Advising

Your advisor is available to help you make the most of your degree program. They can assist with:

• Discussing strategies for academic, personal, and professional success.
• Discuss your career goals and plans.
• Review classes, prerequisites, and schedules.
• Identify curriculum changes that may not be listed in the undergraduate catalog.
• Help you navigate administrative processes and challenges. (e.g., RAD holds, permission numbers, closed classes)
• Customize your degree requirements to complement your future educational or professional goals.
• Stay on track for graduation.
• Discover campus resources and engagement opportunities.
• Understand university policies.
• Network with future reference providers.

We seek to align your interests with the right faculty member. If your interests change, you can change your advisor at any time. Please email Dr. Shelly Volsche and let her know which faculty member you would like to have as your advisor.

Your catalog year is the academic year when you were first admitted to Boise State. So if you were admitted for Fall 2021, your catalog year is 2021-2022. That means the major requirements for that year will still be relevant regardless of changes to your major requirements. If you have questions about how changes to the catalog affect your plans, get in touch with your advisor.

You don’t have to stick with your original catalog year. You can follow any addition of the catalog – there’s a new one published every year – as long as it was in force while you’re enrolled as a Boise State student and isn’t older than six academic years at the time you graduate.

If you want to change your catalog year, complete the Catalog Year and Program Plan Update form available though the Registrar’s Office.

The second degree in anthropology is designed for those students who have already graduated with a bachelor’s degree in another discipline and are returning to get a second bachelor’s degree in anthropology. Thirty additional credits in anthropology are required. This degree assumes that you have already fulfilled the university foundation requirements. You will need to meet with the Anthropology Department Chair to create a 2nd-degree checklist specific to you.

If you are a transfer student from another college or university, please contact your Advisor to schedule an appointment for advising. It is important to bring a copy of your transcript with you to the appointment so that your advisor may assist you with determining what courses can/will apply towards your anthropology degree here at Boise State (and which courses won’t).

It is important to complete this advising appointment early in your degree program to ensure you know what courses will count towards your degree when it comes time to apply for graduation. In some cases, you may need to complete an Adjustment of Academic Requirements form in order to transfer an equivalent course from another institution.

You may find a list of commonly transferred courses and their Boise State course equivalencies by reviewing the Transfer Equivalency System (TES). TES is meant to serve as a resource and should not replace academic advising.

To increase the benefits from becoming a learner and to help you get the most out of your efforts as an undergraduate at Boise State, the department has developed Individual Development Plans. Working on your IDP is impactful for three reasons.

1. Reflect, Synthesize, and Make Plans for the Future – Your IDP provides a mechanism for planning and reflecting on your courses and experiences during your time in the program. By updating your IDP regularly you will be able to make connections between what you are learning now and what you want to do after you graduate. You will need these notes and reflections in your senior portfolio course (ANTH 492).
2. Get More from Advising – You should update your IDP, so that it is current before meeting with your advisor. You will review your IDP with your anthropology advisor as part of your advising consultations.
3. Prepare for ANTH 492 and Earn Extra Credit – Actively working on your IDP as you progress through the anthropology program will prepare you for the major capstone course: ANTH 492 Senior Practicum Portfolio. Instructors in your anthropology courses may offer extra credit to review and complete portions of this plan. In addition, you will be able to submit your IDP to the departmental professional development program each semester.

Your IDP will be developed using a Google Sheet provided by the department. You will develop your IDP using that sheet. You will receive a link to your IDP Google Sheet via email. You can also locate your plan by using the Shared with Me function in Google Docs. The sheet will be named following these conventions:

ZikerJ_Anthropology UG IDP 2021

If you have difficulty locating your plan, please contact the Operations Coordinator or the Advising Coordinator using the email addresses below:

brittanyarchuleta@boisestate.edu – Operations Coordinator
shellyvolsche@boisestate.edu – Advising Coordinator

Your IDP is provided as a Google spreadsheet (Google Sheet). You may not be familiar with spreadsheets. Please review these notes as needed.

1. Here is a sample IDP. You can view this IDP, but you cannot edit it. Please only edit the IDP that the department provides for you.
2. Your IDP Google Sheet consists of four tabs. A tab is like a page in a document.
3. You access the tabs along the bottom margin of the spreadsheet. It will look like the image below. To navigate, click the numbered tabs.
4. The first tab has instructions for completing the spreadsheet. On each sheet, you will enter specific information. For example, on the main IDP Worksheet, you will list the courses you plan to take. On the second tab, you will list the learning outcomes associated with each course. And on the third tab, you will write a concise summary of what you hope to learn and do (before the course begins) and what you actually did and learned (after the course has ended). The third tab is where you will document and reflect on professional development activities that you did during a semester, such as attendance at department lectures, conferences, and leadership roles. In combination, these three tabs provide a succinct summary for you to track and reflect on your learning. the fourth tab will be used by your advisor to share notes with you about your progress and goals.

If you have questions about your IDP, please reach out to your advisor. If you have suggestions for modifying or improving the IDP, please reach out to the department chair.

Individual Development Plan Instructions – Contains additional information on how to complete your IDP and the required form fields.