Frequently Asked Questions

Students can schedule an appointment (virtual or in person) Monday-Thursday or sign in for a virtual drop-in Monday-Friday.

Standard semester hours are morning sign-ins from 8:30-11:30 am EST and afternoon sign-ins from 1:00-2:30 pm EST (MF) or 1:00-3:30 pm EST (TWR).

In person appointments are held in advising offices in in Bellamy Building suites 101, 105, or 106.

Scheduling appointments is all done conveniently through the Campus Connect advising portal.

For the Spring 2024 semester, all virtual drop-ins will be conducted via moderated Zoom call.

1. Link: https://fsu.zoom.us/j/91412365146
2. Students may sign in to speak with an advisor during the hours listed above.
3. Students must be signed into Zoom through their FSU account to access the call. See the authentication section below if having issues with logging in.
4. Wait times before being admitted to the main Zoom call are dependent on how many students are signed in / in line.

Note: Virtual drop-ins are available Monday-Friday on a first come basis. Students are seen in the order that they signed in as an advisor becomes available. There may be extended wait times or the sign in queue may exceed advisor capacity during peak advising periods.

Need detailed instructions on how to either schedule or sign in? Check out our how-to guide with step-by-step details including screenshots.

We recommend that students meet with an academic advisor once a semester.

1. Log in to Campus Connect with your FSUID (also accessed through my.fsu.edu or the MyFSU app)
2. Click on the “Reports” tab in the upper-left hand side of the screen.
3. Any advising notes and progress checks completed with an advisor are scanned and attached to the appointment summary for that date.

Most instructors and departments process late add requests and add slips electronically through email or Docusign.

1. Get instructor permission to add a course. You are more likely to get permission if Class Search shows there are open seats in a course.
2. If not done automatically by the instructor, forward permission to the academic coordinator or program specialist for the department that teaches the course. The instructor may assist with this – ask for their guidance on who to contact, if needed.
3. The academic department will submit an add form to the Registrar’s office for processing.
4. Do everything ASAP. Most instructors and departments will not add students to classes beyond the second week of a semester.

Note: COSSPP does not require dean’s office (Office of Academic Affairs) permission to late add a class for upper-division undergraduate students or graduate students in our college. Lower-division students (with Undergraduate Studies as their dean’s office) or students with a primary major in another college may be held to different requirements or policies.

Course lists for COSSPP undergraduate majors for the current registration periods are found on the course list page of this site.

The time period in which you can register for courses is known as your enrollment window.

Find your enrollment window by logging into your my.fsu.edu account, navigate to the “My Courses” section, and clicking on the “Future” tab. The “Enrollment opens” text displays with your enrollment window opens and you can begin registering for courses.

You can also find University-wide enrollment window information on the University Registrar’s registration guide page.

Undergraduate students may choose to add a second major to their degree or dual degree once they have been certified upper-division into their primary major. Students must be on track for the second major at the time that they add it. A minimum of 120 credit hours is required to complete a degree with a double major, just as with a single major.

Students choosing to declare a dual degree (pursuing two bachelor’s degrees at the same time) must complete all major requirements (including required minors) for both degrees with a minimum of 150 earned credit hours.

In adding either a double major or a dual degree, a student’s first step is to meet with an academic advisor in the major that they are adding. Advisors will review the student’s record, make sure they are on track of the major being added, and complete major change forms and any needed programs of study with the student.

Students who have already completed 90+ hours of credit must submit a plan of study completed with an advisor to the Academic Dean’s office of each respective major in order to have their petition considered for approval.

COSSPP approval of a double major or dual degree requires at minimum that a plan of study will not exceed a student’s four-year graduation window, place the student into excess credit, or require the student to complete more than 160 hours of credit.

We recommend you contact the COSSPP Career Liaison, Tyrone “TJ” Johnson, at tdjohnson2@fsu.edu for information about finding an internship.

The FSU Career Center’s Experience Recognition Program (ERP) offers students a way to get recognition for engaging in experiential learning such as an internship, research, creative, leadership, or significant community service engagement. Successfully completing ERP can also satisfy the undergraduate Formative Experience (FE) graduation requirement.

