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Academic Advisement for Undergraduate Students

Faculty advisors are available in the Department of Chemistry to advise chemistry and biochemistry majors and other students who may be considering a major in chemistry. Professor Andrey Vilesov coordinates undergraduate academic advisement in the department.

In addition to advising students on degree progress, chemistry advisors are resources for information on research available to undergraduates within the department, summer jobs, research opportunities available at other universities, graduate studies and the chemistry profession in general.

Any advisement questions or requests can be sent to our advisement hotline at advise@chemmail.usc.edu. In most cases, you will receive a reply from one of our advisors within 24 hours

Advisement for Continuing Students

Every fall and spring, continuing students will meet with their advisors to plan their courses for the next semester. All chemistry/biochemistry majors will be notified by email in the middle of each semester to sign up online for advisement appointments. To make an appointment with an advisor, log on to MyUsc and click on advisement. After students receive advisement, the "advisement hold" on their registration for the upcoming term will be removed to allow them to register.

Declare Your Major in Chemistry or Biochemistry As Soon As Possible

Entering freshmen or transfer students who intend to pursue a degree in chemistry should meet with a chemistry advisor during the Summer Orientation Program prior to their first registration at USC. Early advisement is very important because the program of study for a chemistry degree is four years long (see Undergraduate Programs). A number of chemistry, mathematics, physics and biology classes are pre-requisites for upper division required classes for the chemistry or biochemistry major. Students must work closely with their faculty advisor in order to stay on track to complete their degree in four years.

College Advisement Office for Pre-Health Students and Advisement for Students in TAPP

The College Advisement Office located in the College Academic Services Building (CAS--across from Taper Hall) provides advisement on issues particular to prehealth professional (medical, dental, pharmacy) students. Chemistry/biochemistry majors with such interests should meet with a prehealth advisor before the end of their first year at USC. Thereafter, these students will receive their academic advisement from chemistry.

Students in the Trojan Admission Prepharmacy Program (TAPP) are an exception. Chemistry/biochemistry majors who are in TAPP do not need to see a chemistry advisor. TAPP students receive advisement from an advisor in the USC School of Pharmacy (TAPP students receive a letter with the date and time of an advisement session each semester), and registration holds are lifted by the College Advisement Office. However, chemistry/biochemistry majors who are not in TAPP, but who are interested in applying for admission to pharmacy school, must be advised by a chemistry advisor each semester.

Useful links

  1. Pre-professional Advisement
    Pre-professional Advisement is for students interested in integrating professional school requirements into their major plans
  2. Careers in Chemistry

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