Graduate Advising

All students are strongly encouraged to connect with the DSC graduate department through the Virtual Advising Center for non-urgent academic inquiries. The DSC Graduate Student Affairs team will respond to student inquiries in the VAC within 24-48 hours.

Students can access the Virtual Advising Center through TritonLink or by directly by clicking the VAC Button on this page. To reach the DSC Graduate Advising Office directly, choose “Data Science” from the drop-down menu under “Direct To.” Choose “Notify Via Text Message” to ensure you see the VAC response as soon as a DSC Advisor has responded.

Students can refer to the VAC after drop-in sessions and advising appointments for a summary of the meeting and access any discussed links. 

All students are strongly encouraged to attend drop-in advising PRIOR to scheduling an advising appointment. Drop-in sessions are designed to be 10-15 minutes in length and are open to all students, regardless of declared major. These sessions are for 1-2 questions that can quickly be addressed. If the DSC Grad Advisor determines an inquiry will take longer to address, students will be asked to schedule a follow-up advising appointment. 

Drop-in advising is given on a first come, first served basis; there is no guarantee that you will see an advisor during drop-in advising. Students will not be allotted additional time as we often have several students waiting. The last student will be seen 15 minutes before the end of the advising hours available that day. Drop-in advising topics may include, but are not limited to:

• Degree checks
• Review of courses for the current quarter
• Selection of courses for the upcoming quarter
• Review already completed forms (Petitions, Study Abroad documents, Financial Aid Academic Plans, etc.)

Scheduled appointments are available during specified times in 30-minute increments and are designed to support students who are interested in declaring the major or the minor, seeking course advising based on their academic history, examining challenges and identifying available support services, reviewing minor applications and double major petitions, and/or creating long term plans. Advising appointment topics may include, but are not limited to:

• Interest in pursuing the DSC major/minor
• Current DSC majors/minors who need to develop Financial Aid/Study Abroad plans
• Developing long-term academic plans
• Students facing academic difficulty or other challenges that may require a referral

Students should contact DSC Student Affairs at least 48 hours in advance to schedule an appointment. To schedule an appointment:

1. Email dscgradinfo@ucsd.edu
2. In your email, please include:
   • Name
   • PID
   • Preferred date and time based on available hours
   • Alternative date and time based on available hours
   • Reason for appointment
   • Cell phone number and carrier (if you would like to receive a text message confirmation)

If you need to cancel your appointment, we request that you notify the department at least 24 hours in advance. 

Students not currently attending UC San Diego can contact the department with questions at dscgradinfo@ucsd.edu. 

Current students can contact dscgradinfo@ucsd.edu to schedule academic advising appointments. We also reach out to current students about internship and research opportunities along with program announcements, so please make sure the email is set up to filter into your inbox and not to your junk or spam folders. We will not address duplicate messages sent to both the VAC and the DSC student email.