Academic Advising

The graduate certificate in Academic Advising provides students a grounding in the foundational elements and essential competencies needed for effective advising practice. Academic advising is a practice-based profession intended to aid students in achieving educational, career, and personal goals through the use of the full range of institutional and community resources. Topics will include student development theory, multicultural issues, career development, interpersonal relations for advising, and current issues of academic advising.

The Academic Advising certificate will be offered as a stand-alone credential for those who already hold a master's degree from a regionally accredited institution or may be offered in combination with the Counseling and Human Resource Development (M.Ed.) - Administration of Student Affairs Specialization or Counseling and Human Resource Development (M.S.) - College Counseling Specialization.

• Have a desire to help people
• Work well with diverse groups of people
• Are an analytical thinker
• Are inquisitive
• Have strong listening, speaking, and problem-solving skills

• A minimum GPA of 3.0 to receive unconditional admission. 
• A professional academic transcript evaluation for degrees earned outside the United States (This requirement cannot be waived unless your highest degree was earned or will be earned in the U.S. prior to enrollment at SDSU).
  • If you are completing your bachelor's degree at the time of application, you may submit an incomplete evaluation. If you are accepted, a complete transcript and/or evaluation with completed degree will be required by the end of your first semester of coursework.
• Official U.S. transcripts where a degree is earned (or will be earned), and official U.S. transcripts where graduate level coursework has been taken.
• A minimum TOEFL score of 71, TOEFL Essentials score of 7.5, IELTS score of 6 or Duolingo score of 100.
  • SDSU accepts MyBest TOFEL scores. 
  • Some programs have higher minimum requirements. Find program specific requirements by selecting your program of interest in the Graduate Catalog.

• Academic advising
• Student success coaching
• Student affairs
• Career counseling
• Academic and career planning