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The faculty and staff of the Charles V. Schafer Jr. School of Engineering & Science are excited to have the opportunity to help you succeed at Stevens. We want you to make the most of the opportunities available to you both academically and in the broader sense for personal development and stand ready to assist you in any way that we can. The skills, habits and attitudes that you develop as well as the knowledge you gain in the next few years are the stepping-stones to your lifelong success. On this website you will find information about the Advising System and many of the issues and questions that may arise as you start your journey at Stevens. If you have questions that you cannot find answers to here, remember, the faculty and staff are great resources and will point you to someone who has the answer if they do not, so do not be shy in asking
Peer Mentors
The office of Undergraduate Academics arranges for volunteer upper class students in each engineering concentration to act as Peer Mentors to incoming students who have interest in pursuing that concentration. The Peer Mentors are important resources as they “know the ropes” and can offer support that complements that provided by the faculty advisors. You will meet your Peer Mentor at dinner on Thursday of Orientation Week, with later meetings scheduled as convenient.
Academic Policies and Procedures
The Office of Undergraduate Academics has produced answers to frequently asked questions on many of the procedures and processes that are associated with academics at Stevens. All incoming students are assigned to a faculty member who will serve as their Freshman Advisor. In most cases this advisor will remain with you until you officially elect your engineering concentration (major) and fill out a study plan towards the end of your third semester.
Students who know which engineering discipline they want – We recently revised the Freshman advising system in the School of Engineering so that incoming students are provided faculty and peer mentors within the engineering discipline (major) that they expect to pursue. We believe that for most students this will provide a more supportive and focused arrangement than an arbitrary assignment of advisors. This will allow an early connection to your future departmental “home”, its faculty and students, and their social and professional activities. We strongly encourage you to take full advantage and get involved with the department. This will help you confirm your choice of engineering field or may prompt you to consider a different field if your realize your initial choice was not right for you.
Please note, if you change your mind at some point on your field of interest, you are not "Locked in" and can switch advising to another department by contacting Associate Dean Keith Sheppard . You do not officially declare an engineering concentration (major) until Term 3.
Students who have not yet decided a major – We also recognize that many incoming students have not yet decided the engineering field in which they wish to concentrate. This is fine. We know that this can be a difficult decision and not one to be rushed. We therefore provide undecided engineering students with experienced advisors. This is coordinated through the Associate Dean of Engineering responsible for undergraduate matters. In fact at Stevens, you do not have to officially declare your choice of engineering discipline (major) until towards the end of the third semester, at which time you complete an initial Study Plan for that program with a Program Advisor. The Program Advisor then takes over from your Freshman Advisor. Until then you will typically keep your Freshman faculty advisor. If at some point in the first three semesters you decide the field you wish to major in (or to change planned major), you can switch to a Freshman advisor in that field by first meeting with one of the staff in the Undergraduate Academics Office.
Remember, you are not officially in a major and do not need to be until after you submit a signed Study Plan to the Registrar’s Office, typically in Term 3. This is because every engineering student takes a common set of courses until Term 4.
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