Advising

Spring 2024

We will be available for COMM major and minor advising from January 29, 2024 to May 22, 2024.

How to Find an Advisor

You may locate major and minor advising drop-in hours with locations below, under the heading "Locate Drop-in Advising."

You may find GE advising information on the CoSS Student Success Center website.

We also include all of our drop-in hours in Spartan Connect. We have very limited appointments and suggest all students attend our drop-in hours for major and minor advising.

COMM advisors do not conduct advising when the campus is closed. For example, there is no advising over spring break (April 1, 2024 to April 5, 2024). Please take a look at our academic calendar for closure dates. 

• Locate Drop-in Advising

  • We offer virtual drop-in advising. Log in to Spartan Connect. Select View Drop-in Times when searching for drop-in advising with our department and the CoSS Student Success Center (CoSS SSC). We also included our drop-in hours below.

    Drop-in Times & Locations

    Mondays from 12:15 pm - 2:15 pm in HGH 208

    Tuesdays from 9:30 am to 11:00 am in HGH 207

    Thursdays from 9:30 am to 11:00 am in HGH 207

    Special Advising Topics

    If you are seeking advising to discuss your disqualification, reinstatement, return to SJSU, major academic notice, COMM course transfer and equivalencies (including study abroad courses), COMM major/minor substitutions, or need international student ISSS paperwork signed, please email Dr. Morrison to schedule an appointment.

• GE Advising with CoSS SSC

  • In addition to your major and minor, you must meet GE, SJSU Studies, and other university requirements.

    As a COMM major, you can receive advising on these degree areas at the College of Social Science Student Success Center (CoSS SSC). We recommend meeting with a GE advisor every semester before enrolling in courses.

    Schedule an appointment in Spartan Connect by selecting:

    Schedule an Appointment

    Care Unit: Academic Advising

    Location: College of Social Science Student Success Center

    Service: General Education (GE) Advising

• Schedule an Appointment

  • We have limited appointment times. Please consider seeing an advisor during our drop-in hours for faster assistance with your major/minor advising needs.

    You may check for open appointments by signing in to Spartan Connect and selecting:

    Schedule an Appointment

    Care Unit: Academic Advising

    Location: Department of Communication Studies

    Service: Communication Studies Major Advising or Minor Advising. If you wish to change your major to COMM, select Change your major into or within Communication Studies.

    Please review the tutorial and the university no-show policy below before scheduling your next appointment.

    Student Self-Service Appointment Scheduling guide
    No-Show Policy for Scheduled Appointments

    Special Advising Topics

    If you are seeking an appointment to discuss your disqualification, reinstatement, return to SJSU, major academic notice, COMM course transfer and equivalencies (including study abroad courses), COMM major/minor substitutions, or need international student ISSS paperwork signed, please email Dr. Morrison to schedule an appointment.

• Important Registration Dates

  • Spring 2024

    May 13th: Last Day of Instruction; Last Day to Complete Coursework for "Incomplete Grades"

    Summer 2024

    April 5th: Enrollment Appointments Viewable on MySJSU

    April 10th: Advance Registration for all matriculated students begins

    May 25th: Payment Due Date for Registration from 4/10 - 5/22

    May 29th: Advanced Registration ends

    May 30th to June 2: Registration is closed

    June 3rd: First Day of Instruction; Registration with a permission number

    June 4th: Last day to drop class for 100% refund

    June 5th: Last day to Drop without "W" grade, 75% refund

    June 6th: Drop class with "W" grade, MUST use Course Drop/Withdrawal Petition, No refund

    Fall 2024

    April 16th: Enrollment Appointments Viewable on MySJSU

    April 23rd: Advance Registration for Continuing Students begins (ends Wednesday, Aug. 18); Enrollment Unit Cap: 17

    June 24th: Enrollment Cap increased to 19 units for Graduating Seniors who applied for graduation by 3/22/24

    July 1st: Enrollment Cap increased to 19 units for Continuing Undergraduate Students in Good Standing; Excess Units Petition available with the Office of the Registrar

    See the following calendars for additonal dates:

