Pre-Advising Guide for Non-Graduating Undergraduate Students
Pre-Advising is when you choose your modules for the next academic year or semester online. You must do this before you attend Advising in September (or January for students studying in Semester 2 only).
At Advising you will meet an Adviser to discuss your module choices. Once you and your Adviser are satisfied with the selection, your Adviser will validate your choices online. This validation is an essential part of the matriculation process.
Courses and Modules
Some visiting students find there is a difference in the terminology used in their home University and here at St Andrews. A 'course' here refers to a full programme of study over a number of years, and not to an individual course in a particular subject at a particular level. Here we refer to that as a 'module'. For example, the first level French course in the first semester is module FR1001.
St Andrews calculates full year or semester loads by credits, and not by the number of modules students take. It is normal for students to take only 2 or 3 different modules each semester. This can be different from many non-UK universities which count numbers of courses; don't be concerned as the modules here will have a heavier expected workload than courses in a system with 4 or 5 different courses per semester.
How many credits do I have to take?
- Students here for a full year should take modules which total 120 credits
- Students here for one semester should take modules which total 60 credits
First level (1000 level) modules are generally 20 credits, which means that you would take three such modules in a semester. Some second level (2000 level) and Honours (3000 and 4000 level) modules are 30 credits, so you would take two per semester.
Which modules should I take?
It is a good idea to check with your home institution (if applicable) that the modules you choose are acceptable and useful for your course there.
In principle you can study any subject for which you are qualified. Many first level (1000 level) modules require no prior knowledge. Some have pre-requisites i.e. required prior learning. These are mainly in sciences and more advanced language modules. The Course Catalogue will indicate if a module has pre-requisites.
For modules at higher levels (2000, 3000 or 4000), prior study at the appropriate university level is required. So, for example, taking a 3000 level module in Art History would normally require two years' prior study in Art History.
You should check that you are properly qualified for the modules you choose and will not be disadvantaged by taking modules for which you are not properly prepared. If you are unsure, you will be able to discuss this at Advising.
You should also check the class hour and days for each module (in the Course Catalogue), as you cannot take modules which have a timetable clash. If the days are not specified you should assume there is a class at that time every day, Monday to Friday (except for Wednesday afternoons).
Classes last approximately 50 minutes unless otherwise stated, so there should be enough time for you to get between classes that start on consecutive hours i.e. it should be fine to take a module at 10am and another at 11am.
You should be aware that 3000 and 4000 level modules in particular are subject to change and may not always be available. Some of these modules also have limited spaces.
How to complete online Pre-Advising
- View the Course Catalogue to find detailed information about all the modules that are available. Identify which modules you want to take and make sure they add up to the right credit total
- Log in to iSaint. In iSaint, hover over the 'Academic' tab and select 'Advising' from the drop-down menu that will appear. Click on the link to 'Advising facility'. If you do not have the 'Academic' tab yet, you can get to the Advising facility by clicking on the 'Online Advising' link on the right of this page
- In the Advising facility click on the relevant link in the bulleted list to view instructions on entering your module choices
- In the Advising facility click on 'Modules choices' on the left-hand side to get to the page where you will enter your module choices
- Choose your modules from the appropriate drop-down lists ('Semester 1', 'Semester 2', 'Whole Year') in the Advising facility and press the green "+" button after selecting each module. Most Whole Year modules are restricted to 3rd or 4th year students, so most students will not need to choose from this box
- If you wish to remove one of the modules you have selected press the red "x" button next to that module
- When you are happy with your choices press the "Submit" button
- If you wish to make changes before Advising, log into iSaint and access your Modules Choices page again. A status on your Module choices page of 'submitted' will allow you to do this. If your status is 'provisonally valid' an Adviser has provisionally approved your choices and you will not be able to make changes until Advising
Making changes to your module choices
You may request changes to your modules during the first week of each semester – this is known as the re-advising period. You must do this through an Adviser, otherwise any change is not official and you will not be in the modules you wish to change to.
You should contact the relevant Adviser in the first week of the semester. If you do not know which Adviser to contact, check with the Registry Undergraduate team.