Frequently Asked Questions

The Academic Advisement Center has a staff of full-time advisers. You have the option to meet with any of the Academic Advisers or you may choose to maintain a relationship with one particular adviser. All of our staff has years of experience and a wealth of knowledge to be able to answer all of your questions and provide the guidance you need.

• When you have any academic questions or concerns.
• When you want to develop an academic plan.
• When you are uncertain about choosing a major/career or want to change your major/career.
• When you want to make changes in your schedule.
• When you are having difficulty in a class or adjusting to college.
• When you have received a notice of academic warning.
• When you are unsure of where to turn.
   

You might be a student who enters college with a clear idea of academic and career goals and knowing which major is the right one for you. Perhaps no major has yet caught your fancy, or you may have difficulty deciding on a major because you find so many subjects interesting and cannot decide which one to pursue.

At Stern College for Women, we have several resources to help you make this decision. All of the Academic Advisers are able to discuss these important issues with you. In addition, the staff of the Career Center can help you choose a major and understand its relationship to career choice. They offer individual counseling, vocational testing, a career library, guidance using internet research as well as internship development. You may visit the Career Center on the 5th floor at 215 Lexington Ave.

The Academic Advisement Center and the Career Center have materials designed to help you through the process of choosing a major. Each year we co-sponsor a Majors Fair. Check your emails for future announcements.

The SCW faculty come from very diversified backgrounds and are an excellent resource to help you explore majors and career options. To find a faculty member's office and office hours check on the departmental website or stop into the Dean's Office.

Click here for the SCW General Education Requirements, available in a range of formats including video and infographic. 

Each semester the Course Schedule is posted online at www.yu.edu/schedule. Printed copies are available from the Registrar's Office (215 Lexington Ave, 6th floor).

The "Notes" column in each semester's Course Schedule indicates which requirement each course fulfills. If there is no designation in the "Notes" column, the course will fulfill a General Education elective. Please note that Jewish Studies and Phys. Ed courses may not fulfill electives.

Yes. All summer school courses must be approved prior to the start of the course(s). The Request for Outside Courses form is available in the Registrar's Office or can be downloaded here. Please read the regulations and procedures carefully.

Before submitting the form, please make sure all the required information is completed. Incomplete forms will not be processed. Make sure to keep in mind SCW residency requirements.

Upon completion of the course remember to have your transcript of outside courses sent to the SCW Registrar's Office.

For more information, please visit our Summer School page.

In order to earn a degree from Stern College, at least 60 percent of your major and minor, and at least 84 credits and 6 semesters must be completed at our New York campus. Transfer students should meet with an Academic Adviser.

Yes, you may select one course each semester to be graded Pass (P) or No Credit (N) subject to the following conditions:

• No more than one course each semester may be selected.
• The form must be filed during the period specified in the Academic Calendar.

GENERAL STUDIES : a "P" grade cannot fulfill requirements Modes of Expression; Foundations and Contemporary Perspectives of History, Philosophy & the Social Sciences; Interpreting Literature and the Arts; Science and Technology; or Quantitative Skills. "P" grades cannot count for courses toward the major and/or minor. All other courses, including those taken to fulfill  Electives, may be taken on the P/N basis.

JEWISH STUDIES: Courses on CORE may not be taken P/N. Only JS courses above those required for the distribution may be taken P/N.

HONORS COURSES : Honors courses may not be taken on the P/N basis.

P and N grades appear on the record but do not count in the GPA. All other letter grades do count in the GPA. A P grade earns credit, an N grade does not. These grades cannot be changed.

Audits are permitted only after registration has been completed and only if there is space available in the course. An audited course is not considered part of your workload. The regulations regarding auditing courses are on the Request to Audit a Course form available in the Registrar's Office and on the Registrar's web site.  Please read the regulations carefully, complete the form including the instructor's signature, and return the form to the Registrar's Office.

The junior/senior check is your opportunity to meet with an Academic Adviser to review the requirements you have already completed and identify the requirements you have yet to complete. The Academic Adviser will review your complete transcript with you to ensure that you are on track to complete all graduation requirements. We recommend that you have a junior check in the middle of the spring semester of your junior year and a senior check in the fall of your senior year.

You may drop a course online without permission and without a "W" on your transcript until the drop date noted on each semester's calendar. 

After that date you may withdraw from classes with a "W" only until the drop date noted on each semester's calendar. The "W" notation indicates withdrawal without penalty or prejudice. 

We recommend that you meet with an Academic Adviser before dropping a class.

Any outside courses taken while you are a student at SCW requires completion of the P-10 form. For courses taken before you were an SCW student, have an official transcript sent to the Office of the Registrar from the school you attended. In addition you must submit course descriptions from each course you want transferred. If you can, submit syllabi and graded papers.

Most high schools include a copy of AP scores with their transcripts. If our Registrar does not have your scores you will need to contact the Educational Testing Service to have them sent.

Summer online YU courses are accepted, while those offered by other institutions will be considered. As per the current practice, students will need to file the Request for Outside Courses Form to receive approval for outside online courses. Online courses from community colleges or for-profit institutions will not be accepted. Business courses must be from an AACSB accredited institution.

Cap of online courses toward the Bachelor's Degree - Students may count a maximum of four (4) online courses toward their undergraduate degrees.** Of these, a maximum of two (2) online courses may be applied toward the major.

Residency requirement - All online YU courses, including those offered by YU graduate schools, will count toward the YU residency requirement.

Students interested in health professions should check with an advisor before taking online courses.

If you have already earned the pre-requisite (at another institution, AP, etc.) but it is not yet posted to the transcript:

Email the advisement office (scwadvisement@yu.edu) with the following details:

• Your Name
• ID (800 number)
• CRN, Course Title, Course Number, and Time Slot of the course you want to take
• Pre/co-req to be waived
• Reason for the request (where you earned the credit)

If you have not yet earned the credit and require professor permission (for current on-campus students only):

To request a waiver of a prerequisite, students should contact the instructor of the course they would like to take and request a waiver.

If approved, the student should email the advisement office (scwadvisement@yu.edu) with the following details:

• Your Name
• ID (800 number)
• CRN, Course Title, Course Number, and Time Slot of the course you want to take
• Pre/co-req to be waived
• Reason for the request
• Copy of professor’s email granting permission for the waiver