Advising Office

We Want You to Succeed

Our commitment to you is right in our name: Student Success! To demonstrate that commitment, we work with both students and faculty to provide a rewarding advising experience, ensuring that students are on track to achieve their individual academic goals and meet the University's overall academic requirements. 

Advising & Retention Forms

Registrar Forms

Undergraduate Advising

Our office coordinates academic advising for undergraduate students through the following:
  • Assigning advisors to incoming freshman
  • Assisting students in changing their advisor
  • Advising undeclared students
  • Training faculty advisors
  • Administering the Advising Survey
  • Presenting to UNIV 100 classes about the advising process
If you have questions about the advising process, please contact us or stop by our office.

Be sure to follow the tips below to prepare for the advising and registration process.

Ultimately, you are responsible to know the requirements of the academic curriculum to complete your program. Your advisor can be a tremendous resource in the process.

What to bring to your advising session:

  • This information is provided in the MarywoodYOU Portal:
    • Curriculum Guide
    • Registration Form
    • Schedule of Course Offerings
  • Tentative schedule of classes you would like to take, keeping in mind core requirements and requirements of your major (If you are undeclared in your major, you will want to select only core courses. If you have one or more majors in mind, keep in mind the required cores for these majors when making your selection)
  • List of alternate courses in the event that first choice classes close before you register
  • Marywood University Catalog, preferably from your freshman year
  • Information on your personal schedule - work hours, athletics etc.
  • Any questions or concerns about coursework, academic and career plans, internships
  • Field placement information for all students with education component

Things to do before your advising session:

 checkmark Review the curriculum guide of courses you have already taken found on the MarywoodYOU portal.
 checkmark

Review the Undergraduate Department course sequence for your major program of study. If you are undeclared in your major, review the core requirements. Keep in mind possible majors you are considering.
 checkmark Draw up a tentative schedule of classes for the semester. Include both core and major courses if appropriate.
 checkmark Review the Marywood University catalog, especially prerequisites and descriptions for courses.
 checkmark Check the Marywood University Registrar website to see what courses have closed.

Students are expected to be familiar with academic policies and procedures, graduation requirements, and course restrictions as printed in the Undergraduate Catalog.

At Marywood University, we believe a thoughtful approach is important to selecting an academic program of study. For this reason, the University has developed the FOCUS program - Finding Opportunities and Careers in Undergraduate Studies.

The FOCUS program has three equally important components which are all designed to help you make an informed decision about your choice of academic program.

  1. Academic Advising
    Specially trained advisors work with the unique needs of FOCUS students by preparing individualized advising plans.
  2. University 100
    In close collaboration with the Office of Career Services, special sections of this required freshman course are designed for FOCUSstudents.
  3. Peer Mentoring
    Through a mentoring program, upperclassmen help acclimate FOCUS students to university life. Peers serve as a resource to students by answering questions, referring them to services, or just by listening.

If you are unsure of your academic and career direction, Marywood University will provide you with helpful resources through the FOCUS program and the Office of Retention and Advising in order to help you find your way and succeed.

The Office of Retention and Advising and the Department of Psychology and Counseling have worked together to form the Personal and Academic Success Services (PASS) Program.

This program is free to Marywood students. It provides counseling and assessment services to students who are experiencing academic difficulties and/or problems with adjusting to University life. Services are provided by graduate students in Marywood's Mental Health Counseling program under the direct supervision of counseling program faculty.

Here are some tips to help you be successful:

You will face many adjustments during your first semester at Marywood University. Here are some tips to help you make a successful transition to college:

  • Be prepared to possibly change your major
  • Attend class
  • Know the course syllabus
  • Don't procrastinate
  • If you need help, get it early
  • Practice good time management
  • Study!

Academic success may require making repeated adjustments while working toward your degree.

    Making the Most of the Advising Process

    Each Marywood University student is assigned an academic advisor to provide information and guidance in selecting, planning and completing their academic program. The adviser helps the advisee to understand the relationships among the courses, programs, undergraduate research opportunities, internships, study abroad programs, and other academic experiences provided by the university. Here are some dos and don'ts for a successful advising experience.

