Advising and Declaring

Catherine Brown, Director of Undergraduate Studies

To guarantee consistent, personal guidance, the Comparative Literature Department has appointed a team of undergraduate advisors. The Director of Undergraduate Studies (DUS) serves as our faculty undergraduate advisor, and the Student Services Assistant serves as a general undergraduate advisor. Our advisors can help answer questions about your program of study in Comparative Literature, in addition to inquiries about courses, registration, enrollment status, honors theses and capstone projects, faculty interests, and the department in general. They can also help you plan a coherent and fulfilling curriculum in any of our undergraduate programs.

For specific guidance on the capstone project of the Translation Studies minor, we have also appointed a Translation Studies Capstone advisor.

The Student Services team can be reached at complit.student.services@umich.edu.

Comp Lit Advising. If you have decided that you would like to pursue a Comparative Literature, Arts, and Media major, Translation major, or a Translation Studies minor— or if you simply want to explore the possibility further!— you can make an appointment with our faculty undergraduate advisor. Appointments can be made on our website. If the online scheduler does not have appointment times that work for you, please contact the Director of Undergraduate Studies (DUS) at dus-complit@umich.edu to seek a meeting time. If you have urgent questions, you may contact the Comparative Literature Student Services team at complit.student.services@umich.edu .

Students must consult with an Comparative Literature undergraduate advisor at least twice in their career: once at the beginning, to declare, and once at the end. This final visit is called a senior audit. For the senior audit, graduating seniors are required to see an undergraduate advisor in Comparative Literature in the first term of the senior year in order to complete a check of all the requirements.

However, we urge you to see an undergraduate advisor at least once per term to make sure that all of your requirements are being met and to keep current on department policies and procedures.

Informal Advising in the Department. It’s also a good idea to talk to Comparative Literature professors and Graduate Student Instructors (GSIs) whose classes you have taken, because they will know something about your talents and interests and will be able to offer good advice. The department also has peer mentors. The peer mentors are undergraduates like you in the department who have been chosen for their knowledge of and enthusiasm for our programs. They can help you, too! You can reach them at complit-UG-mentors@umich.edu. You can also ask the Student Services Assistant in the Comparative Literature office about talking to other students currently in the program. Along the department corridor, you will find displays with course flyers, announcements, and snapshots of our faculty and staff.

Translation Capstone Advising. Translation minors working on their capstone project proposal should schedule an advising appointment with the Translation Studies Capstone Advisor. Appointments can be made here. If the online scheduler does not have appointment times that work for you, please contact complit.student.services@umich.edu to seek a meeting time.

LSA Advising

Declaring a Major or Minor

If you decide you want to pursue the major in Comparative Literature, Arts, and Media, the major in Translation, or the minor in Translation Studies, you must meet with a Comp Lit undergraduate advisor to declare. The date on this form guarantees that you complete the degree requirements in effect at that time, no matter what subsequent changes may be made to the requirements. It also gives the Department and the College a way of acknowledging the interests of our undergraduate students. A declaration does not lock you into an unbreakable contract! If you change your mind and decide to drop your major or minor, we ask, as a courtesy, that you notify the Student Services Assistant. Similarly, you can switch to Comparative Literature from another major; our faculty undergraduate advisor will help you do that.

Student Records and Preparing to Graduate

You should periodically check your LSA Degree Audit Checklist to check your degree progress and ensure that you’re on track to graduate. If you see discrepancies with the courses being counted toward your major/minor, contact the Student Services Assistant (complit.student.services@umich.edu) to request an update. Questions about LSA requirements should be directed to your General Advisor.

As you near completion of your requirements, you should take the following steps, ideally in the next to last term.

Senior audit. Make an appointment with the Comparative Literature DUS so you can double-check your LSA Degree Audit Checklist to make sure you have fulfilled your major/minor requirements, at which time the department will submit your major/minor release. A major/minor release allows us to plan ahead for your final term course selection and informs the degree auditing process. A release is required for each LSA major and minor you have declared. Ideally, your release should be requested in the term prior to your graduation term. For example, if you plan on completing your degree in winter (for May graduation), request for releases in fall or after your fall schedule has been finalized.
Apply for Graduation. It is your responsibility to apply for graduation for the term in which all degree requirements will be completed by going into the Student Center section of Wolverine Access. Students completing requirements in the spring term should apply for summer graduation.
Review Your Official Audit when it is emailed to you. The information in this audit will be used for your final graduation evaluation, so make sure you understand and agree with it. Ideally, you want to receive this audit prior to registering for your final semester so that you know for sure that the classes you register for will meet all requirements. It can take several weeks to receive this after you’ve done steps 1 & 2, which is why you should start this process 6-7 months prior to your anticipated graduation.

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Advising and Declaring

LSA Advising

Declaring a Major or Minor

Student Records and Preparing to Graduate