How
do I choose an
advisor?
How can I find out who my advisor is?
Do
I have to meet with my advisor?
How do I make an
advising appointment?
What
is the function of the catalog other than to determine my program and
degree requirements and to find the course descriptions?
What should I do if I'm not
doing well in my college biology class?
Who should I contact with questions
about General Education?
Do Pre-Professional students have
to have the Pre-Professional advisor
as their academic advisor?
If I want to be a
Physician Assistant
(or have a career in the health profession) should I switch my major to
Health Sciences?
Does
the biology department offer credit for internships on voluntary
mentoring?
What
can I do with a Biology or
Biotechnology degree?
Should
I major in biology if I want to go to medical (or another
professional) school?
How can I get more
information about the pre-medical or other pre-professional programs?
If your question isn't here, please write
to Jon
Monroe.
How do I choose an
advisor?
When you come to JMU
you will be assigned a freshman or transfer advisor. After one
semester you will usually be assigned an academic advisor based in part
on your
career interests. If you ever want to switch advisors simply go
to the Biology office in Burruss 242 and ask for a different
advisor.
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How can I find out who my advisor is?
You can find out who
your advisor is using e-campus.
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Do I have to meet with my advisor?
The only absolute requirements with respect to
your BIO advisor is that you obtain signatures for course
substitutions, certain drop/add actions, and your application for
graduation. However, you will gain more if you periodically make
appointments and talk about courses that you want to take, career
paths, and other aspects about your academic career. Your advisor
can help you avoid making academic mistakes but
they can?t fix them after the fact - you are the person responsible for
your academic career decisions.
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How do I make an
advising appointment?
All biology professors
have office hours so you can just stop in, or you can email or phone to
make an
appointment. It will usually facilitate the process if you give a
professor a list of several days and times that you can schedule an
appointment in the initial e-mail. That person will then let you
know what will work best. All contact information is on our
website under "People".
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What is the function of the catalog other than to determine my program
and degree requirements and to find the course descriptions?
The University Catalog
is your official contract with JMU. There are many procedural
details in the first fifty or so pages that can have a major impact if
they end up pertaining to you. Spend a half hour or so
checking over the topics so that you know where to find them if you
need them. Remember, not being aware of these details will not
make them go away. Missing an important point can mean an extra
semester or year in Harrisonburg.
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What should I do if
I'm not doing well in my college biology class?
The first thing to do
if your performance in any class is not up to your expectations is to
make an appointment to discuss how you are doing with your
instructor. Question your
preparation for the class and how much time you are investing in
it. Unless you are naturally brilliant and have a photographic
memory, you will usually need to work very hard to do well in any
college class. If your preparation is adequate and you have
been investing the necessary time, then the problem is possibly how you
are spending that time and if so there are three ways to get help: 1)
speak with your instructor, 2) speak with your advisor, or 3) check out
at the resources available to you through Career and Academic
Planning.
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Who should I contact with questions about General Education?
First, read about the requirements on the GenEd
website. If that does not answer your questions,
contact your
biology advisor. If your advisor is not able to answer the
question, contact the appropriate cluster coordinator.
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Do Pre-Professional
students have to have the Pre-Professional advisor as their academic
advisor?
No. The
pre-professional programs are not major or minors so you must have an
academic advisor from your major. The pre-professional advisors
are there to assist you and the academic advisors.
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If I want to be a
Physician Assistant (or have a career in the health profession) should
I switch my major to Health Sciences?
We suggest that you
choose a major that you enjoy the most, not the one that you think will
get you into a particular professional program. That way, you are
more likely to do well, and it keeps more career doors open for you
should you change your mind.
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Does the biology department offer credit for internships on voluntary
mentoring?
At the present, it is
not possible to obtain academic credit for these experiences.
However, we encourage BIO majors to seek applied experience. Not
only does this enrich your resume, but it is also a good way to
investigate career pathways.
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What can I do with a Biology or
Biotechnology degree?
Because these degrees
allow you to
develop problem solving, writing, and thinking skills, they will
prepare you for a wide variety of careers in or out of biology!
For a glance at
what JMU graduates are presently doing with their biology degrees
please look at the Alumni News page. Career
information and links to
career pages are maintained at the JMU office of Career and Academic
Planning.
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Should I major in biology if I want to go to medical (or another
professional) school?
We suggest that you
choose a major that you enjoy the most and not the one that you think
will get you into medical school. That way, you are more likely
to do well, and it keeps more career doors open for you should you
eventually decide that you don’t want to go to medical school.
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How can I get more
information about the pre-medical or other pre-professional programs?
See the links on the Institute for Innovation in Health and
Human Services site or in the undergraduate catalog under Interdisciplenary Programs /
Pre-Professional health Programs.
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