X
Home Sociology Undergraduate Sociology Advising

Academic Advising in Sociology

To make an appointment with the undergraduate advisor, email: Kendra.murphy@memphis.edu. 

Academic advising at the University of Memphis is an on-going, intentional educational partnership dedicated to student academic success.  As your advisor, I care about your academic progress and want to help you reach your academic and career goals. You can count on me to give you accurate and complete information you need to be a successful student. You will get as much out of your advising relationship as you put into it. Meet with me regularly and be sure to use the information and skills you learn from your advising experience to make intelligent, informed decisions throughout your college career. If you experience academic difficulty, I can assist you in finding ways to become a more successful student and I can direct you to free, valuable resources on campus. The bottom line: I am here to guide you and teach you about your career choices, degree requirements, university policies and procedures and how to be a successful student.  You can find more information about advising at:  https://www.memphis.edu/advising/ 

Advising for Enrollment/Registration

Each semester, you will receive an email from me with the dates for academic advising for that semester. Typically, those dates will begin in March for summer and fall semester advising and in October for winter and spring semester advising. Your academic advising session can be done in-person or virtually via Teams. Please note that all advising times are Central Standard Time.  

If you choose an in-person session, you will come to my office (Clement 229A) at the time of your appointment.  Please go over the next term’s schedule and bring with you a list of classes you want to take in the coming semester. Together, we will review your enrolled and completed courses using a combination of UMDegree and your unofficial transcripts. We will discuss the courses you want to take and the order in which they should be taken, including courses for the General Education requirements, Bachelor of Science requirements, Sociology major, electives and any minor(s) or second major(s)/degree(s) you may have chosen.  Those students with second majors or degrees should also meet with the advisor for that degree program.  You will have time to explore any concerns or questions you have about your progress, courses, requirements, or other needs. Once we are clear about your choices, we will create your unofficial assessment and create or update your graduation plan, which I will email to you after your advising session. You will then be cleared to register for classes on your assigned registration date.

Virtual appointments are similar to in-person appointments in content. When you make your advising appointment via Navigate and choose Teams, the system will send you a confirmation that includes the Teams link.  Accessing the meeting from your laptop or desktop computer is preferable because we will be using screen sharing. This does not usually work well on a cell phone. As I am creating your paperwork, I will show and explain it to you via Teams. Just as in an in-person advising session, you will have time to clarify anything you are confused about and ask any questions.

In certain situations, such as a student being out of the country for study abroad and unable to access an internet connection sufficient to use Teams, email advising is possible. It would then be the student's responsibility to set up an appointment either in-person or via Teams as soon as they were able to do so. I do not do telephone advising.

Whether in-person or virtual, if this is your first advising session either as a new Sociology major or a transfer student, please select the “New Majors” appointment type when scheduling to allow for the extra time needed to review your transcripts.

Other Types of Advisement Appointments

In addition to your formal academic advising sessions, you can also set up meetings with me to discuss other topics!  When possible, please schedule these appointments outside of the normal academic advising times.

Please feel free to make any of the following types of advising appointments:

  • Informational – Are you considering majoring or minoring in Sociology, but want more information before you commit?  Make an appointment to discuss it!
  • Orientation – Are you new to the University of Memphis or new to the Sociology major?  Make an appointment to learn about our department, degree requirements, faculty and courses!
  • Academic advising and course planning for registration – Do you need to register for your next semester of classes?  These meetings are held every March and October as well as at other times for new majors.  Students should come to these meetings with a tentative schedule planned so we can discuss the classes they will take in the following semester.
  • Graduate school and career path – Do you want to discuss the requirements, benefits, drawbacks and otherwise explore your graduate school and/or career options?  Make an appointment!
  • Problem – Is something happening that is having a negative effect on your ability to do well?  This could be an academic problem, such as difficulty with a specific course, overall study skills or being placed on Academic Warning or Academic Probation.  It could also be a personal problem.  I can provide referrals for tutoring or counseling upon request.  Make an appointment!
  • Other – Is there something you want to ask about that doesn't neatly fit into one of the above categories?  Perhaps you're thinking about doing an internship, studying abroad or just want to check in on your current progress?  Make an appointment!