New Freshmen Student Information for Fall 2023

School of Social Sciences  |  Undergraduate Student Affairs Office

 

School of Social Sciences Welcome

 

Welcome to UCI and the School of Social Sciences!

We are so excited to welcome you to our amazing community of Anteaters this Fall! This Summer you will be participating in our mandatory orientation program for new freshmen, which is known as SPOP (Student Parent Orientation Program). As part of your SPOP experience, you will receive academic advising from our office, Social Sciences Undergraduate Student Affairs, in order to familiarize you with some of our university policies and procedures, and to get you enrolled in your Fall classes!

Below you will find a little more information about the academic advising portion of your orientation process, so you will be well prepared on the day of your SPOP.
 


 

 

What is SPOP?

SPOP (Student Parent Orientation Program) is UCI's orientation program for new freshmen students. SPOP is a comprehensive program that includes an introduction to the UCI campus, student resources, and academic advising/Fall quarter enrollment for the student's major. SPOP is mandatory for all incoming UCI freshmen!

You should have already received SPOP registration information directly from the Orientation team, so please make sure you are checking the email you used when you filled out your UC Application for more info on the available SPOP dates, and try to register ASAP!
 

You can find more information on SPOP registration and access your Orientation Dashboard by clicking the button below:
 

Orientation Dashboard

 


 

 

Academic Advising at SPOP

Social Sciences Pre-Advising Course

As part of your academic advising process, Social Sciences will be requiring students to complete pre-advising modules online through the Canvas learning platform. These modules are designed to go over a lot of university policies and procedures that new students should know so that on the day of your SPOP academic advising, you have a basic understanding of how the university operates and can more easily participate in our advising and course registration sessions.

A week prior to your SPOP date, you will receive an email from our office (socsci@uci.edu) sent to your UCI student email address. This email will include information about how to access and complete your pre-advising course through Canvas. In addition to our email, you will receive an invitation email directly from Canvas that will also be sent to your UCI student email. You will need to accept this invitation first and then complete all of the advising modules before to the morning of your SPOP session. We recommend doing this a few days in advance to ensure that you have enough time to get through all of your modules! Plese note that this course is mandatory, and we will expect students to be familiar with the material prior to receiving their academic advising from our office.

(There may be special prizes involved, so definitely make sure you pay attention to the info covered in your Canvas modules!)

Note: the Social Sciences Canvas pre-advising modules are different than the Canvas SPOP modules provided by Orientation. You will need to make sure you are completing both!
 


 

 

Advising Schedule

On the day of SPOP, you will be participating in two sessions with our office: a morning session, where we go over some additional information for new students (and do some fun activities!) and an afternoon session, where your academic advisors will assist you with actually enrolling in your Fall classes.

Below is a very general overview of our agenda for the day:
 

Morning Session

10am - 12pm | Student Center

This session will introduce you to our office (Social Sciences Undergraduate Student Affairs) and the services provided to you by our academic advisors and peer academic advisors. We will also go over some additional information for new students (including an in-depth guide on how to register for courses, so you are prepped for the afternoon session!), do some fun activities, and hear from our peer advisors on resources they recommend for new students. We will also be joined by the Social Sciences Academic Resource Center (SSARC) advisors, who will share a bit about the services they offer to our students in Social Sciences.

Afternoon Session

2:30pm - 4pm | SBSG 1241

This session is all about Fall course enrollment! Students will be in one of our computer labs to register for their Fall courses, with advisors and peer academic advisors on hand to answer any questions you may have. Once all students have successfully enrolled, your group will be able to head out to enjoy the rest of the SPOP activities provided by the Orientation team and SPOP staffers.


 

 

Additional Resources & Information

Applicant Portal
You may still be receiving important information from the UCI Admissions office through your Applicant Portal, so please make sure you are checking it frequently throughout the Summer!

UCINetID and Gmail
Please make sure that you have activated your UCINetID and your UCI Gmail account! From here on out, our office will be communicating with you only through your UCI student email address, so it's important to get it activated ASAP and to check it daily!

Information on how to get all your UCI accounts set up can be found under the "Getting Started" section of our New Student page.
 

2023 Summer Change of Major Info
Thinking of changing your major? More information on each School's change of major policies for incoming students can be found on our Summer Change of Major page.
 


 

 

No longer coming to UCI? Please make sure you notify UCI Admissions through your Applicant Portal first, and then send an email to our office at socsci@uci.edu to let us know that you no longer plan to attend in the Fall. Be sure to include your full name and UCI student ID number in your email!

 


 

Questions? Concerns?

Please send us an email at  socsci@uci.edu with your full name, UCI student ID, and your questions!

All emails are answered by a full-time academic advisor.

 
 
 
 

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