Karen Thompson
702 Van Hise Hall
(608) 265-3183
klthompson3@wisc.edu

(no appointments scheduled via phone or email)

Study Abroad Advising

Study abroad students who need their Study Abroad Advising Worksheet signed and/or who have specific questions about study abroad programs should meet with the appropriate faculty study abroad advisor and not with the undergraduate major advisor. For more general questions about eligibility, financial aid opportunities, etc., please visit the International Academic Programs website.

Declaring the Spanish or Portuguese Major

• Students in the College of Letters & Science (Bachelor of Arts or BA or BS designation) may declare the Spanish or Portuguese major at any time.
• Students not in the College of Letters & Science need permission from their primary School or College to declare the Spanish or Portuguese major. Generally, this just involves students taking a copy of their major declaration back to their primary School or College. For students in CALS, a permission form is also required.
• Students with a “pre” designation (ie: Pre-Nursing/PRN, Pre-Kinesiology/PKN, among others) are unable to declare a College of Letters & Science major until they have been officially admitted into that School or College.
• To declare, simply make an appointment here or stop by during walk-in hours. Students who wish to declare the major during walk-in hours will need to bring a “what-if” Spanish or Portuguese DARS report with them. Not sure how to run a “what-if” DARS report? Step-by-step instructions are available here. Students with recent study abroad experience whose courses do not yet appear on their UW-Madison records should bring a list of approved course equivalencies for the courses taken abroad so we can check it against your DARS report.

Quick Question?

If you have a quick question that does not require a conversation, feel free to email me at klthompson3@wisc.edu. 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.

Please check our website for answers to common questions.

If it is determined that your question cannot be answered via email you may be asked to make an appointment.

Appointments

Students may make an appointment here.

• Students who are currently abroad may make Skype appointments. My Skype name is spanport.advisor. Please include in your Appointment Reason that it will be a Skype appointment and add me as a contact well before your scheduled appointment time.
• You may wish to bring the appropriate DARS report with you if you wish to declare the Spanish or Portuguese major or the Certificate in Spanish Studies for Business Majors, or if you have questions about remaining course requirements or impending graduation. Not sure how to run your DARS report? Step-by-step instructions are available here. Students with recent study abroad experience whose courses do not yet appear on their UW-Madison records should bring a list of approved course equivalencies for the courses taken abroad so we can check it against your DARS report.
• If you need to cancel or reschedule your appointment, please do so through WiscCal. Step-by-step instructions are available here. Students who fail to show up for an appointment must wait at least two weeks before scheduling another appointment. Students who fail to show up for a second appointment will be unable to schedule further appointments during that term. If you are running late, please let me know if at all possible. I will not extend appointment times due to late arrival.