    Do

    • Take advantage of the opportunity to talk with your advisor even though you've talked with friends.
    • Share information about educational and career goals. Report any problems & talk about important successes or failures. Your advisor needs this information to help you.
    • Keep your own personal records about questions or concerns,including grades, special actions, etc., and bring them with you when you see your advisor.
    • Be assertive. Ask questions. Acquire the information you need to take final responsibility for course scheduling, program planning, and the successful completion of all graduation requirements.
    • Keep your own notes. Remind your advisor of what you talked about at your last meeting.
    • Take responsibility for reading about those rules and requirements which affect you. Most of them are published in the university and department handbooks.
    • Prepare ahead of time by reviewing the master schedule of classes, reviewing requirements and giving careful consideration to questions you have about academic and career plans
    • Become knowledgeable about the relevant policies, procedures, and rules of the university and your academic program. Ultimately, you have the responsibility of know the requirements to successfully complete your academic degree at Marywood University.

    Don't

    • Come to advising sessions unprepared.
    • Avoid academic advisement as long as possible.
    • Wait until registration periods to see your advisor.
    • Mislead or withhold information from your advisor.
    • Assume your advisor has all of your records.
    • Assume your advisor will tell you automatically everything you need to know.
    • Assume your advisor will remember what you talked about from one appointment to the next.
    • Assume that only your advisor needs to be familiar with the university rules and regulations.

    Selecting a course of study is a "major" decision and can cause much anxiety for college students, but the good news is that there are people you can talk with and specific things you can do that will help you make career and academic choices.

    Here are a few tips for specific actions that you can take to make your decision.

    • Make a plan.
    • Use the FOCUS program
    • Visit the Career Services Office to research career options.
    • Talk with a staff member in the Office of Retention and Advising
    • Talk with faculty and students currently enrolled in programs you are considering. 
    • Talk with people currently working in the field you are considering.
    • Gain experience through career shadowing, volunteering, part-time positions and internships.

    Web Sites

    Graduate Advising Information

    Each Marywood University matriculating graduate student is assigned an academic advisor whose role is to:

    • Provide information and guidance in planning and completing an academic program
    • Assist in the registration process
    • Act as a mentor to the student
    • Provide career planning and expectations
    • Inform student of departmental expectations
    • Monitor the academic progress of the student
    • Plan for the appropriate closure experience (internship, professional contribution, thesis, etc.)

    Graduate students who have not yet been formally accepted into a graduate program, or would like to take courses for enrichment, should seek academic advisement from the Office of Retention and Advising by calling (570) 340-6043.

    With your goals in mind, use the following resources can help to answer questions about academic advising and to make the most of academic advising sessions:

    • Registrar's Office
    • Graduate Admissions Office
    • Career Services 
    • Graduate Catalog

    Graduate courses can be taken for enrichment purposes. Students can take between six to nine credits for enrichment purposes depending on the department.

    Students who wish to take graduate courses for enrichment should review the graduate catalog to determine which courses are best to take.

    It is important to note that taking enrichment courses does not guarantee acceptance into a graduate program. Also, students taking courses for enrichment purposes are not eligible for financial aid.

    If you would like to register for graduate courses for enrichment, please call (570) 340-6043.

    Core Curriculum

    As a result of their courses in the core curriculum, students will be able to:

    1. Demonstrate an awareness of and respect for the religious, spiritual, and moral dimensions of life;
    2. Develop a critical awareness of the whole self, as well as an understanding of the complexities of human persons in diverse historical and social contexts;
    3. Develop and evaluate thinking through quantitative, qualitative, and scientific reasoning; problem solving; and research;
    4. Respond justly and with empathy to social inequity – local, regional and global;
    5. Demonstrate effective communication skills, including skills in a second language at an appropriate level;
    6. Develop an aesthetic appreciation and critical understanding of the visual and performing arts and their cultural importance.

    Living Responsibly in an Interdependent World

    The undergraduate core curriculum at Marywood University contributes to the University’s mission and goals. Its central focus is to provide a foundation for “living responsibly in a diverse and interdependent world,” a central goal of the University’s Mission Statement.  In offering our Core Curriculum, the University fulfills its historic mission as a Catholic university and affirms its commitment to the liberal arts tradition.

         The Core Curriculum thus helps students think critically, examine values carefully, and act responsibly; it challenges students to engage in civic responsibility in terms of social justice, unmet human needs, and empowerment of others; and it provides a context within which students can realize meaningful personal and professional lives.

