Academic Advising

All psychology majors will be assigned an advisor and then sent an email with the name and contact information of their advisors. Advisors answer questions about requirements, procedures for registration, and completion of the major. In addition, advisors discuss other issues with advisees including choice of courses, the structure and design of individuals’ majors, sources of help for various kinds of difficulties in the college community, long term career and educational plans, and opportunities for relevant research. The advising relationship is intended to enrich and personalize the experience of both faculty and students.

Students can view their advisor assignments under the Academic Advising section of the Student Link. If a student’s advisor takes a leave or sabbatical and is not available for advising during a particular semester, the student will be sent an email informing him or her of the new advisor’s name and contact information. Dr. Joanne Hebden Palfai, Director of Academic Affairs and Undergraduate Studies, (jpalfai@bu.edu), will send an email out to all majors well before the registration period each semester outlining the registration/advising process. Before scheduling an advising appointment, all new psychology majors (e.g., freshmen and transfer students) are required to attend a departmental orientation session conducted by Dr. Palfai. All new majors will be sent an email before the registration period with the dates and additional information on these sessions. 

Due to the current COVID-19 situation and the difficulty of scheduling in-person appointments, during each registration period for the 2020-2021 academic year, students will need to send an email to their advisors with a list of the specific courses for which they plan to register in the upcoming semester, along with a copy of their Degree Advice report (attached as a PDF) from the Student Link. Once the advisor has approved their course selections, the advisor will email the approved list of courses to psych@bu.edu, at which time the student will be sent their academic advising code.  During the rest of the school year, students must contact their advisors via email to schedule appointments.

Students who would like to change advisors should email psych@bu.edu. The availability of time in the advisors’ schedules is an important consideration in these assignments.