Academic Advising

General Departmental 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. 

• 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.

• Late Adds:  Late add requests are reviewed and approved only until Friday of Week 3. They require instructor approval and are considered only in sections with available seats. Requests for late adds past Week 3 will be reviewed only in cases involving extenuating circumstances (such as accidental drops, approved section changes, etc.), and they require instructor and vice-chair review. This approval can be granted by the instructor by giving approval through the Enrollment Authorization System (EASy).

Grade and Major Policies:

• 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). 

• 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.

• Prerequisites: Check Courses sections of the UC San Diego General Catalog for the prerequisites to all listed courses.

• Substitutions and Exceptions: Permissible only by approved petition to the department. Please see the Petition page on how to request specfic waivers.

• Residence Requirements At least 60 percent of the upper-division courses in the major must be taken while in residence at UC San Diego.

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 via the VAC requesting an appointment and provide detailed context of what you'd like to discuss (quarter-by-quarter planning, petitions/exceptions to the major, study abroad, etc.), and you will recieve a booking link to set up a 30-minute appointment (remotely or in-person).

Appointments should be used to discuss more in-depth questions, career and major exploration, and long-term academic (quarter-by-quarter) planning.

Requesting a Double Major

There are procedures that must be followed when applying to double major, and there is a relatively short window of time in a student’s progression of coursework during which declaring a double major at UC San Diego is normally permitted. When you double major, you complete all requirements for two UC San Diego undergraduate majors. 

The A&A department follow campus policity, and you must Petition to have a double major considered by the A&A Department. If you are intersted in completing a double major please follow the instructions on the University's How to Declare A Double Major page thoroughly, as well as see the A&A Petition page under University Exceptions.

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.