Advisement and Tips for MAJOR Success
College of the Arts
Students who thrive in the College of the Arts tend to utilize the services designed to help them achieve. Below are some Tips for Major Success and Quick Link Resources for all arts students.
What to Know About your Major
The College of the Arts’ Departments and Programs web pages include an overview of your major plus program guidelines, links to curriculum, respective job titles and faculty contacts.
Why “Advising”?
While students are responsible for the proper completion of their degree, we urge you not to go it alone. Meeting with an advisor will help you clarify your goals, choose the right courses, track your progress, and make decisions supportive of graduating on time. Checking in each semester makes good common sense (and necessary, if you are a freshman, before you can register.)
To determine your advisor –
- Undergraduates -- Log onto WESS ; select “Student Records”; then “Advisor”
- Graduates – Check the name of the Graduate Program Coordinator listed for your academic program.
- Questions about advising services may be addressed to:
- Art & Design - Charlene Mickle
- Music - Gina Balestracci
- Communican and Media - Janet Wilson
- Theatre and Dance - Sue Mandzik
Before the meeting –
Like anything else, preparing for your advisement meeting will help ensure that you will get what you need. Here’s the preliminary research you should do:
- Step One: Review the curriculum and choices for your program. The University Catalog contains the most-reliable information (navigate to your major.) and the Degree Requirements page shows how General Education fits in with your degree. Past catalogs are also online, displaying the curriculum in effect when you started the program.
- Step Two: Review your “Analysis of Academic Progress” (also referred to as “the audit.”) The Analysis lists: (a) courses you’ve already taken; (b) total credits you’ve earned; and (c) required courses you have yet to take.
- Step Three: Lastly, if you are an undergraduate, review the Four-Year Graduation Plan for your major which includes an eight-semester “example” for fulfilling the program’s requirements. Bring this plan to your advisor to review how it may apply to you. Ask when the remaining courses you need to take are generally offered (fall, spring, summer?) so that you can plan ahead.
Read this article aboutHow to Graduate in Four Years.
Life as an Artist
Planning for--and living--your life as an artist has no doubt been ongoing for quite some time. The College of the Arts Career Services and University Career Services are here to help you shape its future. Together these offices provide one-on-one advising, career-planning workshops, internship help, resume guidance and online tools to help you with professional exploration. See what you can be doing each year as you progress towards graduation.
There is a wealth of links on the University website intended to help you succeed as a student. Below are some academic-support links which may be particularly useful.
Academic-Support Service |
What You Will Find |
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Clearinghouse for many University services – |
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Services to support student achievement, including:
Email: cast@mail.montclair.edu |
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Key dates including semester sessions, holidays and exam periods. |
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Description of retention initiatives and a
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A communications tool containing content relevant to your coursework. |
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Center for Advising and Student Transitions (CAST) Email: cast@mail.montclair.edu |
Info about services for freshmen, sophomores and military students, including learning communities, peer mentoring and honor societies. |
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Info about services that promote the psychological, physical, intellectual, occupational, spiritual and ethical wellness of students. Includes: |
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Info on services for students with physical, sensory, learning, psychological, neurological, and chronic medical disabilities, including Documentation Guidelines for accessing classroom accommodations. |
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Info on services for state residents from under-represented populations who meet income criteria and exhibit potential for high achievement. |
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Course-sequence examples that would enable a student to graduate from his/her major in four years. Two-year plans (for transfer students) are also available for some programs. |
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Overall degree requirements for the BA, BFA and B Mus. ,including: |
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Info on orientation, advisement and programming for non-traditional adult students. |
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Email: registrar@mail.montclair.edu
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Info on course scheduling and registration; academic records maintenance; grades processing; official transcripts; final audit for graduation and certification; curriculum administration; and maintenance of the University's degree auditing system. Includes: |
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Email: studentaccou@mail.montclair.edu |
Administrative center for processing student payments, credits, refunds and charges (which appear on the Student Account Summary via WESS). |
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Definition of student rights, responsibilities, standards, codes of conduct, policies, complaint procedures. (Essential reading.) |
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Email: cada@mail.montclair.edu |
Resource including the walk-in-tutoring schedule for various subject areas. Part of the Center for Academic Development and Assessment (CADA) |
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University Catalog l Past Catalogs
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Listing of curriculum and other requirements for all academic majors, minors and concentrations. (Curriculum in effect at the time you entered the program may be found within the Past Catalogs link.) |
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Email: msuadm@mail.montclair.edu Tel: 973-655-4444 |
Information for all MSU undergraduate applicants including guidelines for university-accepted transfer credits, credits earned at other institutions, and credits earned through examination. |
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Interface for accessing your University email |
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Portal to register for classes; access your schedule, get grades, and review your financial account.
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