Montclair State University

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Frequently Asked Questions

 

Answers

Q. What majors are offered? Go back
A. Majors are organized into five colleges: Education and Human Services (CEHS), Humanities and Social Sciences (CHS), Science and Mathematics (CSAM), Arts (CART), and Business (SBUS). For a complete list of majors, follow this link: http://www.montclair.edu/majors/majorlist.html

Q. How do I register for Orientation and is it required? Go back
A. All freshmen undergraduate students must attend New Student Orientation. A reservation form is sent to new students in the orientation packet. A student may register for orientation by responding to the mailing or calling New Student Experience at 973-655-7609.

Q. Does high school dual enrollment or Advanced Placement coursework count toward my undergraduate degree? Go back
A. MSU accepts credits from appropriate coursework completed in high school. Speak to your First Year Counselor.

Q. How do I register for classes? Go back
A. New students register for classes at Orientation. New students throughout their first year will need to attend a Group Advising session through New Student Experience or set up an individual appointment with their First Year Counselor.  All students will be contacted via e-mail as to when the sessions will be held and must RSVP to attend the Group Advising session. Once students have been advised, they may log onto WESS to register for courses.


Q. Are freshmen students required to live on campus? Go back
A. Students can live on campus or off campus. However, a good number of freshmen students do choose to live in on campus housing. Visit the Office of Residence Life website for more information:  http://www.montclair.edu/resed/index.html


Q. What are the General Education Requirements (2002 Gen Eds)? Go back
A. The General Education Program includes 51-57 semester hours of coursework in various subject areas. For a comprehensive list see following link:  http://chss.montclair.edu./gened.htm


Q. What if I am undecided about a major? Go back
A. First Year Counselors are available to help all undecided students choose a major. Another component of choosing a major is doing career exploration. Career Development can help with this process, and they also sponsor a Career Fair every year.

For a look at the majors offered by MSU, follow this link:
http://www.montclair.edu/majors/majorlist.html

Also see:  Resources for Undecided Students

Q. Does MSU have an Honors Program? Go back
A. MSU offers an Honors Program for undergraduate students. For more information, click on the following link:
http://www.montclair.edu/honors/about.html

Q. What advisor do I meet with and where is his or her office located?Go back
A. New Student Experience is located in Morehead Hall Room 101. Students will be notified of specific walk-in hour times at the start of the fall semester.

Students who have completed two or more semesters should contact the Center for Academic Advising & Adult Learning or their faculty advisor.

Q. What do I do if I want to drop a class? Go back
A. First year students may drop a class before or within the add/drop period. They must do so via WESS. (Add/Drop period ends after the first week of classes.)  After the add/drop period removing a class is considered a withdrawal which will result in a loss of enrollment fees (prorated) for the the withdrawn class.  To withdraw from a class you must log onto WESS and select the course(s) you wish to withdraw from. Refer to the Schedule of Courses Booklet for more information

Q. What can I do with my major? Go back
A. See the following Career Development link:
"To see what others have done with different majors"

Q. What do I do if a course I would like to take is closed? Go back
A.  There is no guarantee that you may be added into a particular course, yet there is a procedure to follow to find out if it may be possible for you gain approval to enroll in a closed course. The following process is the sole responsibility of the individual student. First proceed to the following link to the online course schedule making sure to choose the option for the appropriate semester:

WESS Login

If a course is reported to be closed in the online course schedule as is exemplified here:

Course: ENWR-105

Section

Title

Call
Number

Credits

Status/Seats
Available

Days

Time

Site/
Building/
Room

Instructor

01 

COLLEGE WRIT I: INTELLECT PROSE 

11260 

3.00 

Closed 

MW 

08:30-
09:45AM 

Main Campus 
DICKSON HALL 
279 

DOEMLING G 

You then should contact the professor offering the course. We suggest leaving a voice mail with the professor as well as sending the professor an email. In these contacts be sure to communicate your full name and the 5 digit Call Number of the course in which you wish to enroll. You may even want to cut and paste the course off of the web and paste it into the email.

To obtain any MSU professor or staff contact information including their title, phone number, office location and email simply visit the following link and enter the contact's first and last name:

Directory Search

If the professor approves your request to enroll you in a course that is closed, the professor (or department) must enter into the registration system a "Permit". Once the Permit is entered you will then have the ability to log onto WESS and to add the closed course.

Note: If a course does not give a professors name and instead labels the instructor as "staff" you will have to contact the department offering the course.

College of Education and Human Services: 973-655-5167

School of Business: 973-655-4303

College of the Arts: 973-655-5104

College of Humanities and Social Sciences: 973-655-4228

College of Science and Mathematics: 973-655-5108

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