Advising

If you are interested in changing your primary major into Sociology as a BA or BS, or would like to add either an additional major or second degree, please schedule an appointment with the Sociology advisor on student.msu.edu.

If you are currently a major within the Sociology department and are looking to change your major to something outside of the Sociology department, please make an appointment with an advisor for the major you plan to change into. The advisor for your new major can review degree requirements and help with the major change.

All students in the College of Social Science are required to complete the breadth requirement, which may be accomplished with a minor. To declare the Sociology minor, or the Environmental Social Science minor, or a College of Social Science Interdisciplinary minor, please contact the SOC advisor via email, or schedule an advising appointment. The SOC  advisor can then submit a request for your minor to be added. Advising appointments are not required to declare either SOC minor or a College of Social Science Interdisciplinary minor.

If you would like to add a minor outside of the one’s mentioned, please contact the advisor for that specific minor. The appropriate advisor can provide you with any required steps to get the additional minor added.

If you are looking to get an override into a SOC class, please email the instructor of the course requesting the override. If the instructor approves, please forward that approval email to the SOC advisor, and the advisor can add you into the course. Permission for overrides is determined by the instructor, not by the advisor. The SOC Advisor is not able to add students into classes without instructor permission, and also cannot add students into classes outside of the SOC Department.

If you are looking to get an override into a non-SOC course, please visit that department’s website first, as some departments have override request forms on their website. For example, ISS, IAH, ISB, and ISP all have specific override email addresses and/or override forms to complete a request. If you do not find an override policy on the website, contact the instructor of the course or the department offering the course for permission.

All students within the College of Social Science must complete an experiential learning requirement. The experiential learning requirement may be satisfied either within or outside the requirements of the major. The requirement may be met by completing a 3+ credit experiential learning course, approved by the College of Social Science Committee on Curriculum and Academic Policy or its designee. A list of approved courses is maintained by the College of Social Science on their website. Many students complete this requirement by successfully completing a study abroad, a study away, an internship, or by conducting research with a faculty member.

Many SOC students choose to complete the experiential learning requirement by enrolling in SOC 480, SOC 497 or SOC 498. More information about the SOC 497 or 498 courses can be found on our experiential learning page. SOC 496 is not allowed to count for Experiential Learning. 

There are multiple points in a semester when students can drop a class. Depending on when you are looking to drop a course will determine the parameters attached with dropping the class. A complete list of dates for refunds, billing, dropping classes, and more can be found on the MSU Academic Calendar.

Open/Add Period

During the first week of a semester, students are able to drop and add classes on their own. Many students use the first week of classes to make shifts in their schedule, add classes that have recently opened, and change days and times of classes. After the first week of a semester has ended, students are no longer able to add classes to their schedule but can still drop classes if interested.

Drop Class with Refund

There are two times after the open/add period ends, when students can drop classes. The first is typically in the first 3 weeks of a semester. At this time, students are able to drop classes for a full refund.

Drop with No Grade Reported

Students can still drop classes with no grade reported until the middle of a semester but are not refunded for classes if they drop a class and fall out of the flat rate tuition (flat rate tuition covers 12-18 credits).

After the middle of the semester, if a student is interested in dropping a class, there are a couple of options available.

Dean's Drop

First, a student can request a Dean’s Drop through the College of Social Science. A student may drop a course or withdraw after the middle of the term of instruction only to correct errors in the enrollment or because of events of catastrophic impact, such as serious personal illness. If the student is passing the course, or there is no basis for assignment of a grade at the time of the drop, a W grade will be assigned. If failing, a 0.0 (or N in a P-N graded course) will be assigned. The course will remain on the student’s academic record.

Please note submitting a request for a Dean’s Drop is not guaranteed to be approved, it is a case-by-case basis. To start the Dean’s Drop process, please contact the College of Social Science Student Affairs Office at 517-355-6676.

Medical Withdrawal

To initiate a late drop or withdrawal, the student must obtain approval from the office of the associate dean of their college. If a student is looking to withdraw from all classes in a semester, students can apply for a medical withdrawal through the Office of Student Support and Accountability.

Students apply for graduation through student.msu.edu. Once logged in, click on the “Academic Progress” tile. On the left hand side, towards the bottom, students should see a tab titled “Graduation.” Selecting that tile will then allow students to select the semester in which they plan to graduate, and complete the graduation application.

Students also need to register to participate (walk) at the graduation or Commencement ceremony. There are two graduation ceremonies- one in December for fall graduates, and one in May for spring and summer graduates. Students should plan to register and walk at the ceremony for the semester in which they plan to complete requirements. More information about graduation can be found on the MSU Commencement website. Questions about graduation, should be directed to the MSU Commencement Office.

If you are interested in taking a class that is full, consider adding yourself to the waitlist for that course. By joining the waitlist, students are then automatically to that course from the waitlist as seats open. You can find more information on adding yourself to the waitlist for classes and finding your position on the waitlist on the Waitlist Quick Guide.

Some important reminders about the waitlist:

• Placing yourself on the waitlist does not guarantee enrollment
• It is the student’s responsibility to keep track of their waitlist position, as the system does not notify students when they become enrolled, are denied entry or when their position changes.
• Enrollment status (full-time vs. part-time) is determined only by enrolled credits, not wait listed credits.
• No enrollments will occur from the waitlist any later than the fifth day of class.
• If a student has a time conflict, it will move to the next person on the waitlist to fill the vacant seat.