Advising

Welcome SAPH Students!

All SAPH students have an assigned advisor. Every semester around the 5th week of classes, you will receive an email with your advising assignment and a timeline for advising/registration for the upcoming semester. Faculty advisors should follow up with their own instructions for how to best schedule an advising appointment. All of the SAPH advisors are listed below with their contact information.

If you do not know your advising contact information or need to contact them earlier than usual, please contact our Academic Program Specialist, Zach Starr, zstarr1@umbc.edu.
Advising assignments will typically change after your first semester in the department, but mostly stay the same after that.

Please contact your advisor by email or through their scheduling link to set up an appointment and follow his/her instructions for the appointment format. Contact information for assigned advisors listed below by program

General Information

Changing to a SOCY, ANTH, or PBHL Major

If you would like to change your major to SOCY or ANTH, you can email Ms. Debbie Sanford at dsanford@umbc.edu to receive a faculty advisor assignment. If you would like to change your major to PBHL, schedule an advising appointment with Ms. Debbie Sanford through her Appointment Scheduling Link Students must have a cumulative UMBC GPA of 2.5 or higher to declare the major, and they must fill out the major declaration form, located on the Registrar’s website and meet with Ms. Sanford for her signature prior to returning the form to the Registrar’s Office.

Advanced Registration Advising

Students must meet with their advisor each semester during advanced registration (October/November and March/April) to review their progress toward fulfilling major and university requirements. Students are not able to register for classes until the advisor authorizes the student to register. SAPH  department majors with another primary major are still strongly encouraged to meet each semester with their SOCY, ANTH, or PBHL advisor.

How to Sign Up for an Advanced Registration Advising Appointment

In the weeks prior to advanced registration your advisor will send an email with instructions for setting up an advising appointment.

Sociology & Anthropology: Many program advisors use Google Calendar for advising appointments.

Special notes regarding Google Calendar:

  • You must access your advisor’s calendar from your UMBC Gmail account. This allows us to identify your name and academic record in order to prepare for the advising session.
  • If you need to cancel your appointment, please be sure to email your advisor directly – the Google system does not notify the faculty member if you need to cancel.
  • Prior to setting up an appointment, make sure that your Google Calendar is set to Eastern Standard Time!

Public Health: Many program advisors use Acuity Scheduler for advising appointments. Click on the scheduling link to make your appointment.

All current students have an assigned advisor. Please refer to the “Department Advisors” section below for contact/scheduling information.

Department Advisors

Sociology Advisors

Dr. Marina Adler, Professor
adler@umbc.edu
410-455-3155
PUP 232

Rosie Anderson, Advising Graduate Assistant
Relhag2@umbc.edu
PUP 250
Monday 12:00pm-3:00pm (telework)
Tuesday 1:30pm-4:30pm (in-person)
Wednesday 10:00am-2:00pm (in-person)
Appointment Scheduling Link

Dr. Mercedez Dunn, Associate Professor
mdunn@umbc.edu
410-455-2079
PUP 233

Dr. Brandy Harris-Wallace, Associate Professor & Associate Chair
bhwalla@umbc.edu
410-455-5815
PUP 229

Dr. Aubrey Jackson, Assistant Professor
aubrey@umbc.edu
410-455-2059
PUP 214

Dr. Christine Mair, Associate Professor & Undergraduate Program Director
christine_mair@umbc.edu
410-455-8064
PUP 230

Dr. John Schumacher, Associate Professor
jschuma@umbc.edu
410-455-3184
PUP 217

Dr. Dena Smith, Associate Professor & Graduate Program Director
dtsmith@umbc.edu
410-455-2078
PUP 224

Dr. Brian Soller, Assistant Professor
bsol@umbc.edu
410-455-8467
PUP 218

Dr. Takashi Yamshita, Associate Professor
yamataka@umbc.edu
410-455-5938
PUP 216

 

 

Anthropology Advisors

Dr. Bambi Chapin, Associate Professor & Undergraduate Program Director
bchapin@umbc.edu
410-455-2082
PUP 211

Dr. Sarah Chard, Professor & Department Chair
schard@umbc.edu
410-455-3380
PUP 213

Dr. Camee Maddox-Wingfield, Assistant Professor
cmaddox@umbc.edu
410-455-3817
PUP 212

Dr. Nick Welcome, Lecturer
nwelcome@umbc.edu
410-455-1632
PUP 215

 

Public Health Advisors

Rosie Anderson, Advising Graduate Assistant
Relhag2@umbc.edu
PUP 250
Monday 12:00pm-3:00pm (telework)
Tuesday 1:30pm-4:30pm (in-person)
Wednesday 10:00am-2:00pm (in-person)
Appointment Scheduling Link

Prof. Katie Birger, Lecturer & Undergraduate Program Director
cbirge1@umbc.edu
410-455-2080
PUP 220
Appointment Scheduling Link

Dr. Jun Chu, Associate Professor
jchu16@umbc.edu
PUP 223

Prof. Meryl Cozart, Lecturer
mcozar1@umbc.edu
410-455-2060
PUP 251

Dr. Andrea Kalfoglou, Associate Professor
akalfogl@umbc.edu
410-455-2061
PUP 222
Appointment Scheduling Link

Dr. Sameera Nayak, Associate Professor
snayak@umbc.edu
410-455-2087
PUP 219

Ms. Debbie Sanford, Coordinator of Advising
dsanford@umbc.edu
410-455-3711
PUP 221
Appointment Scheduling Link