division GE requirements within their major (except for UD-D). This possibility means you can double count some of your LS classes for your major and your GE. For upper-division GE, you can take the following LS courses:
- UD-B: Physical Life Science: take LS430 or LS440
- UD-C: Social Sciences: take LS401, LS402, or LS404.
For SF Studies upper-division GE, you can take the following courses:
- Environmental Sustainability: LS401 or LS430
- Global Perspectives: LS401, LS402, LS404, or LS430
- Social Justice: LS402, LS403, or LS404
Students can complete the following lower-division GE requirements within the LS major.
- Area E: take LS200
- B3: take LS209
We are constantly developing new courses, including a future UD-D option. Stay tuned and talk to an adviser to ensure you have the latest info on GE and LS.

Before You Meet With an Advisor

Download a Liberal Studies Advising Worksheet, either Teacher Prep or General, and fill out as much as you can, using your unofficial transcript.
Retrieve copies of your transcripts from SF State and other colleges (unofficial is fine). You can get your SF State transcripts from the Student Center link via SF State Gateway.

Advising Worksheets

ITEP Worksheet (DOCX)

Liberal Studies General Worksheet (not teacher prep) (DOCX)

Liberal Studies Teacher Preparation Worksheet (DOCX)

Faculty Advisors

School of Liberal Studies Advisors
Name	Email	Location	Major
Augsburg, Tanya	tanya@sfsu.edu	Humanities Building, Room 438	Liberal Studies
Barros, Jose Acacio De	barros@sfsu.edu	Humanities Building, Room 440	Liberal Studies
Hennessy, Logan	loganh@sfsu.edu	Humanities Building Room 448	Liberal Studies
Olson, Andrea	ayo@sfsu.edu	Humanities Building, Room 409	Liberal Studies
Sousanis, Nick	sousanis@sfsu.edu	Humanities Building, Room 581	Liberal Studies/Comic Studies