Undergraduate Advising
The Department of Physics supports and inspires the development of its undergraduate students through academic advising.
Our advisors support students through academic planning and development of career goals. We consider academic advising a cooperative effort between the advisor and the student, and expect students to take a continuous, active role in this process.
Students are ultimately responsible for their schedule and academic plans, including adherence to all deadlines set by the university as indicated on the academic calendar and meeting degree requirements as specified in the VCU Bulletin.
Advising Model
- First year students are advised by University Academic Advising in Hibbs Hall.
- New transfer students will be assigned to the department’s advisor, Victor Gidarisingh, vrgidarisingh@vcu.edu, after all admissions processing is completed. Victor will reach out to incoming transfer students before their first semester at VCU to schedule advising appointments.
- Students on academic warning or probation are required to meet with their advisor every semester until they are in good academic standing.
- All required advising students will be contacted by your advisor when it is time to set up an appointment.
Frequently Asked Questions
All physics majors and minors, as well as students in the physics concentration of the B.S. in Science program, are advised by Victor Gidarisingh.
Make an advising appointment through VCU’s online advising portal by going to your my.vcu.edu page and clicking on “Advising Appointments” in the right-hand toolbar.
If Victor Gidarisingh is not your assigned advisor, you can email her at vrgidarisingh@vcu.edu to set up an appointment.
The physics student administration coordinator, Jeannie Friedrich (701 W. Grace St., room 2401) can answer many questions about our courses and programs and will refer you to the advisor or the department chair if necessary. However, be sure to make an appointment with your advisor before making decisions about your curriculum.
First, complete the Change of Major/Concentration form. Next, email the physics advisor, Victor Gidarisingh, at talmancp@vcu.edu to make an appointment to discuss your change of major.
Complete the change of major/concentration form. It is highly recommended that you make an appointment with your current advisor, Victor Gidarisingh, as he is familiar with other departments around campus and can connect you to the appropriate people in your prospective new department.
Overrides
The department does NOT give size overrides into physics courses. However during registration, we often open up more seats during registration, so you should keep checking eServices to see if a seat opens up.
In the physics department, overrides are granted only by the student administration coordinator (701 W. Grace St., room 2401). Course instructors are NOT authorized to grant overrides. In special situations, such as signing up for a schedule conflict, the coordinator may ask that you get the instructor’s permission.
No. The prerequisites are there for your protection and to ensure that our courses are taught at the correct level.
Bring an unofficial copy of your transcripts to 701 W. Grace St., room 2401, to obtain a prerequisite override. If you have satisfied a prerequisite by placement, bring your placement scores.
If the problem is occurring because a course taken elsewhere does not show on your VCU transcript, send an OFFICIAL copy of your transcript showing that course to the Transfer Center so the course can be added to your VCU transcript.
The department does not maintain wait lists for any physics courses. Enrollments do fluctuate during the add/drop period and we often add seats, so you should keep checking eServices to see if a seat opens up in a particular course.
Enrollment
It depends on the course.
For University Physics, PHYS 207-208, the laboratory is part of the course and you are required to enroll in a laboratory section during the same semester as the lecture section. Failure to enroll in a laboratory section will result in a grade of F for the course.
For other courses, (PHYS101, PHYS103, PHYS320) the lecture and laboratory are separate courses and you may take the laboratory course (PHYZ101, PHYZ103, PHYZ320) either at the same time as the lecture course or during a later semester.
It depends on the course.
For General Physics PHYS201-202, each section of the course corresponds to a lab section and you do not need to sign up for anything else.
For University Physics PHYS207-208, each section of the course corresponds to a recitation section and you need to sign up for a lab section separately.
It depends on the course.
For General Physics PHYS201-202 the schedule for each section lists the lecture meeting times and a laboratory meeting time. The lecture meets several times during the week. The lab meets once for two hours.
For University Physics PHYS207-208 the schedule for each section lists the lecture meeting times and a one-hour recitation time. Be sure to look farther down the schedule for the separately listed laboratory sections.
The lecture is when the instructor covers new course material. You are strongly urged to attend every lecture period of every course in which you enroll. The recitation sections in PHYS207-208 and a portion of the lab periods in PHYS201-202 provide group-based problem-solving practice. You are strongly encouraged to participate in recitation sections as this will help you to perform well in the course.
No. Due to the large enrollment, you must attend the recitation section in which you are enrolled.