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Where Do I Start?

Do I Need to See an Advisor?

You must meet with your academic advisor prior to registration if you fit in one of the following categories:

  • Freshmen
  • New transfer students
  • Non-Degree students
  • Students on probation
  • Students that changed their major the previous semester

If you are a first-year or transfer student, you must attend orientation. You will be contacted by your assigned academic advisor prior to your Orientation session to register for classes.

Academic Advisors

These are non-faculty professional staff members. They are available to assist students in designing an appropriate course of study that will satisfy requirements for graduation. Academic Advisors are knowledgeable about the technicalities of UT Dallas and program requirements. All students seeking a bachelor’s degree should meet at least annually with their academic advisor to discuss degree requirements, course selection, time management, study skills, difficulties with coursework, career opportunities and personal problems.

Faculty Advisors

Graduate advising occurs at the department level by faculty advisors. These are regular faculty members in the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics (NSM). Their role is to help students with career planning and to serve as academic mentors (they are often not, however, up on the technicalities of UT Dallas requirements). Students should partner with both the faculty advisor and the academic advisor. Below is a list of faculty advisors for each major in NSM.

MajorUG Faculty AdvisorGR Faculty Advisor
Actuarial ScienceDr. Natalia HumphreysDr. Wenyi Lu
BiochemistryDr. Sheena D’Arcy 
BiologyDr. Uma SrikanthDr. Duane Winkler
Biological Sciences Programs
BiotechnologyDr. Mehmet Candas
ChemistryDr. Sheena D’Arcy Dr. Steven Nielsen
Data ScienceDr. Pankaj Choudhary
and
Dr. Ovidiu Daescu
Dr. Pankaj Choudhary
Mathematics-Data Science Track (refer to Dr. Choudhary if undecided between MS-Math Data Science Track or MS-Statistics Data Science Track)
Sustainable Earth Systems SciencesDr. Tom Brikowski
and
Dr. Zach Sickmann
Dr. Robert Stern
MathematicsDr. Mieczyslaw DabkowskiDr. Viswanath Ramakrishna
Mathematics-StatisticsDr. Chuan-Fa TangDr. Min Chen
Molecular BiologyDr. Uma SrikanthDr. Duane Winkler
PhysicsDr. Lindsay KingDr. Yuri Gartstein