DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY - ACADEMIC ADVISING GUIDELINES

Welcome to academic advising in the Department of Psychology! The faculty look forward to assisting you in the navigation of your academic career. Remember, though, it is YOUR career; ultimately you are responsible for making the choices that will determine it. Your advisor is just that - someone who gives advice - he or she does not make decisions for you. Below is a checklist for you to use to see if you’ve met your responsibilities as they pertain to academic advising in the Department of Psychology:

$DO YOUR HOMEWORK:

Do you know what the degree requirements are? Refer to the following pages in the 2014-2015 IPFW Undergraduate Online Bulletin at

Requirements / Online Bulletin
General Education / Click on Part 2 on the left hand side
Arts and Sciences / Click on Part 4 (Colleges, Schools and Divisions) and then click on College of Arts & Sciences
Psychology Department / Click on Part 5 (Program Descriptions) and scroll down to Psychology

Have you visited the Advising & Registration Webpage for the Psychology Department (

Have you met the prerequisites for courses you plan to take?

Check with your advisor to be sure you are sequencing your courses appropriately.

Does any course you want to take overlap with another course? Please note:

  • You may choose one of the following but not both:
    PSY 36900: Development Across the Lifespan (3 credits)
    - OR -
    PSY 23500: Child Psychology (3 credits)
  • PSY 20100: Introduction to Statistics in Psychology (3 credits)

is required. You must take PSY 20100. If you took an overlapping statistics class before declaring a major in Psychology, it will take the place of PSY 20100.[i]

If your degree is governed by an IPFW Bulletin that is dated before Fall 2013, please be advised of the following:

  • Due to significant changes in the General Education program and number of credits required to graduate (124 credit hours required vs. 120 credit hours), many students on Bulletins prior to Fall 2013 find it is to their advantage to change to the current Bulletin. You can investigate this by doing a "What If" analysis in MyBlueprint and selecting the current Bulletin year. See your advisor (or the graduate assistant advisor) if you might fall into this category.
  • If you switch to the Fall 2014 Bulletin and you have already completed PSY 10000, you will not need to take PSY 14000. However, if you switch to the current Bulletin and have not yet taken PSY 10000, you must take PSY 14000. (This is the one exception to the policy that when you switch to a newer Bulletin you are responsible for all of the changes in the new Bulletin.)

$THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU WANT TO ACCOMPLISH DURING YOUR APPOINTMENT:

In addition to planning your next semester’s enrollment, do you have questions or concerns about career planning and/or graduate school? Have you accessed any existing resources for those kinds of information? Your advisor will be better able to help you if you have given some thought to what it is you want to know. Career/graduate school planning is a process and should not be a one-time discussion. Be sure to first visit the excellent links provided on our webpage. You may also contact Dr. David Young, our graduate/professional school advisor, at (260) 481-6394 or at .

$KEEP TRACK OF YOUR PROGRESS TOWARD GRADUATION:

Remember, this is your education and your future. Your advisor is there to assist you, but you must keep on top of how you’re doing. Regularly compare your records with those kept by your advisor and those available through myBLUEprint at

$BE A CONSIDERATE ADVISEE:

Plan ahead! Make your appointment as early as possible in the registration period; don’t wait until the last minute. You must schedule appointments with your advisor through AdvisorTrac ( If your advisor does not have any available times in AdvisorTrac that will work for you, you may email your advisor for an appointment.

Be on time for your appointment. If you can’t keep the appointment, be sure to call and let your advisor know that you

won’t be coming. If you cannot reach your advisor directly, please contact the Psychology Department at (260) 481-6403.

Courses with overlapping content with PSY 20100: ECON E270 or POLS Y395 or PPOL K300 or SOC S351 or SPEA K300 or STAT 24000 or 26000 or 30100 or 30300 or 30700 or 51100. As a psychology major you should not take any of these overlapping courses! Please see your advisor with any specific questions.