The skills you’ll acquire throughout your academic life offer more to your future career than you might realize! As a student, you develop technical skills related to your major. Engaging in a wide range of experiences outside the classroom will help you build well-rounded, transferable skills to enhance your academic work and make you stand out.  

 

By reflecting on some of the following questions, you can start to figure out what types of meaningful experiences could complement the academic field you are pursuing:  

What’s your approach to problem-solving?  

  

Join a student organization - Besides being a meaningful way to connect with your peers over shared interests, being involved in a student organization is a great way to take the initiative on projects you care about and work together outside the classroom. You can also add your voice and find your place within our campus community. You can also stay connected through both virtual and in-person campus life initiatives!   

Gaining real-world experience through an internship, research, or co-op is one of the best ways to make yourself a competitive candidate for full-time jobs and graduate/professional school. The Career Center offers career advising and counseling, networking events, on-campus recruiting, on-campus interviews, career and professional skills education, and applied learning opportunities (internships, co-ops, and research) to help prepare you to envision your future career opportunities!  

 

Consider adding a minor to your degree—Complementing your primary major with a minor or certificate program can be a great way to add extra knowledge and new skills to your bachelor’s degree. It can also be a great way to explore other personal interests you might have and make you unique in the eyes of future employers. Exploring programs such as foreign language studies or entrepreneurship can greatly enhance any major. Check out all the possibilities and talk them over with your advisor!  

 

Get involved with Service Learning and Community Engagement through the Shriver Center – Ever want to apply what you’re learning outside the classroom? The Shriver Center has you covered! You could step outside the school's boundaries and experience the real world through its Service-Learning and Community partnerships. Through The Shriver Center’s many opportunities, the UMBC community can continue to serve organizations through capacity-building projects and digital delivery of services.  

 

Consider becoming a student worker – UMBC has many job opportunities for students. This can be a great way to apply what you’ve learned at UMBC to help other students and gain proper job experience! From tutoring to working in various offices around campus, check out Handshake and the Federal Work-Study job list for campus job postings throughout the year!  

 

 You often hear talk of the sophomore slump- a time when students can experience heightened uncertainty and lower motivation, in addition to second-guessing their choices in their first year of college.  

However, we recognize that this same type of slump will likely impact students at all levels - a college slump.  

 Below, we outline strategies and resources for overcoming a challenging college season; think about how you might be feeling right now: How is your motivation? How are your social connections? How is your physical and mental health? How is your overall organization?  

Academic Advising at UMBC is a shared partnership between students and Academic Advisors. An Academic Advisor's role is to assist you in planning your academic career and move you closer to graduation. Your Academic Advisor is a vital member of your academic support team and someone we recommend you connect with regularly to take full advantage of their support.  

You can talk to your Academic Advisor about several topics including: 

Students with declared majors at UMBC are assigned departmental specific Academic Advisors for support with course selection and degree planning. There also are many students who prefer to explore all their options and/or may transition between programs as they select the best major to meet their academic, personal and career goals. Students who have not declared a major will work with Academic Advisors in the Office for Academic and Pre-Professional Advising, who are committed to helping students explore degree options and evaluate general education, gateway, and major requirements.  

Check the "degree" section of your myUMBC profile to see your assigned Academic Advisor under the "Degree Info" heading. If you're still unsure, below is a link to the department contacts for all majors. The person listed as "advising coordinator" or "advising contact" can help you find out who your Academic Advisor is or assign you an Academic Advisor. 

 

In preparation for an advising appointment, reviewing your degree card on your myUMBC Profile is helpful. Here you can: 

Additionally, you can develop a list of questions/topics to discuss with your Academic Advisor in order to structure your meeting. To help with that conversation, ask yourself:  

Students who are interested in Pre-Professional Allied Health Programs will also work with Academic Advisors in the Office for Academic and Pre-Professional Advising. In addition to an Academic Advisor in your major department, you may also work with Advisors in other programs including: Pre-Med/Pre-Dental, Pre-Law, Athletics, Academic Success Center, Honors College, other UMBC Scholars Programs, etc. 

 

The Spring 2023 schedule of classes will be available on Monday, October 24th and you should plan to meet with your Academic Advisor before your registration appointment date. You can review the course offerings and discuss them with your Academic Advisor when you meet. You can also check out information on several personalized degree planning tools offered at UMBC.  Be ready to discuss any outstanding items or questions you might have from previous advising meetings.  

 

Contact the Office of Academic & Pre-Professional Advising at oapa@umbc.edu. If you have a quick question, you can also send a DM on Instagram @umbc_advising, schedule an advising appointment with us or visit our office in Sherman Hall, B-wing, rm 224. 

