Please contact us by email for advice, information, and appointments. 

Visiting Summer Students must refer to the Visiting Summer Student information. 

Note Regarding Appointments:
Due to the unique schedules and work locations of our Undergraduate Affairs staff, we are unable to accommodate walk-in or last-minute meetings. To ensure availability, please contact us by email at least 1–2 weeks prior to your planned visit to UC San Diego to schedule an appointment.

Using the "Ask a Question" feature in the Virtual Advising Center (vac.ucsd.edu) is the exclusive way to message the Physics Department advising staff with questions/concerns. You will typically response within 1-3 business days.

During campus closures, academic departments are closed, including department VAC portals. Please submit your message once the VAC re-opens. 

Fast Five Advising is a 5-minute Zoom advising session to ask quick questions and is accessible on the VAC during these days and times in weeks 1-10, only:

• Mondays 1-130pm
• Tuesdays 9-930am
• Wednesdays 1-130pm
• Thursdays 1-130pm
• Fridays 1130a-12pm

Please note that Fast Five advising may experience some one-time cancellations due to special events and campus holidays.

Fast Five Advising is reserved for quick questions. For example:

• Am I enrolled in the right W26 courses for my PHYS major?
• Will PHYS 10 be offered in SP26? (see our course offerings)

Fast Five Advising CANNOT be used for the following:

• EASy requests and/or prereq waivers (see our enrollment policies)
• Document review and/or document processing
• Long-term planning
• Conversations that will take more than five minutes

To join Fast Five Advising, follow these steps:

STEP 1: Log into VAC and read ALL unread Contact Records and Academic Notices from UCSD offices. If you have unread content on VAC, you will not be permitted to join an advising session. 

STEP 2: Sign into the Physics Department's remote waiting room at least 5 minutes before drop ins end and wait for a Zoom link to pop up on your screen.

STEP 3: Click the Zoom link that pops up to join the advising session. During your session:

• Your audio and video must remain on.
• You must be able to share your screen.
• Your device must allow you to browse the web during the session so we can guide you to key resources.

Advising appointments are available during the academic term, only. You can book an appointment by following the steps below. 

STEP 1: Review all Previously Provided Information from UCSD Personnel

Open the Virtual Advising Center (VAC) and look at the top to see if you have any unread messages and/or notices. You must read all unread messages and notices before booking an appointment. 

STEP 2: Submit Relevant Documents

Click here to submit any documents that need review (we may process your documents before your appointment, especially if time-sensitive).

STEP 3: Starting on December 18, book your appointment with your @ucsd account

Click here to book your appointment. Book your appointment using your @ucsd account. The booking form will show you if you're accidentally using your @gmail account). Read the information below.

What to Do After Submitting Your Appointment Request

• Monitor your UCSD email for the notification that we have replied to you on VAC. 
• If you missed any of the three steps above, you will need to start the appointment scheduling process again and complete any missing steps.

If you need to cancel/reschedule your appointment

• It is your responsibility to alert PHYSICS through the VAC at least 24 hours in advance of your appointment and to submit a new appointment request. 

If your meeting is on Zoom

• Both your audio and video must be on for the entire appointment.
• You must be able to use the share-screen feature during the meeting.

Physics Advising closes in correlation with campus closures, and there are sometimes closures not related to campus closures. When the VAC closes, advising is unavailable (there are no drop-ins or appointments, and VAC messaging is also unavailable). Please take note of upcoming VAC closures: