Referred Advising
Academic Exploration Advising (AEA) is available to all USC undergraduate students who are exploring academic interests.
New and Continuing Student Advising
Many students experience academic curiosity or even academic uncertainty during their undergraduate experience, and the AEA academic advisors are here to assist you each step of the way.
If you are a new or continuing USC student who would like to explore majors or if you are not sure that your current academic department is the right fit for you, you can create an Advise USC referral to the Exploratory, BA to connect with an AEA advisor for major exploration support at any time or stage in your undergraduate career.
Steps to request a referral to the Exploratory, BA:
- Log in to Advise USC:
- Navigate to the “Advisor Connect” tab.
- Select “Create A New Case”
- Select “Get a referral to an academic department or special program”
- Input Exploratory, BA and comments regarding the reason for the referral (optional).
- Submit the referral request.
- Check your USC email account for a referral notification email, which Advise USC will send to your USC email account shortly after submitting the referral, and complete all required steps included in the referral notification email.
- Once you complete the required steps, the AEA team will process your Exploratory, BA referral based upon your student enrollment status:
- New student referrals will be processed in a minimum of three (3) business days once the student registers in courses for their first semester.
- Continuing student referrals will be processed in a minimum of three (3) business days.
To confirm the Exploratory, BA referral status:
- Log in to Advise USC
- Navigate to the “Advisor Connect” tab
- Select the link to the referral support case and check for the “Advisor Assigned” status, which indicates that the referral is now active. You may also check Advise USC > Advisor Connect > Success Team for your assigned AEA advisor.
Exploratory and Planning Appointments
We encourage our referred students to schedule “Exploratory” or planning advising appointments at any point in the year to discuss academic, career or personal resources, review prior advising discussions, and to continue the academic exploration process.
If you know that you do not intend to remain in your current declared major, you may request to change your major to Exploratory.
To declare the Exploratory major, you must meet with an AEA advisor and submit a written request via Advise USC > Advisor Connect > “Create A New Case” to change your major from your current program major to Exploratory.
Students who are at Junior status (64 units) are welcome to work with us on a referral basis, but cannot change their major to Exploratory.
Mandatory Advising Hold
If you are a referred student and remain declared in your current major, you are welcome to schedule an advising appointment with your assigned AEA advisor during the “mandatory advising” season for supplemental advising.
However, you must meet with your declared major advisor to have your mandatory (advising) hold lifted.
Tools and Resources
USC and AEA offers numerous resources to support your academic, personal and overall wellbeing, including our AEA calendar of events, Major Discovery Activity, and Navigation Guides.
Please access these and other guides on our Tools and Resources page.
Referred Student Common Questions
What does it mean to be referred to the Exploratory, BA?
AEA advisors work with students who are exploring their fields of interest and those who have identified their focus but need to complete pre-application requirements for their chosen major. Exploratory students integrate their exploration and pre-application classes with their university requirements.
For more information, review our What is Exploratory webpage.
Do I have to change my major to Exploratory to meet with an AEA advisor?
No. It’s completely up to you if you want to switch. You will work with your AEA advisor to determine your best path forward. AEA advisors are available to meet all USC students who are interested in exploring alternative programs of study.
Please note that Exploratory, Undecided and Undeclared students should declare a major before they reach Junior standing (64 total units). Students who are beyond Junior standing are welcome to work with us on a referral basis.
Will changing my major to Exploratory impact my admission to my intended major?
No. Being Exploratory does NOT negatively impact your competitiveness to your intended major.
Can my AEA advisor lift my departmental mandatory advising hold if I remain in my current major?
No. We are happy to work with any student in transition; however, students who maintain a declared major other than the Exploratory, B.A. must meet with their declared major advisor to have registration restrictions lifted before they can register, if applicable.
Can my AEA advisor create a course plan through graduation?
AEA advisors can share course recommendations for the current and upcoming term. However, students must contact the designated major advisor for their program of interest to request a multi-semester course plan through graduation; course plan creation is at the discretion of the major department.
Should I focus on applying to only one selective major?
We encourage students to consider parallel majors and minors, which may confirm your primary interest or lead to new and exciting opportunities! Connect with an AEA advisor to review our Major Exploration activities posted on our AEA Tools & Resources page for support with the exploration process.
I do not see an AEA advising appointment time that works with my availability. What should I do?
Please log-in to Advise USC, select the “Advisor Connect” tab on the menu bar and then select “Create a New Case” to request an advising appointment with their AEA advisor. We recommend providing availability to meet Monday-Friday, 9am-4pm (excluding holidays) in the message.
To check for advisor responses, please log back in to Advise USC and navigate to the “Advisor Connect” page to access the case and respond using “Chatter.”
For additional Advise USC tips, visit our AEA Tools & Resources page.
I submitted a question to my AEA advisor via an Advise USC support case. When will I receive a response?
Please allow one to three (1-3) business days for a response, as your AEA advisor may need to conduct additional research or outreach to best address your question. For time-sensitive questions, we recommend attending AEA drop-in advising, if scheduled. To view our drop-in advising and general advising schedule, visit our AEA Tools & Resources webpage and navigate to the Calendar of Events.