 

Welcome back Retrievers! We are excited to have our campus community connect again in person while continuing to keep masks in mind.

You may be ready to jump in full speed ahead or may be apprehensive about returning. Wherever you are, it is okay! UMBC is prepared to support you and help ensure that your return to campus is successful!

Below are some tips as you start the fall semester:

First and foremost, checking in with yourself throughout the semester is essential as prioritizing your health.UMBC invests its resources to support you holistically, and you are encouraged to take full advantage of all it has to offer you to be the best version of yourself!

The Center for Well-Being is located on Center Road between Chesapeake and Susquehanna Halls, The Center for Well-Being includes Retriever Integrated Health (University Health Services, the Office of Health Promotion, and the CounselingCenter); Student Conduct and Community Standards; and the Initiatives for Identity, Inclusion & Belonging (i3b) Gathering Space for Spiritual Well-Being. It also includes the Mind Spa—a student space equipped for the practices of mindfulness, meditation, and relaxation—and an informal student meeting/lounge space.

You can also pay a visit to the newly renovated Retriever Athletics Center for a workout or facilitated class.

While it may seem counterintuitive, seeking academic support before you encounter academic difficulty can help provide accountability and a solid foundation for tackling the workload you’ll face during the semester. The Academic Success Center offers support services, including appointment and drop-in tutoring, the Writing Center, academic success meetings, and much more.

Perhaps over the last year, you’ve had time to reflect and are considering an alternative academic pathway. Advisors in the Office for Academic & Pre-Professional Advising (OAPA) welcome the opportunity to discuss your academic plans, including any potential significant changes you are considering.

Additionally, consider attending the 5th Annual Major Event on November 16th. This is a great opportunity to further explore your major options or connect with faculty and staff in your selected academic department.

Building relationships with your peers provides you with an invaluable support network as you navigate back onto campus. 

One way to do this is by joining a student organization. This year’s Involvement Fest will be back to its in-person format on September 9th on Erickson Field. Mingle with students that share your academic or hobby interests and consider joining clubs to enrich your college experience.

Are you living on campus? The Office of Residential Life is hosting various programs throughout the semester to build community in your Retriever neighborhood. 

Are you commuting to campus? There is also programming through the Off-Campus Student Services offices that exclusively cater to students on the go throughout the week and looking to stay connected to campus life.

Still unsure about larger gatherings? Don’t hesitate to keep up with virtual study groups, video game sessions, or outdoor meetings with a few close friends—to name a few ways technology continues to keep us all connected.

Cheers to a fresh start on prioritizing self-care, forming habits conducive to balance and academic success, and ultimately maximizing your time on campus (and virtually) to bridge connections with dedicated resources and vibrant student life. We hope your semester is a great one!

College can be a great time to explore multiple interests.  While your academic major offers a direction for future career paths, adding a minor can also add value to your degree. In addition to the skills and knowledge gained from your major, a minor provides an opportunity for exposure to different fields of study, which can help broaden personal and professional opportunities.  

At UMBC, a minor is usually between 18-25 credits and while not mandatory for graduation, can be a terrific addition to any major. Here are some reasons why you should think about considering a minor.  

As you know, it takes 120 total credits, including 45 upper-level credits, to graduate. What if your chosen major doesn’t provide all those credits needed for you to graduate? Adding a minor could help! Many minors offer the flexibility to choose electives based on your own interests within that field of study and there’s usually the chance to get extra upper-level courses done as well. Check out the GEP courses you’ve completed so far for ideas - lower-level courses you’ve already completed could be the pre-requisites needed for a new minor.  

Consider how extra or specialized knowledge could complement your bachelor’s degree. If your minor is in a similar field as your major, this can be a way to explore subtopics within that field and add depth to the focus of your overall studies. This can be excellent preparation for future research specializations if you’re looking to attend graduate or professional school programs as well.  

A minor can also be used as a way to explore talents and passions outside of your academic major. Minors can offer the chance to pursue other interests while also teaching you skills different from your major. These programs could serve as a creative outlet and give you the chance to network with students and faculty beyond your major department.   

Since a minor is a way to build new skills and gain experience in a different field, this could help you with future job opportunities. Having broad coursework in multiple disciplines could help set you apart as a competitive applicant in the eyes of employers. The academic knowledge as well as other transferrable skills you gain through a minor can be an awesome addition to your resume.  

The term “interdisciplinary” is used to describe the integration of more than one academic discipline. We see this phenomenon happening across so many fields today, which is inspiring innovative collaboration to solve complex problems in our society. How might diverse perspectives from other academic fields help you as you prepare for your future career? Choosing a minor with this mentality in mind can help you truly broaden your educational horizons and contribute in unique ways to your future career path.