Division of Biology and Medicine
Biology Undergraduate Education

Advising & Declarations

The Academic Advisors in the Office of Biology Undergraduate Education are available to advise and assist students in all of the Biology concentrations – from undeclared first-year students to seniors searching for research opportunities.

Advising & Declarations Overview

The Academic Advisors in the Office of Biology Undergraduate Education are available to advise and assist students in all of the Biology concentrations – from undeclared first-year students to seniors searching for research opportunities.

Students interested in concentrating in Applied Mathematics-Biology, Biochemistry, Biophysics, Computational Biology, Biomedical Engineering or Neuroscience should contact the faculty advisors listed with those specific concentrations at the Concentrations page.

Declaring Concentration in the Sophomore Year

How to Schedule an Advising Appointment

Please note that a pre-planning meeting is required to declare a Biology AB, ScB, or Health & Human Biology concentration. Students are able to schedule their own appointments with a BUE Academic Advisor. Here is how:

  1. Click on the Advising Calendar link. Look for openings with an Academic Advisor on the date and time you hope to meet. Open appointments can be selected by clicking on the 30min block.
  2. Please provide your name and the general purpose of the meeting

Students who have difficulty can email the BUE Office with any questions.

Here is a list of our Academic Advisors for Biology AB, ScB, and Health & Human Biology: 

  • Toni-Marie Achilli 
  • Jody Hall 
  • Andrea Sobieraj 
  • Sarah Taylor

Schedule a pre-planning meeting for Biology AB, ScB, or Health & Human Biology via the BUE advising calendar. Pre-planning meetings begin in October.

Pre-planning meetings are an opportunity for students to discuss their interests in and outside of the classroom, and to learn more about opportunities in Biology. Pre-planning also provides an opportunity for Dean Achilli and the Academic Advisors to identify the best concentration advisor for a student.

The Concentration Advisor

After pre-planning, students are assigned a concentration advisor. Students are expected to make an appointment with the advisor early to draft a declaration plan for the concentration. Students should recognize that the declaration is a draft plan subject to revision with the concentration advisor's approval.

The best advising relationships happen when communication is regular and forthright. Students should take the initiative to meet with their concentration advisor each semester and consistently keep their ASK declaration plan up to date. Each time a student uploads a course change to ASK, it will notify the advisor. The advisor then has the ability to ensure that course changes are satisfying the concentration plan. 

Biology Department Undergraduate Group (DUG)

Biology works with the Dean of the College to support Departmental Undergraduate Groups (DUGs). Biology DUGs are concentrators who meet and plan programming to foster a community of students interested in Biology. The current DUG leaders can be found on our People page. DUGs are a great resource for meeting and interacting with peers in a collaborative and advising capacity.

Departmental Undergraduate Groups

Peer Advising

Peer advisors provide undergraduate students in Biology with informal advice on concentrations, academics, and more.