For questions about earning academic credit for your internship work, contact the academic program coordinator for your department. Each department coordinator can be found listed on the FSU advisor search.

The most important consideration when choosing a minor is that it aligns with your interests and goals. If you are unsure of which minor best reflects this, meet with an advisor to discuss some options. Remember though that COSSPP students are free to select from any of the minors offered at FSU – see the entire list and their requirements on the Academic Program Guide.

COSSPP students can declare their minor or concentration through our online declarations form. If your major is not in the College of Social Sciences and Public Policy, contact the academic advisor for your major for more information on how you should declare a minor.

Each minor program offered at FSU has it’s own specific course, grade, and/or other requirements.

Policies related to declaring and completing minors in COSSPP include:

General Policies on Minors

• Minor coursework cannot overlap with General Education or major coursework. General Education and/or major requirements take precedence over minor requirements and coursework will be credited in line with this policy.
• Major specific policies:
  • Interdisciplinary Social Sciences: a student cannot declare a minor in the same subject area or department in which they have declared concentrations.
  • International Affairs: a student may declare one concentration and cannot declare a minor in the same subject area or department in which they have declared their concentration.
  • Political Science: Public Administration minor cannot be used to meet graduation requirements.

Graduation Related Policies

• University policy: Neither minors nor concentrations are listed on diplomas or final transcripts.
• Optional minors not satisfied at the point of graduation clearance will be deleted from a student’s account.
• If a student’s degree program requires a minor for their major but the declared minor is incomplete or if a student has not officially declared a minor, the College reserves the right to change or declare a minor on a student’s account if doing so allows the student’s degree requirements to be satisfied by the change. An incomplete declared minor may not be used to delay a student’s graduation if the Dean’s office can certify their requirements using an alternative minor.
• The College reserves the right at the discretion of the Office of Academic Affairs to deny a minor or concentration declaration or change if it will otherwise contribute to increasing a student’s remaining graduation requirements.
• Additional COSSPP policies:
  • A single minor may be declared per degree.
  • A single minor per degree will be verified complete at the point of graduation.
  • COSSPP will not verify or provide certification of additional minors per degree at the point of or after clearing for graduation.

The number of courses or hours that a student enrolls in is up to each individual and should account for what course load you are comfortable with, the rigor of the courses in question, and outside considerations such as work or extracurriculars. Remember that full-time enrollment at FSU is 12 hours of credit in a Fall/Spring semester, and a student needs to complete an average of 30 hours of credit a year/15 hours a semester to stay on track to graduate in four years.

The excess credit policy is a State of Florida statute designed to encourage students to complete a baccalaureate degree as efficiently as possible. Information on excess credit, how it is defined, and what requirements you fall under can be found on the Registrar’s website.

Verify with the University Admissions office whether they have received copies of your score reports. If they have not, we recommend printing a copy of your score report and taking it in person to their office in UCA 2500.

When registering to take credit by exam or for other purposes, be sure to list the proper institutional reporting code for FSU:

• ACT: 0734
• SAT/GMAT/GRE/ TOEFL/CLEP/AP: 5219
• AICE/CEEB: 001489
• FL Bright Futures: 371

Graduation requirements that are part of the university’s Liberal Studies curriculums are listed/described on the Liberal Studies for the 21st Century website. If a student believes they completed coursework that satisfies a Liberal Studies requirement but was not automatically approved to do so, they may petition the Office of Academic Affairs. However, a petition is not a guarantee of approval, and the expectation of the University and the College is that student complete approved coursework to meet graduation requirements.

Satisfactory (“S”)/Unsatisfactory (“U”) grading is the term that FSU uses for what may also be called “pass/fail” grading.

S/U grading allows students to earn credit hours in a course that is otherwise letter-graded (receiving grades in the A-F ranges) without it impacting their GPA.

Courses cannot be used to satisfy graduation requirements other than total hours earned if taken on an S/U basis. This includes not being able to count towards any Liberal Studies, General Education, major, or minor requirements.

S/U grading requests are submitted through your myFSU Student Center account. Instructions on submitting a request are found on the University Registrar‘s website.

