Academic Advising for Current MS, MLA, and PhD Students
If you need to make an appointment with an academic advisor, please click this link to sign up for an appointment slot.
Note: only current University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS) master's and PhD students can use the link above to make an appointment.
If you are a PitE undergraduate student, use this page instead.
If you are looking for admissions information, start here.
General support email for current students: SEAS.gradsupport@umich.edu.
This email goes to Jennifer Taylor, Jaime Langdon, and Hillary Streit, as well as Kim Elliott.
Meet the Academic Advisors
- Course Advising for PitE and SEAS Masters' students
- Plans smaller events in the SEAS Student Center, like SEAS Halloween.
- Supports advising record keeping, such as collecting syllabi
- Good point of contact if you have a question but don't know who to ask
- Manages academic advising for both SEAS MS/MLA students and PitE undergraduate students
- Assists SEAS and PitE student organizations with leadership development and semester programming/events
- Is a resource for our student community as they navigate academic and life choices
- Plans, with our student community's input, social, wellness, and academic/professional events
- Advises PhD and Dual Degree students on program requirements and academic progress
- Assists international students with CPT/OPT and I20 extensions
- Assists graduate students with any questions they may have about SEAS, Rackham, or University guidelines and academic processes
- Manages PitE and SEAS Curriculum Planning
PhD Timeline
Fall 2023 Audit Sheets for Master's students
Audit sheets are forms you can use to track your progress toward the completion of your degree.
BEC, EJ, EPP, ESM, GDS, Sus Dev (for students who began the program before F23), Sus Dev (for students who began the program in F23 or later), Sus Sys, MLA 2 Year Program, MLA 3 Year Program
Master's Course Lists
These are lists of courses that fulfill SEAS Master's degree requirements.
Integrated Analytic Methods and Skills Requirement (IAMS)
Graduate Peer Advising
The SEAS Student Center hires current graduate students to provide a student perspective on course registration, changing your Master's specialization, and accessing resources when you need them. Their hours are walk in, no need to make an appointment.
Google Calendar for the Peer Advisors' Office Hours
Gautam Mathur is a Geospatial Data Science Masters Student at SEAS, where he intends to learn how to use remote sensing and geospatial data to monitor the use, and assess the health of natural resources. He is also the Student Government President for the 2023-2024 school year. He grew up in the outskirts of Delhi, India, and spent his undergraduate years at UC Davis studying Environmental Science and Management (Where he was also a peer advisor!) He started his career around Sacramento, California as a GIS intern at a consulting firm. As a peer advisor, Gautam is excited to help you with your class schedule and requirements to make sure that you have a productive and enjoyable time at SEAS, and is also excited to help with your resumes and cover letters!
Cassie McHugh is a Ecosystem Science and Management and Geospatial Data Sciences Masters Student in SEAS. Cassie is a New Jersey native, but completed her B.S. in Environmental Sustainability with a Minor in Biological Conservation at the University of Oklahoma! While there she gained experience in various positions including completing research through creation of a contact database of all green electricity purchasing organizations on the EPA website, working on managing invasive species and engaging in habitat enhancement and restoration projects, and collecting water samples for water quality assessment in Oklahoma. Cassie also loved being involved on campus through various organizations. Throughout her four years, she was involved in RUF/NEK Lil’ Sis, Gamma Phi Beta, Relay For Life, Geography and Environmental Sustainability Club, Green Week Committee, Environmental Concerns Committee, Student Environmental Coalition, and Camp Crimson. However, her most notable involvement was establishing the women’s lacrosse team! Through her involvement and experiences Cassie has found a passion for addressing water quality issues, working on contamination and remediation projects, and also conservation issues on a broader scope. Outside of school, Cassie loves to travel and hike whenever possible! As a peer advisor, Cassie believes she can incorporate her skills and experiences to engage others in discussion and critical thinking in order to help develop and support other’s interests and goals. She is excited to help people feel connected to the program and navigate their way through not only their specialization, but graduate school and beyond!
Nora Bundy is a Sustainable Systems Masters Student at SEAS and a Master of Urban & Regional Planning (MURP) student at Taubman College. She received her BA in German Studies and Psychology from Lewis & Clark College in 2013. She took the long road to graduate school and in 2019 her experiences as a public school teacher, construction apprentice, property manager, and community woodshop intern led to a job at a nonprofit building materials reuse center in Baltimore, MD. It was here she first heard the term circular economy and never looked back. Learning tools and successful practices for pursuing waste justice and resource recovery are her goals for grad school. She is looking forward to helping other students navigate the many resources offered by UM and SEAS.
Other Resources
Looking for career advising help? Email SEAS-careers@umich.edu.
Looking for funding information and resources? Email SEAS-financial-aid@umich.edu or take a look at the funding database.
Have questions about the Master's projects? Email seas-projects@umich.edu.
More mentoring and advising resources on campus.
Do I have to take EAS 509 - Ecology: Concepts and Applications if I am a Master's student?
All MS and 3 year program MLA students have to take EAS 509 unless they test out of the course. Test outs are done in the summer before your first semester in SEAS. 2 year program MLA students do not have to take EAS 509.
Do I have to take EAS 510 - The Science and Practice of Social Change if I am an MS student?
If you have a background in social science, you can take a combination of courses from the Social Science Distribution list that add up to 3 credits instead of taking EAS 510. MLA students do not need to take 510.
I don't see any required courses for the PhD program other than Research Paradigms. Why?
All PhD students must take Research Paradigms. All other courses should be selected with the guidance of your advisor. You will be tasked with filling out a course of study approval form. As a part of completing that form, you will list relevant graduate-level courses that you took or plan to take. These courses should be listed in emphasis areas of theory, methods, and analytics, and applications to show how they contribute to your background. Courses taken as part of the PhD program should be clearly denoted, and one course from each emphasis area must be taken at UM as part of the PhD program.
How are class overrides and waitlists managed?
Students interested in enrolling in a course with full enrollment should attend the first class meeting to request permission for an override from the instructor. Instructors can then email Jennifer Taylor with class permission requests. Processing can take 24-48 hours. Some SEAS courses have electronic waitlists. Staff will issue permissions to students on waitlists as seats open up.
How many credits do I need to graduate from the Master's program?
The MS program requires 42 credit hours. 25 of the 42 credits must be from EAS courses. The 2 year MLA program requires 36 credits to graduate. 19 of the 36 credits must be from EAS courses. The 3 year MLA program requires 62 credits (including foundational courses). 25 of the 62 credits must be from EAS courses.
If I am an MS student, how soon can I declare a second specialization?
The earliest you can declare a second specialization is January of your first year.
Can you advise me on course selection for other departments?
Unfortunately, no. The SEAS advising staff do not keep records of requirements for other departments. However, if you are a dual degree student, we will help you get in contact with an academic advisor in your other department.
I want advising from a faculty member. How do I get it?
When you were admitted to SEAS, you should have been assigned a faculty advisor. You can get in touch with them through email or going to their office hours. If you don't know who your faculty advisor is, or if you have trouble getting in contact with your faculty advisor, please email seas.gradsupport@umich.edu so we can help.
Do any courses fulfill more than one requirement for the MS degree?
Yes! The Social Science Distribution courses and the IAMS courses can also be used to fulfill your specialization core requirements. However, the credits only count once.