Advising Tips

As you progress through your college education it becomes vital that your understand your Course Catalog and the classes you need to take to Graduatate on time. Below are some tips that IEEE members have provided to guide you through your college planning.

All Students

• Be aware of your DARS report. Upon meeting your advisor for the first time, review your DARS report with him/her. Then compare the report with the curriculum showcase. [https://darsweb.utk.edu/]
• Be sure to have a clear picture of how petitions, and other course substitutions could alleviate a scheduling issue.
• During your third semester before graduation, you need to start working on graduation paperwork. The first place to look is the "Steps To Graduation Checklist."

EE/CE Students

• Follow the curriculum showcase for your catalog year as closely as possible. =
• With one exception, sophomore year is showcased with a load of 13 hours. It is advised to remove a general elective from Junior year and add it to that semester. Also, It does not matter which order you take general electives.
• If starting a co-op, pay attention to your future schedule! Classes such as 315/316 are only offered in the fall and spring, respectively. A co-op in the fall of your Junior year could set your graduation date back even further without utilizing the following summer by doubling up on 315/316. Many Senior classes require 315/316 as a prerequisite, but students may refute on a case by case basis.
• Attend junior seminar. It can be a very interesting class, but most importantly it is an excellent way to network with professionals and potentially get a job.
• There are certain technical electives that must be petitioned in order to attend without taking pre-requisites for no credit to a E.E. degree. Such classes are listed below. On ocassion certain professors strictly forbide such an action, but there are generally multiple classes offered.
  
  

  Restricted:

  ME 231: (RE) Prerequisite(s): 202
  ME 321: (RE) Prerequisite(s): 202
  ME 344:(RE) Prerequisite(s): 331 and 391. Registration Restriction(s):Aerospace engineering major or biomedical engineering major or mechanical engineering major.
  NE 342: (DE) Prerequisite(s): 203 or Mechanical Engineering 331.
  
  

  Unrestricted Electives:

  MSE 201
  MSE 410: (RE) Prerequisite(s): 201
  IE 405
  CHEM 130

CS/CE Students

• Be aware of your DARS report. You would be lucky if it did not have an error on it. It tells you exactly what you need to have in order to graduate in your major for your registered catalog year. Review it with your advisor during your second to last semester. [https://darsweb.utk.edu/]
• Students should be cautioned to avoid more than one lab intensive course in CS/CE per semester. Lab intensive courses are those with a lab component that could be potentially more time consuming for a student at that particular level the classes are, CS102, CS140, CS160, CS302, CS360 or their CE counterparts.
• Student's should complete math requirements especially Math 300 prior to their junior year (required for 311 and 380)
• If a student is double majoring in math, make sure they are aware of the overlap with the CS component (Math requirements 2009 follow):
  * At least one course must be taken from each of the following categories:
  Algebra: 351, 455-456 (457-458)
  Analysis: 341, 445-446 (447-448)
  Numerical Analysis: 371 or Computer Science 370, 471-472
  Probability Statistics: 323, 423-424 (423-425)
  * At least one 400 level two-semester sequence must be taken from the list above.
  * CS 311 and CS 380 may be used as upper division math electives in part
• If a student is having trouble adjusting to the CS labs, the Unix environment, or struggling with a particular class, an option may be to put them in touch with the STARS mentor - webpage of scheduled mentors will be up soon
• Caution students not to wait until their final semester to take CS 380 if it is required for them, many students struggle with this class and it can delay graduation.