Only undergraduate courses may be swapped to S/U grading, and if approved, they do not satisfy any Liberal Studies, major, or minor requirements. Requests may be denied if courses are needed to complete any unsatisfied graduation requirements.

You must have a 2.5 FSU GPA or be in your first semester at FSU to request S/U grading.

The S/U petition deadline is the end of the seventh week of classes (prorated in Summer terms). Requests to change to S/U or to revert a previously approved course back to letter-graded after the deadline will be denied.

An incomplete grade (“I”) may be awarded if a student has completed most of the work in a course and is otherwise passing but is unable to complete the course for reasons beyond the student’s control.  If an incomplete grade is awarded, it will be posted on the student’s transcript until the final grade is resolved. If the student does not complete the work by the term the “I” grade expires, the default grade as determined by the instructor will be posted as the final grade to their academic record/transcript.

FSU will not award a student’s degree while there is a pending incomplete grade on their record.

Students who feel they are experiencing extenuating circumstances may contact their instructor to request an “I” grade, which is issued at the instructor’s discretion. The instructor may require – and we recommend – that the student and instructor together complete an Incomplete Grade Agreement outlining requirements remaining in the course and for completing necessary coursework.

A grade appeal is an opportunity for a student to appeal a final course grade under certain circumstances. Faculty judgment of students’ academic performance is inherent in the grading process and hence should not be overturned except when the student can show that the grade awarded represents a gross violation of the instructor’s own specified evaluation (grading) statement and therefore was awarded in an arbitrary, capricious, or discriminatory manner.

To start the grade appeals process, the student must first contact their instructor and discuss the grade circumstances with them within 15 class days of final grades being posted.

If the issue is not resolved through the process, the student must submit a statement and/or evidence justifying the grade appeal to the Department Chair or Director within 10 class days. Additional information can be found on the Office of Faculty Development website or students can contact the University undergraduate ombudsman.

You must apply to graduate in the semester in which you plan to complete your degree. Instructions on how to apply for graduation are found on the University Registrar’s website. The graduation application does not open prior to the sixth day of classes in a semester.

Undergraduate students must at minimum be on track to have 120 earned, unduplicated credit hours at the end of the term in which they are applying for the application to be active.

If you missed the open application period at the beginning of the semester, you must submit a late add to graduation request.

Important Note: Late Add to Graduation forms are completed via DocuSign. Once completed, signed, and submitted, they automatically route to the Office of Academic Affairs for review – there is no need to submit via separate emails.

Undergraduate students must meet with a COSSPP academic advisor (scheduled appointment or virtual drop-in). An advisor will complete an updated academic progress check with you to verify you are on track to graduate, and if you are, the advisor will initiate the Undergraduate Late Add to Graduation Form for you to complete, sign, and submit.

Graduate students should verify with their program director that they are on track to complete requirements that term and complete the Graduate Late Add to Graduation Form.

Submit the late add form to the Academic Affairs office for review and you will be copied on the email memo to the Registrar’s office asking that you be placed on the graduation list.

The University and College expectation for students is that they graduate within four years for incoming first year students or two years for incoming upper division/AA transfer students.

If you are on track to complete your graduation requirements before this time period ends, there are a variety of programs and opportunities available to you on campus to enrich your remaining time. A good resource to contact is the Graduation Planning & Strategies office.

A student’s official FSU transcript is the University’s verified record of academic progress and degree completion. Degrees typically “post” (are listed as complete on a transcript) approximately four weeks after the end of a semester. Degree posting date for the current semester can be found on the Registrar’s graduation important dates page.

The FSU diploma lists a student’s degree program. Undergraduate students who complete a double major will have the degree name associated with their primary major listed on their diploma. Note that major names are not listed on the diploma but are listed on a student’s transcript. Additional information may be found in the Academic Regulations and Procedures section of the University Bulletin, section “Second Majors and Academic Regulations” under “Academic Advisement and Registration Responsibility“.

Start thinking about your future now. For career advice or planning, we recommend contacting the FSU Career Center or the COSSPP Career Liaison, Tyrone “TJ” Johnson, to help start the process now.