DePaul is a large and diverse institution with many interests and resources. In order to best meet the needs of our diverse faculty, staff, and student body, DePaul utilizes a variety of academic advising systems. Each college/school has the autonomy to deliver their programs and services according to their own culture. As such, advisor assignments and the process by which students may be assigned to an advisor will vary. Students at DePaul can interact with two types of advisors--staff and faculty advisors.
Staff advisors are available in every college/school and are full or part-time professionals who serve the administrative advising needs of the college/school. Staff advisors typically help students manage the technical/logistical side of earning a college degree, such as class scheduling, degree requirements, and navigating university systems. Staff advisor assignments are generally based on the student's college, program, and/or last name. Each college and/or department may manage assignments differently and these processes may change with the changing needs of students.
DePaul students can have more than one advisor. Most students will have a faculty advisor. This person is a faculty member who typically teaches and does research within his/her discipline, in addition to mentoring their students. Faculty advisor assignments at the undergraduate level are often based on numbers (dividing students equally among faculty), but may be changed based on student requests due to better compatibility. For example, if Vincent is assigned to faculty advisor B, but later discovers that he shares similar research interests with faculty advisor C, he may speak with both faculty B and C about the possibility of switching to faculty advisor C.
All students will be assigned an academic advisor from their college and can see this assignment in Campus Connect and in BlueStar. In some colleges, students can meet with any of their college staff advisors, while other colleges have only one advisor for a given major. Some advisors are able to meet with students outside of their caseload, while others may not due to workload or other factors. Undergraduate students who are exploring different majors and minors should work with the Office for Academic Advising Support.
Graduate students who are interested in changing graduate programs or current undergraduate students interested in pursuing a DePaul graduate program should, in general, go to the graduate admissions office for that college/school. Students may also speak directly with the faculty of the graduate program. Faculty information for each program and/or department can typically be found online through the program/department website.