Advising FAQ

Step by step instructions found here.

To view or cancel your appointment, visit student.msu.edu  (Note: deleting the calendar event in outlook will not cancel the appointment, it needs to be canceled on student.msu.edu).

How to cancel:

• Click on the Academic Progress tile, click on the Advising/Tutoring Appointments on the left

• You should see a list of all your academic advising appointments on this page

• To view more details or to cancel an appointment, click Select Appointment next to any appointment.

We do not offer reoccurring drop-in hours throughout the semester. We do offer drop-in hours during busy times of the year (i.e., fall and spring enrollment). 

BMB drop-in advising times will be listed on student.msu.edu. Here are instructions on how to check drop-in times. 

Overrides are handled by the department or program that administers the course. If you need an override outside of BMB, contact the department offering the desired course to find out the override procedure for that particular department.

For BMB course overrides, you can find the form and learn more on the BMB Undergraduate Override page.

Please click here for instructions on how to add yourself to the waitlist for a course.

You can also contact the department to see if they will do an override.

Here are instructions on how to drop courses from your schedule

Add/Drop deadlines can be found in the Class Information page (click on the section number) via the Class Search.

Students may add courses in the student information system up until the open add end date. The add date deadline for most classes is the 5th day of classes.

Add date deadlines for each course are displayed in the student information system Class Search and corresponds to the first 1/14th of the course.

Starting summer 2022, a new course repeat policy will take effect that will apply to all prior semesters’ courses. This will allow undergraduate students to repeat any class up to twice (for a total of three attempts), regardless of the grade they earned in their previous attempt, and with a 20-credit limit on repeat credits. 

• When a course is repeated, the most recent taken will replace the previous grade in the satisfaction of a requirement and computation of the credits and cumulative GPA.
  
• The original grade will remain on the transcript; it is not removed when retaken and may be calculated into cumulative and/or prerequisite GPAs for professional and graduate programs.

If you're planning to switch to a major outside of BMB or BMB/BT, we recommend meeting with an advisor from the new major to discuss your plans and next steps.

Advisors contact information for different colleges can be found here: Undergraduate Advisor Directory - Google Sheets

Minors are optional for the BMB and BMB/BT majors, all minors offered at MSU are listed in the Academic Programs – Undergraduate Minors page.

Contact the advisor for the minor you are interested in to declare the minor and discuss minor requirements. 

Advisors contact information for different colleges can be found here: Undergraduate Advisor Directory - Google Sheets

Some minors or interest for BMB or BMB/Biotech majors:

• Minor in Anthropology (ANP 441 can count toward adv biology/biotech requirements, good fit with interest in forensic science)

• Minor in Beverage Science and Technology

• Minor in Cognitive Science (NEU 301 and 302 can count toward advanced biology/biotech requirements)

• Minor in Food Processing and Technology

• Minor in Pharmacology and Toxicology

Some minors of interest for preprofessional students:

• Minor in Bioethics

• Minor in Environment and Health

• Minor in Global Public Health and Epidemiology

• Minor in Health Promotion

A 1.0 is a passing grade and fulfills major requirements. Students are required to have an overall cumulative 2.0 GPA at MSU, and a cumulative major 2.0 GPA for all courses required for their major. The major GPA doesn’t include introductory CEM, BS 161 (or LB 144/145 for Briggs students), MTH and PHY courses because those are required courses for the college.

If you are transferring a course from another institution, the minimum grade needed to transfer a course is a 2.0 or a C.

You can check your outstanding requirements on student.msu.edu at the Academic Progress area. Please be aware the pie chart is NOT the most accurate representation of your degree completion. The degree audit is the most accurate representation of your degree completion progress. Here are instructions on viewing your degree requirements and progress.

• Office of Admissions Merit-based Scholarship
• College of Natural Science (NatSci) Scholarships
• Student Affairs and Services affiliated Scholarships
• NatSci Undergraduate Research Awards
  • You can apply for CNS Undergraduate research scholarships until September 15th for fall semester and January 15th for spring semester. For the summer, applications are due April 1. Applicants will be notified approximately 4 weeks after the deadline of the award status. For these awards, you typically need to have been involved in research for at least one semester:
• Lyman Briggs College Scholarships
• Lyman Briggs College Undergraduate Research Awards
• Department of Biochemistry Undergraduate Awards

Free tutoring resources on campus:

• Biochemistry Tutoring
• Biological Sciences 161/162/171/172
• Chemistry Tutoring: CEM 141  CEM 142
• Economics Help Room
• Libraries Peer Research Assistants
• Mathematics
• Social Science PAL Program
• The Writing Center