The CNMS Advising Team coordinates academic support and advising for the following majors: Biology (B.A. and B.S.); Bioinformatics; Biological Education; Biochemistry; Chemistry; Chemistry Education; Physics; and Physics Education. Advising contact information for all other majors on campus (including Mathematics, Statistics, & Translational Life Science Technology) can be found here.
FOR GENERAL QUESTIONS PLEASE EMAIL : CNMSAdvising@umbc.edu
This is a joint email address that is shared with all professional CNMS Advisors. Response times can range from 24-48 business hours based on demand. Questions and requests will be routed to the appropriate staff member for response. Be sure to email from an UMBC email address and include a Campus ID in all university communications.
Be sure to follow the CNMS Advising myUMBC Group page as well as our Instagram account (@cnmsadvising) for updated messaging, events, and advising support.
What Is Academic Advising?
Academic Advising serves a critical role in a student’s long term academic and professional success. Through its holistic approach to a student’s wellbeing it encourages self-reflection and growth in matters both in and out the classroom. At its core, academic advising is designed to be the center of a student’s support system beginning from orientation and extending through graduation and beyond.
At UMBC, meeting with an Academic Advisor is a mandatory requirement every semester that must be completed prior to course registration. Natural Science students can expect to meet with a member of the professional CNMS Advising Team up until they have earned 30 credits and/or completed their first semester if they a new transfer student. Physics students can expect to meet with a member of the CNMS Advising Team until they have successfully completed PHYS 121 & 122. After meeting this threshold, student transition permanently to a faculty member in their field for advising support. Updated advisor assignments are released every semester around October or March (respectively).
- Coordinate Advising Assignments
- Provide Registration Clearance
- Suggest Course Recommendations
- Address Registration Concerns
- Assist with Graduation Planning
- Explore CNMS Major Options
- Submit Referrals to Campus Resources and Outreach Initiatives
- Monitor Early Academic Alerts (EAA)
- Assist with Policy Education and Navigation
- Provide STEM-Specific Academic Intervention
- Offer STEM Accountability & Study Technique Meetings
- Design Time Management Plans
- Address Concerns with Spaced-Learning, Flipped Classroom, and/or Science Learning
- Assist with High School to College Transition
- Refer to Academic Resources on Campus
- Help with Test Preparation and Strategies
- Host Academic Skills Workshops, STEM Study Hall Sessions, & Study Group Socials
Advising appointment procedures differ based on a student’s status. Please review the options below for more information.
- Advising assignments can be found here alongside contact instructions. ** Newly or recently declared Natural Science majors without an assigned advisor should email CNMSAdvising@umbc.edu for support.
- Students who were assigned to CNMS Advising Staff can follow up with that advisor until new advising assignments are made prior to the advanced registration period (March/October).
- Students assigned to faculty advisors will want to reach out to them directly (e-mails preferred) for their advising procedures.
- All incoming students (freshmen and transfer) need to sign up for New Student Orientation Day ASAP. You will have the opportunity to talk with the advising staff, ask questions, review your transfer coursework (if applicable), and register for classes as a part of that experience. Please visit our Admitted Students webpage for additional information and be on the lookout for email communication from the CNMS Advising Office in the week or so leading up to your scheduled Orientation session.
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Student Responsibility
As a matter of UMBC policy and procedure, students are responsible for managing their academic careers. They are expected to familiarize themselves with resources such as the undergraduate catalog and the degree audit and to remain informed of all published degree requirements and academic calendar dates. Failure to do so does not provide a basis for exceptions to academic requirements or policies.
Although students receive guidance from academic and faculty advisors, students must assume full responsibility for completing published degree requirements.
Students must also communicate with the university about academic, financial, and other essential matters. As e-mail is the university’s primary medium of official communication with students, students are responsible for reading official messages sent to their UMBC e-mail addresses.
Students must also maintain their current postal address and telephone number in the UMBC Directory since certain important messages will be sent via U.S. mail.