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Chemistry & Biochemistry Undergraduate Advising

At Chemistry & Biochemistry Academic Advising, we provide support for:
Educational planning and goal setting
Understanding major requirements
Navigating academic policies and procedures
All current UC San Diego students must submit advising questions via the VAC. Non-UC San Diego students can reach us at chemadvising@ucsd.edu.

SUMMER 2026: Please see an important message from Student Affairs regarding the university transition to the TSS systems below:

Good afternoon, Chemistry & Biochemistry Students!

As you are all no doubt aware, the newly launched Triton Student Systems (TSS) platform has changed various applications in your student portals, and the biggest changes are occurring during this fall enrollment period. While we will still be available in the Virtual Advising Center (VAC), many of your questions can be answered in one or more of the sections below:

Note on Summer courses: If you are enrolled in Summer coursework, even if completing it at UCSD, and wish to use those courses as prerequisites for anything you plan to enroll in for Fall, you MUST submit a Triton Enrollment Authorization (TEA) request. At launch, TSS will not have your Academic History loaded in for any Summer coursework; it will only capture Spring 2026 and prior. Therefore, you will need to be manually authorized by us and/or other departments to use your Summer prerequisite courses for Fall enrollment. Failure to do so will result in your inability to enroll in your desired courses due to missing prerequisites. This should be a one-time occurrence, and future enrollment cycles should have all data loaded in. Please send in your TEA requests as soon as you are able to, well in advance of your booking windows. This gives us and other departments time to process, verify, and assist with your timely enrollment. 

If you receive TEA approval and still cannot book at your window, this is a known issue. Please report this to the TSS IT team at tss@ucsd.edu.

All students: Our team did not have advance access to the system and we are learning it alongside you. As we learn, we may be a bit more unfamiliar with how the systems look to you, and it will be more difficult for us to provide specific guidance on how to navigate the new interfaces. If you have questions about how to use TSS, please see the campus-wide email sent to you on July 20th which contains instructions to get started. Further information is located on the TSS website here and specific information on booking (enrolling in) courses can be found here; additionally, this link will update with additional trainings as they become available. Please read all information carefully before submitting a support request, as that team will be experiencing a high volume of messages, in addition to continuing to work on the system launch. However, if any aspect of TSS appears to be glitched or functioning incorrectly, please reach out to IT support at tss@ucsd.edu. We will also redirect you to these sources if you submit a VAC, since these are the centralized campus resources with up-to-date information. We are aware the Schedule of Classes and enrollment portals look a fair bit different from WebReg, and we appreciate your patience as we all learn together.

If you have advising questions such as course planning, or what you may be eligible to enroll in, please continue to submit those in the VAC as you have before, and we are happy to help. Our appointments are closed for the Summer and will reopen in the Fall; the VAC remains the best way to reach us in the interim so we can assist with Fall enrollment. Response times may increase due to the increased volume of messages and our need to familiarize ourselves with the new system. Rest assured we are continuing to work hard to assist as many students as possible; sending multiple messages in multiple portals, or to staff members individually, will only further delay response times. 

Additionally, as a final important note: Once you begin booking classes for Fall, these will not appear on your Degree Audit immediately. This does not mean you aren’t booked, or that your courses do not count towards major requirements as you’d expect. At this time, Degree Audit integration is expected to occur sometime in August, so please check again closer to Fall Quarter for an up-to-date audit.

Thank you all for your patience as we all adjust to this new system–we really are doing this together, and appreciate your cooperation!

Best,

Chemistry & Biochemistry Undergraduate Advising (Hale Daigle, Van Lee, Vanessa Redondo, & Katie Schmaltz)

 Advising Services:

  • Virtual Advising Center (VAC): The preferred and most efficient way to contact our office is by sending a message to our team of academic advisors via VAC. Questions submitted via VAC typically receive a response within 24-48 hours.

    • Response times may increase at the TSS go-live; this is because we are learning the system alongside you and want to be able to provide the best possible answers. We appreciate your patience.
  • Remote Drop-Ins: We offer virtual one-on-one 15-minute advising sessions. Please refer to the schedule below. You can access our remote drop-ins through the “Meet with an Advisor” tab in the VAC.

