Undergraduate Advising for French & Italian
The undergraduate advisor for the Department of French and Italian is Mandi Schoville, maschoville@wisc.edu, located on the sixth floor of Van Hise Hall, in room 602. Van Hise elevators may be called by those without card access on any floor except the second through fifth floors of the building. Stairwells are located on the northeast and southwest sides of the main tower.
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Advising During 2021/2022
Students can make an appointment via Starfish and undergraduate advising will be available remotely via Zoom.
If there are no appointments available, please contact Mandi Schoville.
Quick Question?
If you have a quick question that does not require a conversation, feel free to email. The email should come from your wisc.edu email account (why?) and include your Campus ID number. If it is an ongoing email conversation, please include the history.
Students with recent study abroad experience whose courses do not yet appear on their UW-Madison records should include a list of approved course equivalencies for the courses taken abroad so they can be checked against your DARS report.
If it is determined that your question cannot be answered via email you may be asked to make an appointment.
Meeting with the Advisor
If you have a quick question, feel free to stop by my office in Van Hise 602. If available, I am happy to help students on a walk-in basis. If your question will require research or take some time to answer, you may be asked to make an appointment.
All appointments with Mandi are made through Starfish. If there is no availability listed for a time when you are free, please Mandi Schoville two to three blocks of time when you will be available to meet and a time will be worked out from there.
If you need to cancel or reschedule your appointment, please do so through Starfish as soon as possible. Appointment times will not be extended due to late arrival.
Declaration/Cancellation
Major Certificate Declaration
Students in the College of Letters & Science (Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science designation) may declare the French or Italian major at any time. Complete this form and return it to Mandi Schoville.
Students not in the College of Letters & Science need permission from their primary School or College to declare the French or Italian major. Generally, this just involves students taking a copy of the L&S major declaration form back to their primary School or College. For students in CALS, a permission form is also required. Please contact Mandi Schoville to start this process.
Certificate Declaration
The French or Italian certificates may be declared by students in any school/college without approval. Complete this form and return it to Mandi Schoville.
Honors in the Liberal Arts and Honors in the Major
Interested in Honors in the Liberal Arts (the “Honors Degree”)? You can find more information about admission to the program here.
Interested in declaring Honors in the Major in either French or Italian? Please bring this form with you to an appointment.
Canceling your Major or Certificate
Need to cancel your French or Italian major or certificate? We’re sorry to see you go! Complete this form and return it to Mandi Schoville.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the purpose of an academic advisor?
The role of an academic advisor is to help you navigate the university system and to aid you in achieving your academic and personal goals. The departmental advisor can help you navigate the French and Italian programs by helping you explore or declare either our majors or certificates, review study abroad programs that will fit with your studies, explain degree requirements for graduation, or discover additional resources on campus for academic or personal support.
What does this mean?
They are here to help you plan out your coursework so you can fulfill the requirements for your degree within your time frame, whether that is the traditional four years or not.
They are a starting point to all the resources campus has to offer, whether for tutoring, career planning, or personal support. If you do not know where to start with a particular issue you are facing, your advisor can help.
Have questions about French or Italian classes, the French or Italian major, or the French or Italian certificate?
Contact the departmental advisor, Mandi Schoville, or schedule an appointment through Starfish.
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Why should I study a language?
Learning foreign languages helps improve your understanding of the world, opens your eyes to new cultures and ways of thinking, and can be a great asset on the job market after graduation. It improves communication skills and provides you an edge over those who may not have studied another language.
Can I double major?
Yes! Most students receiving a major/certificate in French or Italian have more than one major or certificate. Our students major in a broad range of disciplines outside of their language studies, pre-med, international studies, and pre-law to name only a few.
Students in the College of Letters and Science can declare the major or certificate by filling out the top half of this form and returning it to the French and Italian advisor. Students in other colleges (Engineering, Nursing, CALS, etc.), should contact the French and Italian advisor first. Other schools and colleges have different rules and processes for declaring a second major in L&S.
Should I study abroad?
This is a personal choice that depends on many factors, including finances and other degree plans. If you are interested in studying abroad but are not sure if you can, please make an appointment! I can help you plan out your courses and review options that can make study abroad more accessible than you may think.