ADVISING OVERVIEW
Advisors can make a large university seem less formidable. Come in at least once a semester to review your progress, check requirements, and plan for next semester. Academic advising is available to current and prospective undergraduate and graduate students in the Sandra Rosenbaum School of Social Work. To make an appointment with an advisor, see the advising appointments tab below.
We provide advising to all social work and social welfare undergraduates and all Master’s level students. Individual faculty provide advising to all PhD students, first through a temporary advisor when a doctoral student enters the program, and then through a permanent advisor or Major Professor who also serves as the Chair of the student’s dissertation committee.
STUDENT RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
All Social Work students should be aware of their rights and responsibilities. Make sure to review the MSW & BSW Student Rights and Responsibilities for details.
ADVISING COMPACT
The University holds advisors and students accountable to the following responsibilities as part of an advising compact. Below are the general guidelines – select a link above for more program-specific advising information.
STUDENTS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR:
- Knowing the requirements of your particular academic program, selecting courses that meet those requirements in an appropriate time frame, and monitoring progress towards graduation
- Consulting with the appropriate advisor to handle questions and concerns
- Scheduling and keeping academic advising appointments in a timely manner
- Being prepared for advising appointments (for example: bring a transcript, a DARS (if you are an undergraduate student); come prepared with a list of questions or concerns; have a tentative schedule of classes in mind, and/or come prepared to discuss interests / goals with the advisor)
ADVISORS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR:
- Assisting students to clarify their values, goals, and academic potential
- Providing information about educational options, requirements, policies, & procedures
- Helping students plan educational programs consistent with the requirements of their degree program and with their own goals, interests, and abilities
- Assisting students in the continual monitoring and evaluation of their educational progress
- Helping students to locate and integrate the many resources of the University to meet their unique needs and aspirations
CAREER ADVISING
Career Advising is formally provided by SuccessWorks (formerly Career Services in the College of Letters & Science). To make an appointment with a College of Letters & Sciences career advisor, please visit this page.
CURRENT STUDENTS
To schedule an advising appointment, use Starfish. We recommend adding the Starfish widget to your MyUW dashboard:
- Log in to MyUW
- Use the Search in MyUW to search for “Starfish”
- Add it to you dashboard
Within Starfish, you can search for an advisor (names below) and find an available date and time.
For social welfare majors, BSW and Full-Time MSW Program students:
- Belinda Velazquez (Summer and Academic Year)
- Anthony Lueck (Academic Year only)
For Part-Time MSW Program students:
- Anna Gorman
More help on using Starfish can be found at Starfish Student Resources.
Prospective Students interested in the Full-Time or Part-Time MSW Program
- Sign up for a Group Information Session!
- Email admissions-ft-msw@socwork.wisc.edu to discuss questions about our program and/or applications to our programs.
Advisors work with undergraduate students to select their major, assist in interpreting regulations and requirements, and provide guidance about graduate programs and career opportunities.
UNDERGRADUATE ADVISING COMPACT
Mutual respect should govern the interactions between advisors and students. Students and advisors have advising responsibilities to prepare for, actively participate in, and take appropriate action following advising sessions.
STUDENTS:
- It is the student’s responsibility to take advantage of advising services and associated resources. The Degree Audit Reporting System (DARS) is part of UW-Madison’s commitment to academic advising. A DARS report shows which requirements have already been completed and which remain unsatisfied.
- Students are responsible for reviewing their DARS on a regular basis. It is the student’s responsibility to make an appointment with an advisor to clarify any questions or concerns about a DARS report. Students must meet with an advisor in person in order to declare their major in Social Welfare and discuss their options, if considering applying to the BSW program.
ADVISORS:
- Advising information provided to students must be accurate, accessible, and timely. DARS is not intended to replace students’ contact with academic advisors. In the advising meeting, a quick and thorough analysis of the DARS report allows more time during the appointment to discuss course options, research opportunities, plans for graduate school, or issues of personal interest or concern to students.
SOCIAL WORK ADVISORS:
- assist undergraduate students to formally declare the undergraduate Social Welfare major or BSW program;
- integrate and interpret the rules and regulations of the College of Letters and Science and the major;
- help students identify appropriate courses both in and out of the School;
- help students plan their schedules and organize their programs of study to meet L&S requirements and the School’s requirements for the undergraduate major or BSW program;
- work with faculty to identify appropriate transfer credits for undergraduates;
- serve as intermediaries between undergraduates and the L&S Deans in the Student Academic Affairs Office to negotiate possible exceptions to College requirements;
- link students with relevant faculty members for independent study projects;
- provide students information on career options and resources, and link them to appropriate faculty for additional professional advisement, as appropriate.
HELPFUL ADVISING DOCUMENTS
Advisors work with graduate students to select their specialization, assist in interpreting regulations and requirements, and provide guidance about career opportunities. Please review the Advising Compact before your appointment.
MSW ADVISING COMPACT
Mutual respect should govern the interactions between advisors and students. Students and advisors have advising responsibilities to prepare for, actively participate in, and take appropriate action following advising sessions.
STUDENTS
- It is the student’s responsibility to take advantage of advising services and associated resources.
- Students are responsible for understanding the requirements of the degree program and returning various program forms by the deadlines.
- Students are responsible for knowing the rules of the Graduate School that govern master’s-level graduate students.
ADVISORS
Advising information provided to students must be accurate, accessible, and timely.
SOCIAL WORK ADVISORS
- integrate and interpret the rules and regulations of the Graduate School and MSW program;
- help students identify appropriate courses both in and out of the School;
- help students plan their schedules and organize their programs of study;
- serve as intermediaries between the Graduate School and MSW students to negotiate possible exceptions to Grad School requirements, course load requirements, and dual or joint degree planning, when appropriate;
- link students with relevant faculty members for independent study projects;
- provide students with information about job opportunities and career options, and link students with appropriate faculty for additional professional advisement.
HELPFUL ADVISING DOCUMENTS
The Student Resources section contains links to all of our important documents for the MSW Programs and Field Education, as well as the Student Rights & Responsibilities, Grading Policies, and more!
The PhD program uses a mentoring model of advising in which, first, the temporary advisor and, then, the major professor work closely with students to build their academic program leading to the doctoral degree. Faculty advisors will assist students to develop a substantive knowledge base and a research base in their chosen field of study.
TEMPORARY ADVISOR
After acceptance into the program, each PhD student is assigned a temporary faculty advisor whose research interests correspond broadly with the student’s interests. The temporary advisor assists students with selection of required and elective courses for the first year of the program. The advisor also counsels students on research and curricular issues as they explore and refine their research area and select a major professor. Incoming PhD students are provided with information about their assigned temporary advisor in their acceptance letter into the program.
MAJOR PROFESSOR / PERMANENT ADVISOR
Students are required to select a major professor by the end of the fall semester of their second year in the doctoral program. The major professor becomes the student’s permanent advisor and serves as the chair of the preliminary exam and dissertation committees. Major professors make important contributions to the student’s learning process and make critical decisions about the acceptability of the student’s proposed research and the quality of the student’s work.
Major Professors:
- help select appropriate elective courses and required course options in the Sandra Rosenbaum School of Social Work and in other departments on campus
- help identify faculty within the School and from other departments who could serve on the preliminary and dissertation committees