Effective Fall 2025, DGS will become the Division of Exploratory Studies. Same mission; new name.
How to Schedule
The DGS Online Appointment Scheduler is offline for maintenance this summer.
- Online appointment scheduling will resume via this site beginning July 28, 2025. Until then:
- Are you a continuing or returning DGS Undeclared Student? Please contact the DGS office at 217-333-4710 to schedule an appointment.
- Are you a newly admitted student for Fall 2025? To schedule your Fall 2025 academic advising appointment, you must sign up for a New Student Registration Program through the Office of Admissions. Use your New Student Checklist. If you have already been through the New Student Registration Program and registered for courses, you can email exploratorystudies@illinois.edu with questions or wait until August 1 to use our Online Appointment Scheduler for a follow up appointment.
Undeclared Advising
Advising for current undeclared students is now arranged alphabetically with teams of advisors serving specific groups of students based on the first letter of each student’s last name. Please click below to find your advisor or advising team.
In addition to the Advising Team options above, Undeclared students who are in a special DGS cohort like the Enrichment Experience Program, James Scholar Honors Program or Advising in Weston Hall, may elect to meet with the leads for those programs.
New, Returning or ICT?
Prospective Student - someone who is considering attending the University of Illinois in the future.
Admitted Student - someone whose application to the University of Illinois was accepted, but has not yet started attending classes.
Returning Student - someone who has taken time away from the University of Illinois and wishes to start taking classes again.
ICT into DGS - someone who is a current University of Illinois student in another College who wishes to transfer to DGS.
Prospective or Newly Admitted Students should schedule an appointment here: https://www.admissions.illinois.edu/visit
Returning Illinois students should call 217-333-4710 to schedule an appointment with Jessica Arnold, Senior Associate Director for Enrollment and Access.
Current Illinois students who want to discuss how to transfer into DGS from their current college, should call 217-333-4710 to schedule an appointment with Jessica Arnold, Senior Associate Director for Enrollment and Access.
Frequently Asked Questions
Meeting with a member of your Advising Team is highly recommended but not required.
Yes, as a James Scholar student you can meet with someone on your Advising Team or with Sarah Smothers.
Yes, you can schedule an appointment with your GS 101 instructor if you have GS 101 specific questions.
If you are considering withdrawing from your current courses and leaving the university, you need to call the Division of General Studies at 217-333-4710. Please inform the receptionist of your desire to withdraw from the university and they will schedule you to meet with Director, Sarah Watson, or Associate Director, Teri Farr.
If you have questions or concerns that you feel cannot be addressed using the appointment options on this site, please contact our office at 217-333-4710 for assistance.
If there is no current availability with your Advising Team, please contact our office at 217-333-4710 for assistance.