    • Closed for Summer 2026: Please send us a message in VAC, and we will respond shortly.
  • In-Person Drop-Ins: Located in York Hall 4010, reference the schedule below for drop-in advising hours.

    • Closed for Summer 2026: Please send us a message in VAC, and we will respond shortly
  • Appointments: 30-minute sessions intended for long-term planning, including major planning for readmission purposes. Most questions about planning for the academic year can be answered in the VAC or in drop-ins, or via the sample plans we have posted. You can request an appointment through the "Meet with an Advisor" tab in the VAC. Please note that appointments can only be booked 10 days in advance. If no appointments are available, please check back, as new slots open daily.

    • Please note: Due to our limited staffing, we may encourage that you visit walk-in advising hours or submit a question in the VAC, or you otherwise may have to wait a week or more to be seen. We are still happy to help with any question you may have and ask for your patience as we work to help as many students as efficiently as possible. 

    • Appointments are now closed for Summer 2026 for both continuing and incoming students. Please message us in the VAC for any concerns, and keep an eye on campus communications for more information about the TSS systems update and Fall 2026 enrollment.
  • Email: If you need to submit supporting documents for your petitions, please send them to chemadvising@ucsd.edu.

Please see the calendar below for specific availability for SP26; walk-ins may occasionally be moved or canceled based on department events. 

Note: Any changes do not affect Graduate Student walk-ins, which will continue as planned unless otherwise noted on our website or via email.

Peer Advising

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Who are Peer Advisors?

Chemistry Peer Advisors are undergraduate students majoring in one of the degree programs and who are available to answer questions from fellow students. It is especially helpful for freshmen and new transfers, but all are welcome!  They can provide insights on questions such as:

  • Why did you pick Chemistry as a major?
  • What is it like to be a Chemistry student at UCSD?  
  • What resources have you found helpful?
  • How did you get involved in research or teaching?
  • What do you plan to do after you graduate?

Have quick questions? Our Peer Advisors are available via e-mail at chempeers@ucsd.edu.

Chemistry and Biochemistry Advising Calendar

Meet our Peer

 Advisors!

Elana Friendlich

Elana Friedlich

Elana is a third-year student studying Public Health in ERC. She is currently studying abroad in Valencia, Spain and is completing biochemistry courses abroad! After she graduates, she hopes to pursue medical school. She is interested in psychiatry and is currently working in a lab which is studying the improvement of neural pathways after a mild traumatic brain injury. In her free time Elana loves to explore beaches in San Diego and hike! As a peer advisor, Elana hopes to help students achieve their goals in and out of the classroom.

Bryan Rinde

Bryan Rinde
Bryan is a fourth-year Biochemistry major in Roosevelt College originally coming from Ventura, CA.  He is conducting research into biodegradable plastics in the Pomeroy Lab and cancer metabolism in the Metallo Lab at the Salk Institute.  He hopes to pursue a career in surgery and research.  In his spare time, Bryan likes adventuring outdoors, especially in the water, and enjoys an active day working with others.
Rubini Mohanaraj

Rubini Mohanaraj

Rubini is a fourth year Biochemistry major and a biology minor at Revelle College. She is an International student from Sri Lanka. Rubini has previously worked in Joseph lab studying the translational control of Influenza virus. Rubini is interested in pursuing a career in research and is specifically interested in research and development in RNA World. In her free time, she likes to paint and go on hikes. Her goal as a Chemistry peer advisor would be to assist students to achieve their educational goals and navigate through undergraduate studies.

Pop Chanwong

Pop Chanwong

Pop is a fourth year biochemistry student and a general biology minor in Marshall college. She is an international student from Bangkok, Thailand. She is currently research autoimmunity from silica induction at the Pollard Lab. She enjoys cooking for her friends, crocheting, and shopping! As a peer advisor, she hopes to learn more about each student and help personalize a plan that will help you achieve your goal.