Regular advising is essential to the your success as a student in the Environmental Studies program and to the timely completion of your degree. It is intended to help you select appropriate courses each semester so you stay on-track, take all required courses, fulfill other university requirements, and avoid unnecessary courses that increase your expenses and delay your progress.
Every student, whether undergraduate or graduate, should schedule a formal advising appointment at the beginning of each semester. You should also download advising forms for each semester. These list courses relevant to EVR students.
Advising forms for Fall 2007 (all are Word documents)
Below is a list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's) during advising sessions. You are encouraged to review these before coming to your advising session.
 Why do I need to be advised?
How many credits do I need to graduate?
Will courses I took outside of FIU count for the Department and University requirements?
How do I waive a requirement?
Some of my classes taken elsewhere did not transfer but I think they should have. What can I do?
What if I get less than a C on a required course?
What about incompletes on my transcript?
I have two years of high school French. Does that satisfy my language requirement?
I entered the program five years ago and the requirements have changed since then. What are my requirements for graduation?
I'm in the BA program and want to know exactly what the Area of Specialization is all about?
I just transferred from MDCC, what classes should I take first?
Do I really need this prerequisite?
Q. Why do I need to be advised?
A. We can make sure that you know how many credits you need to graduate, whether there are any deficiencies in any category (university-wide or departmental), whether there are any errors in your SASS form and can correct them, and beyond that we can help you make professional contacts for internships or jobs in the fields you're pursuing.
Q. How many credits do I need to graduate?
A. If you began at FIU as a Freshman or transferred from a Florida Community College with an AA or AS, then you need 120 hours, of which 48 must be upper division (3000 and 4000 level courses).
If you transferred or are transferring from somewhere outside of the Florida State university system, it is to your great advantage to speak to an advisor to make sure you receive the most credit possible for courses you've taken previously.
Q. Will courses I took outside of FIU count for the Department and University requirements?
A. Sometimes yes! However, to be sure you should see an advisor. Faculty in the department decide what other courses might satisfy our requirements. The Office of Admissions usually makes the determination of what counts for University-wide requirements.
If you would like to substitute a course from somewhere else for a departmental requirement, your first step is to fill out the Departmental Waiver Request Form (available by clicking HERE). Carry this form to your meeting with your faculty advisor and he or she will evaluate your request.
Q. How do I get a requirement waived?
A. Requirements are very rarely waived. If you feel that you have already fulfilled a requirement though some other course you've taken, then you should follow the procedures for substituting courses. See the answer to the question above.
Q. Some of my classes taken elsewhere did not transfer but I think they should have. What can I do?
A. If you applied to have classes transferred from another university and some did not appear on your SASS, they were probably not allowed by the university. If you still think they should count, then check with your advisor and he or she may submit a SASS form for acceptance of that course.
Q. What if I get less than a C in a required course?
A. If you get a C- or less on a required course, it will not count. Speak to your faculty advisor about this; generally you should retake the course.
Q. What about incompletes on my transcript?
A. The University rule is that any incomplete not resolved within two full semesters will revert to the grade earned if the incomplete is not made up (usually an F). All incompletes should be resolved prior to graduation.
Q. I have two years of high school French. Does that satisfy my language requirement?
A. NO! The College of Arts and Sciences has its own language requirement, which requires one year of college-level language or a competency equivalence exam. These requirements are stricter than the state requirement (known as FLEX/FLENT).
There are a variety of ways to meet the requirement once at FIU, which you can view by clicking HERE. You should also speak with your faculty advisor to confirm that you are doing what you need to do in order to meet the requirement.
Q. I entered the Environmental Studies program five years ago and the requirements have changed since then. What are my requirements for graduation?
A. You should follow the rules for graduation that were in place when you were accepted into the program. Those requirements are listed in the Environmental Studies section of the University Catalog from the year you were admitted. Faculty advisors often keep older catalogs on hand, or you can request a copy of the catalog from the Registrar's Office.
Q. I'm in the BA program and want to know exactly what the Area of Specialization is all about?
Your degree in Environmental Studies is multidisciplinary but we still want you to develop some kind of "area of emphasis" to either follow your interests or increase your marketability. Three of the most popular Areas of Specialization are Environmental Education, Environmental Biology, and Environmental Policy. We have a list of courses that fit certain specializations and those can be viewed by clicking HERE. The program requires 12 credit hours in a specialization, of which 6 must be EVR courses. An appropriate minor in another department like International Relations, Political Science, or Economics would also fulfill the requirement.
Q. I just transferred in as a Junior, what classes should I take first?
A. Classes recommended for EVR BA and BS majors are listed each semester on our advising forms.
If you are just entering the BS program, then you should use your first couple of semesters to finish taking any introductory biology (BSC 1010/1011) and chemistry (CHM 1045/1046) courses with labs, intro to statistics (STA 3111), and an introductory environmental studies course like energy flow (EVR 3010).
If you are just entering the BA program, then you should use your first couple of semesters to take things like college algebra (MAC 1105), environmental geology with lab (GLY 3030/3030L), and introductory environmental studies courses like energy flow (EVR 3010), environmental resources and pollution (EVR 3011), and ecology of South Florida with lab (EVR 3013/3013L).
Q. Do I really need this prerequisite?
YES! Prerequisites listed in the course catalog are required. Prerequisites are courses that provide background or introductory knowledge that are necessary for you to do well in a course.
Back to Student Info
Advising Links
Florida Academic Counseling and Tracking Services for FIU Students
FIU Undergraduate Catalog
FIU Graduate Catalog
Miami-Dade College Course Catalogs (multiple campuses)
Broward Community College Course Descriptions
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