Frequently Asked Questions

Have a question? We can help. These are some commonly asked questions and some of the things to consider. If you need more assistance, feel free to reach out to your advisor.
Campus Advising Centers

First-year freshmen

Contact your assigned counselor in the UAC.

Undeclared students

Contact your assigned counselor in the UAC.

Changing your major or Special Major

Call the UAC front desk to schedule an appointment.

Sophomores, juniors, seniors

Contact:

associated with your major for general advising and/or your faculty advisor for major advising (refer to your department website for contact information). <---- ?

Returning students

If you plan to return to SF State after being out of attendance a year or more, call the UAC’s Virtual Front Desk to schedule a Readmission appointment.

Refer to your SF State email account to find messages from your assigned counselor in the UAC with instructions on how to connect with them throughout the year.

 

Full-time status is 12 units but if your goal is to graduate in 4 years, plan to complete at least 30 units each year. For example, some students take 15 units in the fall semester and 15 units in the spring semester so they earn 30 units by the end of their first year at SF State.

 

Prioritize the things that are important and be realistic about your time. A full-time schedule (12 units) requires you to set aside at least 40 hours per week for class and study time. Students with part-time jobs generally do not work more than 20 hours per week if they are attending college full-time.

 

The 1st Semester Recommendations by Major on the Advising Hub is a good starting place for your research about majors at SF State. Each page includes FAQs and links to degree requirements/roadmaps in the University Bulletin and the major department website.

 

 

Once you decide on a major, it is best to declare as soon as possible. For non-impacted majors, you can declare at any time. Impacted majors may have deadlines so you should connect with the major department for information about their declaration process (refer to the department website for contact information).

 

When a major is impacted, it means that more students than can be accommodated want to declare the major. Students have to apply and be accepted into impacted majors so if you are interested, you should connect with the major department for information about how to declare (refer to the department website for contact information). For a list of impacted majors, refer to future.sfsu.edu/impaction.

 

The Career Services and Leadership Development office and their team of career counselors offer individualized career counseling, workshops, events, and more. This is an excellent campus resource for all undeclared students to connect with during their first semester and beyond.

 

During your first year, taking lower division (courses numbered 100-299) General Education courses are a great way to explore potential majors and choosing courses from a variety of different GE areas can help create a more balanced schedule.  Try to identify GE courses from departments you might be interested in.

 

To explore a major, it may be possible to take introductory major courses or prerequisites for the major.  Refer to the 1st Semester Recommendations by Major on the Advising Hub for course recommendations from the major department.  You can take an introductory major class for a few majors if you have more than one in mind as long as you meet prerequisites.

 

You can use courses to meet multiple requirements (i.e. GE and major), however, units for the course will only be counted once.

 

A minor is a focused area of study that does not require as many units as a major and is generally between 12-24 units. To add a minor, connect with the minor department to learn about their declaration process and timeline (refer to the department website for contact information).

 

It may be possible for students to complete two majors if they can complete both degrees without exceeding 120 units. You will need to connect with the departments of both majors for approval (refer to the department website for contact information).

 

The Bachelor of Arts: Special Major is an interdisciplinary program offered by San Francisco State University for students who have unique and well-defined academic goals which cannot be satisfactorily attained through one of the undergraduate major programs at SF State or with a major and minor combination.

Learn more about the special major!