Spring 2025 Advising and Registration

Here are instructions for spring registration, which begins Wednesday, November 6. There are sections below on requirements, courses offered, advising appointments, obtaining permission to add courses, and notes for graduating seniors and people going to the DC program or abroad. This information is also available on the web here: https://bit.ly/pst-reg-sp25.

Please follow the directions carefully and take the necessary steps in a timely manner. Thanks!

Requirements for the Major:

To plan your courses for the semester, it's a good idea to start by checking the requirements for the major. There's a list here: https://bit.ly/pst-rules. Keep in mind that MAX 201 should be taken before PST 315, which itself should be taken before PST 410.

Courses Offered:

A list of Policy Studies courses is available at https://bit.ly/pst-sp2025 and in the bio of the Policy Studies Instagram. Some courses have PST numbers and some have PAI but all count toward the major. In addition to the usual courses there is a new course on AI policy (PAI 300.4), a course on religion, conflict, and collaboration (PAI 300.3) that was offered for the first time last spring, and a course on poverty policy (PAI 415) that has not been offered recently.

Advising Appointments:

As indicated below, you should meet with either Professor Coplin or Michelle Walker depending on whether you’ve taken PST 315. You should also contact your home college advisor to make sure you know where you stand with respect to the requirements outside the major.

(1) If you have not taken PST 315:

Email Professor Coplin to schedule an advising appointment. Meetings will be held via Zoom, telephone or in-person. Email your preference and time you would like to meet. He is available to meet in his office or on Zoom at the times below, and can meet by appointment on weekends by Zoom.

	Zoom	Office
Mondays	9:00-10:30	12:30-2:00 and 3:15-4:30
Tuesdays	1:30-4:30
Wednesdays	9:00-10:30	12:30-2:00
Thursdays	1:30-4:30
Fridays	2:30-4:30	9:00-10:30

(2) If you have taken PST 315 or are taking PST 315 this semester:

Email Michelle Walker to schedule an in-person or zoom appointment. Beginning Tuesday October 22, Michelle will be available Tuesdays 1:00-3:45, Wednesdays 9:00-11:00 & 1:00-3:00, and Thursdays 9:00-12:00 in 15-minute intervals.  You should email her to set up an in person visit or a zoom call. If none of those times work, you should email her to set up another time. Whenever you email Michelle, please include some days and times you're available. She will email you an open time slot.

If you have taken PST 315, do not make a registration appointment to see Coplin if you have not seen Michelle Walker. He will send you to talk to Michelle first.

(3) If you are currently studying abroad:

Email either Professor Coplin or Michelle Walker depending on whether or not you have taken or are taking PST 315. It will probably be easiest to discuss your schedule by email but zoom is also available.

Obtaining Permission to Add Courses:

• For PST 315, contact Professor Coplin.

• For PST 410 or other courses requiring departmental permission, email Michelle Walker and be sure to include the section number if the course has multiple sections.

• For courses requiring instructor permission, email the instructor.
• For MAX 123 or MAX 201, contact Stephanie Williams in the Dean's Office. Those courses are not administered by the department and we can't grant permission to add them.

Going Abroad or to Maxwell in DC:

Many courses offered by SU Abroad centers and Maxwell in DC will count as Policy Studies electives as long as they are 300 level or above and have appropriate course prefixes. See the electives section of https://bit.ly/pst-rules for the list of prefixes.

If you plan to take an internship while you're abroad or in DC and are interested in having it count toward your PST 410 requirement, it's possible but it must be approved in advance. Please see this FAQ page: https://bit.ly/pst-410-away. It is not possible to count an internship done abroad toward 410 after the fact.

Notes for Graduating Seniors:

(1) If you are graduating in Fall 2024:

You will receive a separate email certifying your major requirements.

(2) If you are graduating in Spring 2025:

You must meet with Michelle Walker and your home college advisor this semester to make sure you have or will have fulfilled all necessary requirements for graduation. (we don’t want you to have any surprises!)