Our department assigns political science upperclassmen students an individual faculty advisor.
Freshmen and sophomores are advised by our Academic Advisor Ms. Kate Sawaya.
If you are an upper-class major you will be assigned a faculty advisor by Dr. Leslie Baker, either in an individual session or in a group session.
Advising FAQ
Advising is an important time of the semester during which students meet with their faculty advisors to discuss classes for the upcoming semester as well as their overall academic plan.
Students can see the advisor they have been assigned to by checking their myState homepage and/or student record in Banner. In the event of a student not immediately seeing an assigned advisor the student should contact Dr. Baker or Ms. Sawaya.
About a week before advising, your advisor will contact you through your campus email to set up an appointment. You will be given several options of days and times to meet with your advisor.
A few days prior to your appointment, run a new CAPP report to see the progress you are making within the curriculum, and check the Master Class Schedule in Banner to see course offerings for the upcoming semester. With that information, put together a rough list of classes you plan to take the next semester. Although you will likely only enroll in five or six classes, plan to have a list of additional class options prepared as your “back up” choices. Your advisor will review your list with you and provide guidance on how to best proceed. Also, prepare any questions you have about your academic progress or related issues before your appointment to best maximize your time with your advisor.
All MSU students have access to the degree audit system CAPP (Curriculum, Advising, and Program Planning) in myState. CAPP helps students and advisors track progress toward graduation. It outlines all courses required for the chosen major and which courses have been completed or remain to be taken. The system also shows hours earned, GPAs, and transfer hours.
Login to myState by using your MSU netid and password. Click on the Banner tab. In the box labeled Registration you will find Register for Classes.
If a Political Science class you need to take is full before you register you will need to see if the instructor will allow you to be added to the course. If they approve you to be added to the class your advisor can sign an add/drop form.
Once students enroll in classes for the upcoming semester, they can make any changes they wish to through Banner for several weeks. Once the semester starts, students have until 5 p.m. on the fifth day of classes to drop and until 8 a.m. on the sixth day of classes to add. After that, students have until the mid-point of the semester to drop a class with a paper form that can be obtained in the main office (105 Bowen Hall). Dropping a class after the fifth day of classes through the mid-point of the semester will result in a “W” grade for the class and a $50 drop fee being assessed to the student’s account. After the mid-point of the semester, students can only withdraw from their schedule entirely. For official add/drop dates and deadlines, please see the university academic calendar.
Non-Political Science students who would like to change their major to Political Science should call the main office at 662.325.2711 or email Ms. Sawaya. Students who would like to change their major out of Political Science should first contact the department of the new major.