    Semester Registration Calendars

    Summer Calendar or Winter Calendar

• Learn about the COMM Major & Minors
  • 1. Review our B.A. in Comm Studies and our Minor in Comm Studies which summarizes our program requirements.
    2. Read COMM course descriptions and review the COMM major and minor requirements by catalog year in the SJSU online academic catalog.
    3. Scroll through this COMM Advising page for important information on completing your degree.
• Change Your Major to COMM

  • To change your major to Communication Studies, follow these steps:

    1. First, maintain an overall/SJSU GPA of 2.0 or higher.
    2. Next, complete 6-8 units of COMM classes with a 2.0 GPA or higher. 
    3. If you are a lower-division student, [you have fewer than 60 UE (units earned)], then complete 6-8 units of lower-division COMM courses, which are numbered 1-99 (i.e., COMM 10, COMM 20, COMM 74, etc.). Be sure to earn a 2.0 or higher in these classes while maintaining 2.0 GPAs.
    4. If you are an upper-division student, [you have 60 or more UE (units earned)], then complete 6-8 units of upper-division COMM courses, which are numbered 100-199 (i.e., COMM 100W, COMM 174, COMM 157SL, etc.). Be sure to earn a 2.0 or higher in these classes while maintaining 2.0 GPAs.
    5. Are you not sure how many UEs you have? Log into MySJSU and view your unofficial transcript for this information.
    6. Finally, after you have completed all of the steps above, email or meet with a COMM advisor through Spartan Connect. Your advisor will verify that you've met all of these requirements and then complete your change of major to COMM.
• COMM Transfer Students

  • Future Transfer? You can learn more about applying to SJSU from our Transfer Admissions or meet with a Pre-Admissions Counselor.

    Already Accepted? Congratulations! You can learn about the COMM major and what to enroll in for your first semester by reviewing our COMM Transfer Day Orientation slides.

    Please visit Student Experience for Transfers (SET) for more information about your transfer orientation. We also recommend you review the following tutorials and resources:

    Registration Basics Page

    MyProgress

    Transfer Credits

    Application and Platforms for SJSU Students

• COMM 198 Applied Activity Requirement

  • All COMM majors must complete the 2-unit Applied Activity requirement. This requirement is completed over two semesters (1-unit per semester) except for COMM 157SL or Study Aboard to Berlin.

    Each Applied Activity is coordinated by a different department program and faculty member, and each one has its own application process. Please carefully review our Applied Activity page for a list of our program options and how to apply.

    You may not self-enroll in COMM 198 courses. You will need to apply to a program. You will receive a permission number to enroll in COMM 198 once admitted to a program.

• Track Your Degree Requirements

  • All COMM majors and minors should use the following tools to regularly track their progress. 

    Available online 24/7, these are the same tools that our COMM Advisors use during their advising sessions with you.

    MyProgress

    MyProgress is a powerful online advising tool that allows you to check your progress toward all of your degree requirements, including GE, SJSU Studies, GPA, major, minor, and much more. If you would like more information on how to use MyProgress, you can visit the MyProgress for Students page. 

    MyPlanner

    MyPlanner is an interactive online tool that undergraduate students can use to map their entire academic path to graduation. For detailed information on how to use this resource, visit the MyPlanner page.

    MyPlanner has some limitations; for example, it does not consider that some courses can be substituted or double-counted, so be sure to validate your changes on MyPlanner with an advisor. 

    MyRoadMap

    MyRoadMap is a helpful tool for planning out what classes to take and when. It shows you a generalized 2-year (for transfer students) or 4-year (for frosh) plan toward your degree, with all the required courses for your major as well as their sequence. For detailed information on how to use this resource, visit the MyRoadMaps page.

• Apply for Graduation

  • All COMM majors can apply for graduation through MySJSU - it's quick and easy to do.

    Please review your MyProgress for your graduation eligibility and our COMM Graduating Seniors page for an application tutorial and to learn more about your upcoming commencement ceremony.

• Change Your Graduation Date

  • Need to change your graduation date? No problem - it's quick and easy!

    Please follow these steps to change your graduation date:

    1. Complete the CoSS Grad Date Change Form.
    2. Type in your name and email address.
    3. Type in the name and email address of your major advisor and Graduation Evaluator.
    4. Click the Begin Signing button at the bottom of the form.
    5. Once you have completed and signed the form, it will be routed to the other signees for review and processing.
    6. For more details, look over SJSU Graduation Date Changes page.

Your COMM Advising Team