Advising

Make Every Semester Count

Seek advising regularly. Meeting with an academic advisor at San Francisco State University is essential to staying on track with your academic goals.

Whether you're an undergraduate or graduate student, advisors help you navigate course selection, degree requirements, and career planning, ensuring you make informed decisions about your academic path.

Advising Resources

Use the table below to guide you to the best advising resource based on your needs.

Advising Need	Advisor Recommendation
Undergraduate Students: Choosing courses/degree planning for general education, major, minor, and certificates Understanding transfer credits Graduation check Academic success strategies Academic notice and clearing holds Exploring options for majors, minors, and certificates Petition of study abroad courses for general education Referrals to campus resources Academic policy inquiries and assistance with appeal forms	Academic Advisors at the Undergraduate Advising Center (UAC) OR For EOPP Students - Academic Advisors from the Educational Opportunity and Pathway Programs (EOPP)
Undergraduate and Second Baccalaureate Students: Selection of appropriate major/minor/certificate courses based on career and professional goals Course substitutions and exceptions for major/minor/certificate Opportunities for research or teaching assistantships Mentorship, careers, internships, and graduate school preparation Approval of study abroad courses for major/minor Requests and approvals for forms requiring major advisor approval	Faculty Advisors (see advisor list and hours below)
Requests and approvals for forms requiring department chair approval Request meeting with department chair	Department of Journalism Email: jour@sfsu.edu Location: Humanities 305
Information about Study Abroad opportunities and application process/timelines	See Study Abroad as the first step
Graduate/Second Baccalaureate Students: General advising questions (petitions, policies/procedures, registration, and academic notice)	Division of Graduate Studies & Career Development Advising Email: gradstudies@sfsu.edu Phone: (415) 338-2234 Location: ADM 254 (8:00 am – 4:30 pm)
Graduate Students: Graduate student course planning, academic advising, Advancement to Candidacy, and Graduate Student Culminating Experience	See the Graduate Coordinator for your program or contact your Culminating Experience Committee Chair

Advising Need

Advisor Recommendation

Undergraduate Students:

Choosing courses/degree planning for general education, major, minor, and certificates
Understanding transfer credits
Graduation check
Academic success strategies
Academic notice and clearing holds
Exploring options for majors, minors, and certificates
Petition of study abroad courses for general education
Referrals to campus resources
Academic policy inquiries and assistance with appeal forms

Academic Advisors at the Undergraduate Advising Center (UAC)

For EOPP Students - Academic Advisors from the Educational Opportunity and Pathway Programs (EOPP)

Undergraduate and Second Baccalaureate Students:

Selection of appropriate major/minor/certificate courses based on career and professional goals
Course substitutions and exceptions for major/minor/certificate
Opportunities for research or teaching assistantships
Mentorship, careers, internships, and graduate school preparation
Approval of study abroad courses for major/minor
Requests and approvals for forms requiring major advisor approval

Faculty Advisors (see advisor list and hours below)

Requests and approvals for forms requiring department chair approval
Request meeting with department chair

Department of Journalism
Email: jour@sfsu.edu
Location: Humanities 305

Information about Study Abroad opportunities and application process/timelines

See Study Abroad as the first step

Graduate/Second Baccalaureate Students:

General advising questions (petitions, policies/procedures, registration, and academic notice)

Division of Graduate Studies & Career Development Advising
Email: gradstudies@sfsu.edu
Phone: (415) 338-2234
Location: ADM 254 (8:00 am – 4:30 pm)

Graduate Students:

Graduate student course planning, academic advising, Advancement to Candidacy, and Graduate Student Culminating Experience

See the Graduate Coordinator for your program or contact your Culminating Experience Committee Chair

Faculty Advisors

Department of Journalism Advisors
Advisor	Phone	Email	Location
Cristina Azocar	(415) 338-3134	cazocar@sfsu.edu	Humanities 305B
Ana Lourdes Cárdenas	(415) 338-7431	lourdescardenas@sfsu.edu	Humanities 525
Josh Davis	(415) 338-2119	joshdavis@sfsu.edu	Humanities 356
Jesse Garnier	(415) 338-2663	jgarnier@sfsu.edu	Humanities 362
Kim Komenich		komenich@sfsu.edu	Humanities 353
Laura Moorhead	(415) 225-3363	lauralm@sfsu.edu	Humanities 335

Students are assigned a Journalism Department advisor who will be with them for their academic career. Journalism majors and minors are strongly encouraged to consult with a faculty advisor every academic year, or even every semester. Journalism majors and minors can choose a faculty advisor from the list of full-time faculty. Professor Kim Komenich advises all photojournalism students, and Professor Lourdes Cardenas advises Bilingual Spanish Journalism majors. Freshman and sophomores may choose their own advisors; upper-division students will be assigned an advisor in their junior year.

Journalism Department advising is required for upper-division students. Seniors must receive mandatory advising in the fall semester, and juniors in the spring semester. You will receive a notice from the department, generally by email, notifying you of the window to schedule an advising appointment. Advising sessions are not punitive. In fact, students often find it very helpful to meet with an advisor to plan out their academic path. Failure to receive mandatory advising could put at risk your early priority registration for classes next semester.

Your visits with an advisor need not be restricted to the curriculum. Advisors can talk with you about internships, scholarships, membership in professional associations and other opportunities, and can review your resume, cover letters and job search strategies. This is how you begin to plan your future career.

Internships

You should strive to complete at least one, and ideally two, internships by the time you enter the workforce. You can earn credit for internships by registering, with instructor permission, for JOUR 409: Directed Study in Journalism. You must be enrolled in JOUR 409 during the term of your internship, and you can receive up to three credit units during Fall or Spring semesters. Internships are expected to provide opportunities and challenges equivalent to a semester serving on our student publications. Providers must have received department approval prior to the start of the internship; supervisors are required to submit an acceptance form, a midterm review, and a final evaluation for each intern. The internships are expected to involve actual work in journalism: Writing, reporting, producing multimedia, managing social media, research, making photos, or fact-checking. Getting coffee for the boss does not count. This experience is intended to be meaningful and purposeful, one that brings you closer to your career goal.

View the course descriptions on the SF State bulletin for additional information.

Mentoring Program

Having a mentor or coach in the same profession is essential when learning how to navigate the ins and outs of getting your work out there. For seniors completing their Capstone projects, we have a volunteer mentoring program in which we encourage you to participate. We have a great resource of names and contacts we can use to find the perfect match for you.