Academic Advising
Bioadvising
The Department of Biology provides academic advising, also known as Bioadvising, to help you achieve your educational, personal and career goals by providing guidance and assistance in decision-making processes. We help you find a sense of belonging and connection to resources and encourage you toward future academic success.
Advising sessions are conducted by professional academic advisers for sophomores, juniors, and seniors with scheduled appointments. We will also meet with new incoming transfer students and those interested in the biology minor. Students can schedule virtual or in-person appointments via Navigate.
Bioadvising can assist you with the following:
- Career and educational planning
- Navigation of university procedures, appeals processes, rules, and regulations
- Course selection
- On-time progress toward your degree
- Research, internship, and service-learning opportunities
- Planning for graduate or professional school
Find My Advisor
Students are assigned to individual advisors. You can also find your advisor listed in Navigate. If you are a biology minor, your advisor will be Alvin Bryant.
| Advisor | Student last name |
|---|---|
| Treysi Knox | A - Co |
| Candace Thomas | Cp - H |
| James Tolj | I - Mi |
| Catherine Leary | Mo - Sa |
| Aubrey Martin | Sc - Z |
I need help with ...
Visit the College of Humanities and Sciences website for current students for instruction.
Apply to graduate at the beginning of the semester that you will be completing all degree requirements (including all required courses).
If you are expecting to graduate this semester, visit the Apply to Graduate page for full instructions.
Any undergraduate can do research! It doesn’t matter if you are a first-semester, first-year student or a final-semester senior. There are opportunities available to you.
Sometimes professors advertise open research positions either via work-study, on the Biology Facebook page or through other student communication channels. However, most mentors are found by so-called cold calling, where you just send an email to someone you don’t know asking if you can join a current or future research project.
Review our recommendations on how to connect with faculty to find research opportunities.
We're excited you're interested in changing your major to biology or adding it as a minor! To learn more about the major and minor, visit the B.S. in Biology and Minor in Biology pages.
When you're ready to declare a major or minor in biology, please follow the instructions available through University Registrar.
You also are welcome to email bioadvising@vcu.edu to request an appointment to meet with one of our biology advisors. An appointment is not required for major or minor approval but is encouraged so you can begin educational planning.
The Department of Biology administers overrides for most biology courses (listed as BIOL or BIOZ in eServices) through the Undergraduate Advising Office. Students seeking an override into a biology course must use the required online form to request it.
Please review details about overrides and exceptions before attempting to fill out the request form.
Review more information and learn how to request an override.
You can withdraw from a course through the first 10 weeks of classes.
After the add/drop period and through the end of the first 10 weeks of classes, students can withdraw from classes using eServices. Note: If you don't withdraw from a class before the 10-week deadline, you could receive failing grades in all or some of the courses. For a course that does not follow the standard semester calendar, the final withdrawal date is the day when one-half of the course has been completed.
For more information, visit the Office of the University Registrar.
Get in touch with us at least once a semester to discuss questions about degree requirements, course selection, graduation checks and other academic matters.
Click the link below to join virtual office hours.