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Advising

Navigating a 4-year curriculum can be complicated

We’ll give you a hand as you sort your way through the ins and outs of class schedules, registration, General Education themes, degree requirements, and more. The advice you’ll find on this page is for all students in the department. Most degree programs have their own advising page with specific advice for their majors.

Advisors

Your advisor will help you develop a plan for your academic career and answer any questions you have. Incoming freshmen are assigned a general Art adviser who will help you plan, and start, your academic career. After you declare a major, you will be assigned a faculty advisor in its degree program to guide you to graduation.

Advising Resources

PROGRAMS OF STUDY

Programs of Study are checklists of requirements for each degree program. Each one has a list of required and elective courses and additional major requirements. Specific requirements may vary depending on your catalog year (when you started at Appalachian). You can see your catalog year in Degree Works. If your Program of Study has been revised since you started, you may elect to change your program of study to a more recent one. Consult with your advisor before doing so.   

GENERAL EDUCATION

All Art majors are required to complete 44 semester hours of General Education as part of their degree. Like the Program of Study for your major, specific requirements are defined based on your catalog year. Some majors require courses in the major that also satisfy General Education requirements. Refer to the General Education section of the Program of Study for your major for specifics.

FOUR YEAR GUIDES

To help you plan a four year program of study, every degree program developed a Four Year Guide. These guides show a semester-by semester sequence of courses that, upon completion, will satisfy your major and General Education requirements in four years. The guides are simply that and your actual experience may differ. All degree programs have some flexibility. Work closely with your advisor to ensure that you complete your degree requirements in a timely manner.

DEGREE WORKS

Degree Works is a comprehensive, web-based academic advising and degree audit tool that helps students and their advisors successfully navigate curriculum requirements.

ADVICE

FRESHMEN

Portfolio Reviews

Candidacy Portfolio Reviews are required for BFA degree programs in Art Education (K-12), Graphic Design, and Studio Art.

To graduate in four years, intended majors in these degrees should submit their portfolios no later than the second term in their second year.

All Majors

Declaring a Major

Students wishing to declare Art as their major must meet all of the following criteria:

  • Completed 30 semester hours with a 2.0 or better
  • Completed ENG 1000
  • Completed, or are enrolled in, a First Year Seminar course

More information can be found at the University College Academic Advising Center’s website. 

Upon declaring your major, you will be assigned a faculty advisor in the degree program of your major. We highly recommend that you meet with them after you have been assigned one.

General Education

As you plan your academic career, keep in mind that General Education courses must be completed before graduation, not before beginning work on your major requirements.

Pace yourself as you work on completing your General Education requirements. Map out your academic career semester-by-semester by starting with your major requirements. Plan to take your senior capstone course your last semester and work backwards, making sure you satisfy prerequisites as you plot out the required courses within your major. Use General Education and free elective courses to fill in any gaps in your schedule. You can use the Four Year Guide for your major as a starting point. 

Seniors

Graduation Audits

Graduation Audits are done automatically for all students that have reached 90 earned hours and are within 1-2 semesters of graduation. If you have not received a graduation audit and you are within these perimeters please contact the dean’s office for Fine and Applied Arts.

Degree Applications

Students are required to apply for graduation during the term immediately preceding the one in which they expect to complete all coursework and requirements for graduation (including internships, study abroad, etc.). If you have enough earned hours to be eligible to apply for graduation, you will receive an email notifying you that the application for graduation is open. Even if you do not plan to attend the Commencement ceremony, you must still apply to graduate. 

COURSE TRANSFERS

Students wishing to take courses at other institutions and transfer credit to Appalachian must receive prior approval prior to enrollment at the other institution. Specific guidelines can be found on the Visiting Coursework page at the Office of Transfer Services website.

ADVISING LINKS