Advising
What is Advising?
Academic Advising is the primary function of University College. Professional academic counselors are available throughout the year to help students decide on majors, select appropriate courses, and become acquainted with university policies and resources. Our goal is to provide students with the support they need to succeed at the University of Oklahoma.
Pre-Health Professions Advising
University College also advises pre-health major students seeking to enter professional health fields such as communication sciences and disorders, dental hygiene, nursing, nutritional sciences, occupational therapy, pharmacy, physical therapy, physician’s associate, and the radiologic technologies. The assistance of an academic counselor is especially important to the pre-health profession student who wants to complete his/her admission requirements while maintaining a competitive grade point average for admission to the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center.
Preparing to be Advised
Students are encouraged to prepare for their advising sessions (schedule them through http://iadvise.ou.edu). We recommend doing a number of things to get the most out of your advising appointment.
First, be familiar with the General Education requirements. These are courses that are common to every degree program at the university. For example, every student must take at least 6 semester hours in English composition, 3 hours in American History, 3 hours in American Federal Government, etc. To see the complete list of General Education Requirements, go here (General Education information from Admissions).
Second, many students in University College have not yet chosen a major, and at least half of the students who have declared a major will change their minds during the first year. Therefore, we recommend taking career assessments that might assist in giving some direction and clarity for general aptitudes, talents, skills, values, etc. We have several that you can do prior to being advised here.
Third, make a trial schedule. So, if you want to look at specific courses that might count for your General Education requirements or perhaps find a free elective, feel free. When you meet with your counselor, you will discuss how those courses may or may not fit into your degree plan.
Finally, check out degree sheets. You can go online to: checksheets.ou.edu and look at all of our degree programs and their requirements. Interested in a minor? Check out a list of these through the College of Arts & Sciences. For other minors, please check with the appropriate degree-granting college.
Our Award-Winning Academic Counselors in University College (Wagner Hall) meeting with students.