New Bulls

First Year Students

The College of Arts and Sciences welcomes you to the University of South Florida!   As a newly admitted student here is an outline of next steps to get you started.

PREPARing FOR ORIENTATION REQUIREMENTS

All new students will need to complete their orientation and advising requirements before the term begins. Once admitted to USF, new students should do the following as soon as possible:

• Set up their USF NetID 
• Monitor their USF Email
• Sign up for the earliest Orientation possible
  • Sarasota-Manatee campus
  • St. Petersburg campus
  • Tampa campus 
  • Tampa campus info specifically for International Students
• Follow myBullsPath instructions
• Address Student Health paperwork **failure to address student health paperwork and requirements will delay course registration.  

COMPLETING The COLLEGE ORIENTATION REQUIREMENT

As part of the orientation process, new bulls will meet with their college’s advising team members.  "College" is the academic home for a set of departments and majors, which includes the academic advising team that support students in those majors.  

There are two parts of our college’s orientation.  One part is a where you will interact with members of our advising team on the day of your scheduled orientation program.  The other part of our session is materials in Canvas which are resources and information you can view both before and after orientation.  Access to the Canvas portion of our orientation begins shortly after you register for orientation. 

Each week, our College of Arts & Sciences (CAS) Academic Advisors receive a list of new students who recently signed up for orientation. After receiving the list, CAS Advisors reach out to our incoming first year students to provide them with the advising information instructions for their intended major. Please read this email, follow the instructions included, and reply to the email if you need additional assistance. If you lost your advisor's email, you can find their contact information listed by major at our CAS Undergraduate Advising Webpage.   

ADVISING AND COURSE REGISTRATION 

Our academic advisors register our first-year students into their first semester classes as soon as students meet university criteria like completing all student health paperwork and requirements. For students admitted in the summer our academic advisors will register our first-year students in both summer and fall courses. The advisors first review information submitted to USF Admissions, such as: high school preparation, dual enrollment transcripts, and scores received from AP, IB, and other advanced placement exams. Using your previous academic history, the advisors will register you into classes that:

• Will help you best progress in your major, focusing on any needed prerequisites to get you on track
• Are degree applicable for your program
• Are suitable for a first-year student to succeed in during their time of transition

If you realize that you are no longer interested in the major for which you signed up, please identify a new major as soon as possible and reach out to the advising area to have your classes updated. If needed, you can find USF Advising contact information for other colleges or USF campuses online.  

BE SURE TO COMPLETE ALL REQUIREMENTS

As a reminder, all new students are required to complete the full orientation process prior to their start at USF. Please be sure to follow USF Orientation, USF myBullsPath, and your advisors' instructions so you are prepared and able to start at USF. Please pay close attention to all USF communication. If a student does not complete all necessary requirements before the semester begins, their admission will be canceled.