Advising & Academic Services

College of Arts & Sciences students in freshman and sophomore standing (up to 59 earned credits), as well as first-semester transfer students, are assigned an academic advisor through the Student Success Center. You can find your advisor's name listed on your UDSIS account (Degrees & Advisement tile > Advisors). Your advisor will have 30-minute appointment times available to discuss general advising, long-term academic planning, changes of major, and other issues. At some times during the semester, they will also have drop-in hours for 15-minute discussions about quick questions. Visit Blue Hen Success to see your advisor's location and availability and to schedule an appointment.​

College of Arts & Sciences students in junior and senior standing (60+ earned credits) are assigned an advisor in the department of their major. Your advisor will assist you with questions about academic planning, major requirements, and your future career or graduate program interests. You can find your advisor's name listed on your UDSIS account (Degrees & Advisement tile > Advisors). For academic advising assistance, please email your advisor directly, or schedule an appointment online at Blue Hen Success​.

Plan to meet with your academic advisor at least once a semester to discuss your long-term academic plans, and to select the next semester's courses. You can find your adviso​​r's name listed on your UDSIS account (Degrees & Advisement tile > Advisors). For academic advising assistance, email your advisor directly or schedule an appointment through Blue Hen Success. ​

For every semester/term, be aware of important dates and deadlines, including the first day of classes, the last day to add or drop courses, the ​​last day to change registration or withdraw from courses, the last day of classes, when final exams begin and end, and when registration for the following terms begins. For each semester/term, check the Academic Calendar.​

Visit Advising Central to review UD's academic warning process. Advisors assist students who are in the academic warning process with understanding academic policies, understanding how their grades impact their graduation plan, planning future courses, reviewing their grading options, and lifting registration holds. They also help connect students with other support resources at UD.​​

Student Success Center staff assist students who are facing possible academic suspension or dismissal with understanding academic policies, the appeal process, and future options.

If you have questions, please contact your advisor directly, or email the Student Success Center​.

Majors — Every student seeking an undergraduate degree from the College of Arts & Sciences must complete at least one major. However, it is certainly possible to complete two or more majors during your time here!

Majors typically consist of 30 or more credits in a focused area. Major courses must be completed with at least a "C-" unless explicitly stated otherwise. You can find a list of CAS majors on our undergraduate programs page. To learn more about what makes each program unique, including areas of study, career options, and ways to get involved, visit the UD Major Finder.

Minors — Explore your interest in a particular field with a minor. These programs of study are less intensive and comprehensive than a major while offering a cohesive learning experience. 

In general, a minor requires at least 15 credits of course work, which must be completed with a least a "C-" unless stated otherwise. You are not required to complete a minor as a part of your degree. However, you can elect to complete one or more minors.​

Student Success Center staff review your records to confirm you have completed your degree requirements and can be cleared for graduation. You can plan for this from your first semester to your last by reviewing the degree requirements (see the degree requirements section below) in the UD Undergraduate Catalog and on your degree audit on UDSIS, and by creating an academic plan with your advisor.

In the semester before your expected graduation term, you will receive an email with your degree checkout web form. This will be a reminder to check your degree audit on UDSIS and make sure that you are on track for graduation.

If you have any questions, email the Student Success Center​.

What is an "OFFICIAL SENIOR CHECKOUT?"

The "Senior Checkout" is also called "Degree Checkout" or, simply, "Checkout".

The Senior Checkout a webform which is sent to the student's udel.edu email address. This webform asks them to confirm their academic plans and graduation date, provides specialized notes or instructions specific to the student being checked out, and contains an attached summary of their remaining requirements.

For most students, the attached summary of remaining requirements will simply be a pdf of the student's Degree Audit report. For a few students, who do not have usable audit (due to a unique academic program or other reasons), the summary take another form.  

It is imperative that you read and understand exactly what you must do to complete your degree, and that you do everything specified on the Checkout.

The Checkout is the document that will be used to determine degree certification. It is the document to which you should refer, in conjunction with your Degree Audit report and in consultation with your faculty advisor, when planning courses to complete your degree.

How do I get a Checkout?

If you are a student in the College of Arts and Sciences, there is no need to apply for a Checkout. Your Checkout will automatically be prepared by the UAS staff during your penultimate semester (the semester prior to the Graduation Term stated in UDSIS). Example: if graduation date is listed as fall, your Checkout will be completed during the previous spring semester. 

Your Checkout will be prepared via webform called "Degree Checkout" and sent electronically to your UDel e-mail account. Be sure to watch your Inbox for the document during your senior year. Once received, you can refer back to your Checkout by following the link in the original email, or by logging on to your Webforms. 

How does the Undergraduate Academic Services office know when I plan to finish my courses?

We use the "Grad Term" listed on your record on UDSIS.

"Grad Term" refers to the timing of your course completion, and not to the timing of the graduation ceremony. It is important to keep your graduation term up to date so that your Checkout is prepared and sent to you in a timely fashion and also so that your name is included in the Commencement program and on mailing lists related to graduation.

You can find all the degree requirements (university, college, and major requirements) for your major in the UD Undergraduate Catalog.

Your degree audit on UDSIS (Degrees & Advisement tile > Degree Audit) will show you which degree requirements have already been satisfied and which ones you still need to complete. It is important to check your degree audit often (e.g., before you register for the next term's courses; after you register; and at the beginning of the term before the drop/add deadline) to make sure that your courses are meeting your degree requirements as expected.

If you have questions, please contact your advisor directly, or email the Student Success Center​.​

Visit Advising Central to review UD’s policies for attendance and absences. If you have documentation for absenc​​es due to serious illness or short-term military duty, the Student Success Center​ can send a documented absence notification to your instructors. Please contact your advisor directly or email the Student Success Center​.​

Visit Advising Central, "Attendance and Absences," to review UD’s leave of absence policies. Submit the “Student Leave of Absence” web form for one of the following purposes. (You can find links to web forms in your UDSIS account.)

Personal or educational leave of absence — For questions, contact your Student Success Center advisor directly, or email the Student Success Center​.

Medical or military leave of absence — For questions, contact the Student Advocacy & Support at studentsupport@udel.edu.

See step-by-step instructions for how to transfer undergraduate credits to UD. This will explain if you should submit a Transfer Cre​​dit Evaluation Request web form (you can find links to web forms in your UDSIS account) or if you should email a PDF of the paper version of the Transfer Credit Evaluation form to Student Success Center​ at as-advise@udel.edu.​​