Advising

Make Every Semester Count

Seek advising regularly. Meeting with an academic advisor at San Francisco State University is essential to staying on track with your academic goals.

Whether you're an undergraduate or graduate student, advisors help you navigate course selection, degree requirements, and career planning, ensuring you make informed decisions about your academic path.

Advising Resources

Use the table below to guide you to the best advising resource based on your needs.

Advising Need	Advisor Recommendation
Undergraduate Students: Choosing courses/degree planning for general education, major, minor, and certificates Understanding transfer credits Graduation check Academic success strategies Academic notice and clearing holds Exploring options for majors, minors, and certificates Petition of study abroad courses for general education Referrals to campus resources Academic policy inquiries and assistance with appeal forms	Academic Advisors at the Undergraduate Advising Center (UAC) OR For EOPP Students - Academic Advisors from the Educational Opportunity and Pathway Programs (EOPP)
Undergraduate and Second Baccalaureate Students: Selection of appropriate major/minor/certificate courses based on career and professional goals Course substitutions and exceptions for major/minor/certificate Opportunities for research or teaching assistantships Mentorship, careers, internships, and graduate school preparation Approval of study abroad courses for major/minor Requests and approvals for forms requiring major advisor approval	Faculty Advisors (see advisor list and hours below)
Requests and approvals for forms requiring department chair approval Request meeting with department chair	Department of Modern Languages and Literatures Email: mll@sfsu.edu Location: Humanities 475
Information about Study Abroad opportunities and application process/timelines	See Study Abroad as the first step
Graduate/Second Baccalaureate Students: General advising questions (petitions, policies/procedures, registration, and academic notice)	Division of Graduate Studies & Career Development Advising Email: gradstudies@sfsu.edu Phone: (415) 338-2234 Location: ADM 254 (8:00 am – 4:30 pm)
Graduate Students: Graduate student course planning, academic advising, Advancement to Candidacy, and Graduate Student Culminating Experience	See the Graduate Coordinator for your program or contact your Culminating Experience Committee Chair

Advising Need

Advisor Recommendation

Undergraduate Students:

Choosing courses/degree planning for general education, major, minor, and certificates
Understanding transfer credits
Graduation check
Academic success strategies
Academic notice and clearing holds
Exploring options for majors, minors, and certificates
Petition of study abroad courses for general education
Referrals to campus resources
Academic policy inquiries and assistance with appeal forms

Academic Advisors at the Undergraduate Advising Center (UAC)

For EOPP Students - Academic Advisors from the Educational Opportunity and Pathway Programs (EOPP)

Undergraduate and Second Baccalaureate Students:

Selection of appropriate major/minor/certificate courses based on career and professional goals
Course substitutions and exceptions for major/minor/certificate
Opportunities for research or teaching assistantships
Mentorship, careers, internships, and graduate school preparation
Approval of study abroad courses for major/minor
Requests and approvals for forms requiring major advisor approval

Faculty Advisors (see advisor list and hours below)

Requests and approvals for forms requiring department chair approval
Request meeting with department chair

Department of Modern Languages and Literatures
Email: mll@sfsu.edu
Location: Humanities 475

Information about Study Abroad opportunities and application process/timelines

See Study Abroad as the first step

Graduate/Second Baccalaureate Students:

General advising questions (petitions, policies/procedures, registration, and academic notice)

Division of Graduate Studies & Career Development Advising
Email: gradstudies@sfsu.edu
Phone: (415) 338-2234
Location: ADM 254 (8:00 am – 4:30 pm)

Graduate Students:

Graduate student course planning, academic advising, Advancement to Candidacy, and Graduate Student Culminating Experience

See the Graduate Coordinator for your program or contact your Culminating Experience Committee Chair

Advising Resources

Undergraduate Advising

Majors and minors in the College of Liberal & Creative Arts (LCA) should consult with two advisors each semester:

an advisor in the major and
a general education and university requirements advisor in the Undergraduate Advising Center

Forms:

Undergraduate Advising Forms

Graduate Advising

Graduate Advising Forms
Graduate Advising Center: The Division of Graduate Studies offers counseling and advising regarding issues ranging from applications to graduation.

Degree Outcomes

Find out about our undergraduate and graduate degree outcomes

Degree Outcomes

Additional Resources

Faculty Advisors

Advising is key to a successful college experience. Advisors are available from each language program to assist students in planning their degrees.

Department of Modern Languages and Literatures Advisors
Program	Advisor	Email	Location	Focus	Office Hours
Arabic	Frederik Green	fgreen@sfsu.edu	HUM 475C	Coordinator	Wed: 1:00 p.m. - 2:45 p.m.
Chinese	Chris Wen-Chao Li	wenchao@sfsu.edu	HUM 338	Coordinator, Majors, Graduates	Mon: 12:00 p.m. - 12:50 p.m. and 6:50p.m.-7:30p.m. Wed: 12:00 p.m. - 12:50 p.m. Fri: 6:50 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Chinese	Frederik Green	fgreen@sfsu.edu	HUM 475C	Flagship	Wed: 1:00 p.m. - 2:45 p.m.
French	Anne Linton			Coordinator, Majors last name M-Z
French	Blanca Misse			Majors last name A-L
German	Ilona Vandergriff	vdgriff@sfsu.edu	HUM 460	Coordinator, Majors	Mon: 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. and by appt.
Italian	Frederik Green	fgreen@sfsu.edu	HUM 475C	Coordinator, Majors, Graduates	Wed: 1:00 p.m. - 2:45 p.m.
Japanese	Masahiko Minami			Coordinator, Majors
Japanese	Midori McKeon	mmckeon@sfsu.edu	HUM 346	Minors	Tue: 10:45 a.m. - 11:15 a.m.via zoom Thu: 10:45 a.m. - 11:15 a.m.via zoom Fri: 2:45 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.in HUM 117
Persian	Mitra Ara	mitraara@sfsu.edu	HUM 347	Coordinator, Minors
Russian	Natalia Tkachov			Coordinator, Minors
Spanish	Ana Luengo	aluengo@sfsu.edu		Coordinator, Majors last names R-Z, Graduates	Tue: 4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. and by appt.
Spanish	Gustavo Calderon	gusto@sfsu.edu	HUM 441	Majors last names A-H	Tue: 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Thu: 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Spanish	Michael Hammer	mhammer@sfsu.edu	HUM	Majors last names I-Q	Tue: 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. Thu: 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. and by appt.