Advising

The Psychology Department encourages all psychology majors to meet regularly with an advisor. Advising can help you complete your major and general education requirements, plan courses for timely graduation, identify courses that may not be offered every semester, and prepare for post-baccalaureate programs that match your career goals.

We encourage you to use multiple advising resources throughout your university experience. The department and college offer the following services:

Psychology Advising Center (PAC)

The PAC is a student-led center that supplements Psychology Department advising. PAC advisors can answer general curriculum questions, review your PAWS report, help you select courses, and connect you with other university services. The PAC is a helpful resource for discussing your class schedule.

Students are encouraged to meet with a PAC advisor at least once each year. The PAC offers walk-in and appointment-based advising. Open hours are posted on the door of SB-426 at the beginning of each semester and are also listed below.

PAC Hours of Operation

Schedule a PAC Appointment

Appointments can be scheduled through your myCoyote portal:

1. Log in to your myCoyote account.
2. Select the My Academics tile.
3. Select the Navigate tile.
4. From the Care Unit drop-down menu, select Peer Support.
5. From the Service drop-down menu, select Peer Mentoring.
6. From the Location drop-down menu, select Psychology Advising Center.
7. Choose an available appointment time that fits your schedule.
8. Review the appointment details and click Schedule to book your appointment.
9. Once scheduled, you will receive an automated email which confirms your appointment and provides all necessary meeting information.

Faculty

Faculty in the department play a very specific role in the advising process. Their role is to answer questions about particular content areas or fields of psychology. They can also talk with you about graduate school and how best to prepare for it, as well as professional careers in psychology and related fields. It is our goal to match you with a faculty member who works in an area related to your interests, and who can answer these kinds of questions for you.

Psychology Department Chair

The department chair (Dr. Donna Garcia) can assist you with questions that go beyond the services of the PAC including complex questions about unit transfers, questions about course substitutions, and questions about finding the right area of interest within psychology.  The department chair can assist you with questions regarding schedule overloads and petitions. The chair is also equipped to answer questions about graduate school and professional careers related to your interests, and she can help match you with a faculty member who is knowledgeable in your area of interest. Dr. Garcia schedules her own appointments. To schedule a meeting, please email her at the address below. She will get back to you promptly.

• Dr. Donna Garcia
• Email: dmgarcia@csusb.edu
• Office: SB-425B

ASUA Advising

The University also offers advising through academic advisors and peer mentoring through Academic Success and Undergraduate Advising (ASUA).  You are encouraged to use all of the services at the university and department levels. ASUA advisors can assist you with advising forms related to the 2-year/4-year graduation pledge program, employer advising forms, financial aid appeals, and academic notice forms.  Additionally, these advisors can help create myCaps (roadmapping) and can answer academic-related questions regarding university policy, procedures, and resources. Appointments can be made with an ASUA Advisor by sending an email to advising@csusb.edu or calling (909) 537-7345. Drop-in advising is also available Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. in UH-329 or online at https://csusb.zoom.us/my/undergraduatedropinadvising.