Advising
Three types of advisors are ready to assist you during your undergraduate career at UNC: a General College advisor(freshman and sophomore years), an Arts and Sciences advisor (junior and senior years) and the Director of Undergraduate Studies for the anthropology department (since you have declared your major, typically second semester sophomore year or by the beginning of your junior year).
The Academic Advising Program is located in the Steele Building on main campus. All Anthropology majors are assigned to the Social and Behavorial Sciences division which is conveniently located on the first floor of Steele Bldg.
The Social and Behavioral Science advisors are:
Carolyn Covalt covalt@email.unc.edu
Melissa Edwards melissa_edwards@unc.edu
Lisa LaMantia ll@email.unc.edu
George Maitland gmaitlan@email.unc.edu
Rachel Murphey-Brown ramurphe@email.unc.edu
Dennis Soberl soberl@email.unc.edu
Linwood Webster lwebster@email.unc.edu
Andre Wesson wesson@email.unc.edu
For appointments go to: http://advising.unc.edu/
You can learn about General College and Arts and Sciences advising in the Undergraduate Bulletin, the Undergraduate Majors & Minors Manual or the homepage for the A&S Advising Office (see especially the “Advising Guide”):
We focus here on the third category,
On declaring Anthropology as your major (preferably not later than the beginning of your junior year), you should schedule a meeting with the Director of Undergraduate Studies (DUS). You can get his or her name from the office staff (301 Alumni, or 2-1243). The DUS will explain the major requirements and, after learning about your interests and plans, will give you advice about how to meet the requirements in ways that fit with your interests within Anthropology.
You should try to see the DUS at least once a semester. Visit during his or her office hours (the departmental staff keeps a listing, revised each semester), or ask by phone or email to schedule an appointment at a specific time. It is helpful if you provide some advance warning of your agenda for the meeting.
Arrive with questions and observations in hand (keep a log or make a list to jog your memory). If major requirements are to be discussed, then you should have your Arts and Sciences Worksheet with you, completed to the extent possible. If you are seeking an exception to formal requirements, or official recognition of an unusual means of meeting them, be prepared to provide materials supporting your request (e.g., syllabi) and to explain your request to the DUS. More nebulous topics — curiosity about a particular subject, argument or author, enthusiasm (or indeed, distress) about university life, some aspect of your major or a class, or a wish to explore the feasibility or desirability of entering the Peace Corps or graduate school, etc. — are no less appropriate for discussion. If the DUS cannot answer your questions she/he will point you to a faculty member, who can. Intellectual small talk, serious or light, is not an obligatory element of these meetings. But it can often be highly rewarding, for both parties.
Unfortunately, many students take a minimalist view of advising: less is better. The DUS becomes a source of occasional assurance that the student has assembled a set of classes that will meet the formal requirements for graduation. Beyond that, advising either is deemed to be unneeded or a nuisance. This is regrettable. Advising is an opportunity for direct contact with a scholar who shares your interest in Anthropology. Seen from that perspective, it can be a source of unexpected and rich rewards.
See the Anthropology Department DUS regularly.