- A.I.saac: Physics' Undergraduate Virtual Assistant
- Advising
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Students who are interested in pursuing a major or minor in physics should meet with an advisor as early as possible to discuss the program and work out a plan that meets their educational goals.
Physics offers faculty and peer advising to undergraduate students. Please see the information below to determine which type of advising is the best fit for you.
Peer Advisors
Peer Advisors are current Physics or Interdisciplinary Physics majors with a variety of experiences and perspectives who can help guide you. They can help with:
- Exploring the majors or minor
- Declaring a major or minor
- Major or minor progress
- Course selection, including experiences in specific physics classes (workload, instruction, structure, prerequisites, etc.)
- Advice on how to balance workload of classes
- How to contact faculty about research and/or how to narrow down research interests
- Experiences with majoring in Physics, in addition to other areas of study (double majors, minors, etc.) including difficulty, strategies for success and additional resources
- Experiences in extracurricular activities (physics or otherwise!)
Peer advisors cannot:
- Process major or minor releases
- Review transfer credit
- Approve exceptions to major requirements or Interdisciplinary Physics cognate plans
We are not currently hiring new Peer Advisors. The application will be posted here when positions are available.
Peer Advisors are available for drop-in advising during the fall and winter semesters when classes are in session. They do not hold advising hours on university breaks/holidays.
Fall 2026 Peer Advising Schedule
Tuesdays: 12-2pm IN PERSON w/ Ashlen - 1464 Randall
Thursdays: 9:30-10:30am ONLINE w/ Ashlen; 1-3pm IN PERSON w/ Ashlen - 1464 Randall
For ONLINE advising, click the link below to join the virtual queue. FA26 online advising is available on Thursdays from 9:30-10:30am.
Meet the 2026-27 Peer Advisors
Ashlen Coburn
Ashlen is a junior from Kalamazoo, Michigan, pursuing a B.S. in physics along with a B.S. in astrophysics & astronomy. She plans to pursue a Ph.D. in astrophysics after graduation, with a particular interest in extragalactic astronomy. On campus, Ashlen is involved with the Student Astronomical Society and the Collaborative Laboratory for Advancing Work in Space (CLAWS). Additionally, she is conducting research with Feige Wang studying high-redshift active galactic nuclei. Outside of academics, she enjoys yoga and spending time with friends.
Faculty Advisors
Faculty advisors can provide in-person or Zoom appointments. They can help you with:
- Exploring the major or minor
- Declaring a major or minor
- Major or minor progress
- Course selection
- Preparing for graduate school
- Finding research
- Major or minor releases
- Exceptions to major requirements
- Approval of Interdisciplinary Physics cognate plans
- Transfer credit review
The 2026-27 faculty advisors are:
- Dave Winn
- Wolfgang Lorenzon
- Junjie Zhu
- Dan Amidei
- Robert Deegan
- Toby Eckhause
- Aaron Pierce
- Yuri Popov
- Wayne Lau
- Vanessa Sih
- Michal Zochowski