         To create an environment in which students can develop into fully human persons, Marywood University integrates professional programs with a general education curriculum composed of a strong liberal arts core, general electives and competencies. Each component contributes an essential perspective to the central focus of the curriculum.

         The liberal arts core is organized into six categories:

    Category I, The First Year Experience, includes UNIV 100 the New Student Seminar, “Living Responsibly in an Interdependent World” and English 160, Writing Skills. The New Student Seminar is intended to promote a positive adjustment and assimilation into the University, and to introduce students to the University’s life, culture, mission, history, and traditions. Writing Skills (English 160) helps prepare students for college-level, process-based academic writing. While teaching students to write well in various contexts is an ongoing process, ENGL 160 lays strong foundations for argumentative and inquiry-based writing by increasing rhetorical awareness and analytical skills. Through guided practice, students gain experience in using research to join ongoing academic conversations.

    In Category II, The Human Condition in Its Ultimate Relationships, students examine the nature, purpose, and meaning of life through philosophical and religious lenses that help them to evaluate their own life position and choices. They develop their critical thinking skills, explore the religious dimension of life, and experience the free and responsible pursuit of truth, as they examine the ultimate questions that have always engaged human beings. Studies in this category supply students with a theoretical basis and a cognitive process for making ethical decisions in promoting justice, peace, and compassion in the contemporary world.

    Category III, The Human Condition in the Context of the Physical Universe, is vital for fulfilling the central focus of the core. Many urgent concerns of the interdependent world are scientifically and technologically based and require knowledge and analytical skills for effective response. This Category promotes not only an appreciation of the natural sciences, but also an awareness of our dependence upon nature and a sense of stewardship in fostering the earth’s resources.

    Category IV, The Human Condition in Relation to Self and Social Structure, also provide essential preparation for living responsibly in an interdependent world.  The Social Sciences – including Psychology, Economics, Sociology, Political Science, Anthropology, and Criminology, among others – provide students with opportunities to understand more fully the complex relations between individuals and the social order in which they find themselves.

    Category V, The Human Condition in its Cultural Context, offers courses that heighten students’ sensitivity to human concerns and to the challenges and delights shared by persons of diverse cultures and historical periods. They foster aesthetic appreciation and the ability to communicate effectively within and outside one’s own cultural group. They provide access to understanding of our partners in interdependence.

    Category VI, The Human Condition in its Historical Context, provides historical contexts that enable students to think more critically and creatively about the diverse and interdependent world in which they live. Knowledge of past and contemporary societies promotes recognition of the radical interdependence of human beings and helps students respond to contemporary challenges with well-informed effectiveness.

    Finally, The Human Condition in a Global Context, provides explicit opportunities for students to undertake cross-cultural comparative studies, either historical or contemporary, in order best to foster an awareness and appreciation of the pluralistic nature of contemporary society.  This category has the potential to overlap and connect to all of the other categories, and it is the one category in which courses that fulfill requirements in one of the other categories may also be applied.

         The total undergraduate curriculum promotes lifelong independent learning and fosters the development of creative and responsive leadership in personal and professional life. It is hoped that, as a result of their studies, students will be able to fulfill the mission of the University, learning to live responsibly in this interdependent world.

    vIEW GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

    SLO 1. Knowledge of Human Cultures and the Physical and Natural World

    SLO 2. Intellectual and Practical Skills

     SLO 3. Personal and Social Responsibility

     SLO 4. Integrative and Applied Learning

    View Student Learning Outcomes in Academic Catalog »

    • 2016 Core Curriculum (revised) The Board of Trustees approved changes to the minimum number of credits required for an undergraduate degree. Beginning FALL 2016 the minimum number of credits needed to successfully complete a degree program has changed from 126 to 120 credits. (Please note that there are Undergraduate degree programs requiring more than 120 credits.)  
    • 2010 Core Curriculum (revised) Beginning in the Fall of 2010, all new incoming Marywood students will be advised under the 2010 revised Core Curriculum. This core curriculum is 43-46 credits which may allow some students the opportunity to double major or add additional minors.
    • 2003-2009 Core Curriculum

    Please see the Undergraduate Catalog for specific program requirements.