Academic Advising
A&A Advisors
The Student Affair Advisors are available to assist you with astronomy & astrophysics major and minor requirements, degree audits, academic policies and procedures, research information, course planning, and other astrophysics-programmatic questions. We're also here to connect you to a variety of campus facilities & resources such as the career center, community centers, disability services, teaching and learning commons, study abroad, and more.
Prospective Students
Applicable to non-UCSD students.
If you are not a UC San Diego student, you may email inquiries to astro-advising@ucsd.edu. We recommend learning more about the A&A undergraduate program via the webpage, as well as attending orientation events, please see Incoming Students for more information.
Current UC San Diego Students
Communication
For current UC San Diego students, please use the Virtual Advising Center (VAC) as your primary comminication method for inquiries. The VAC is a great way to contact an Student Affairs' advisor for quick questions and general check-ins for academic progress. Questions submitted via VAC typically receive a response within 1-3 business days. Please do not email us questions, all inquiries must be submitted and answered through the VAC.
Schedule an Appointment
If you would like to schedule an advising appointment with an A&A Student Affair's advisor, please send a message tvia the VAC to set up an appointment. Zoom appointments should be used to discuss more in-depth questions; career and major exploration and long-term planning. Advisors will work with students to schedule a Zoom meeting during a time when they and the student are both available.
Course Planning
Course Planning
General & Departmental Policies
General policies:
All courses follow the UC San Diego Academic Regulation & Policies. We recommend all students familarize themselves with the UC San Diego grading policies. Each quarter you should be aware of the drop/add/withdrawal deadlines, see Enrollment Calendar.
Departmental major policies:
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P/NP Grading Option: Not allowed for any courses applied to the major (the exceptions are courses completed via AP/IB/A-Level and a single four-unit ASTR 199/199H that may only be applied as an upper-division restricted elective).
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Grades and GPA: A grade point average of 2.0 or higher in the upper-division major program is required for graduation. Students must receive a grade of C– or better in any course to be counted toward fulfillment of the major requirements.
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Waitlists: Classes can be wait-listed until 4:30 p.m. on Thursday of the 2nd full week of classes. You can use WebReg to join a waitlist for a course of section.
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Prerequisites: Check Courses sections of the UC San Diego General Catalog for the prerequisites to all listed courses.
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Residence Requirements At least 60 percent of the upper-division courses in the major must be taken while in residence at UC San Diego.
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Substitutions and Exceptions: Permissible only by approved petition to the department. Please see the Petition page on how to request specfic waivers.
- For a full list of policies and degree requirements, see A&A in catalog.