Senior Academic Advisor, Neuroscience

Senior Academic Advisor, Neuroscience (5142C) #88367

At the University of California, Berkeley , we are dedicated to fostering a community where everyone feels welcome and can thrive. Our culture of openness, freedom, and belonging makes it a special place for students, faculty, and staff, who are among the most talented and accomplished anywhere, including Nobel laureates, Pulitzer Prize winners, and Mac Arthur Fellows. Since our founding in 1868, we have been an engine for innovation - driving intellectual, economic, and social progress that benefits California, the U.S., and beyond.

Together, we change the world.

At Berkeley, the best careers are built on a foundation of continuous learning and growth . We actively support professional development by providing all full-time staff employees with at least 80 hours of paid time per year and provide space for supportive colleague communities via numerous employee resource groups.

The Undergraduate Student Services Office in the Biosciences Division in L&S at UC Berkeley serves over 1,800 undergraduate students in Integrative Biology (IB), Molecular & Cell Biology (MCB), and Neuroscience majors through comprehensive advising and student programming.

Together IB, MCB, and Neuro are among the largest academic departments at UC Berkeley. By several measures (including number of faculty and students, budget, and assigned square feet), these departments are larger than many UCB colleges and schools. The three departments represent over 186 faculty FTE (including Adjuncts, Professors of the Graduate School, active emeriti and 15 HHMI professors); 77 Researchers and Specialists;

150 post-doctoral researchers; 375 graduate students; 80 department staff members; and total state and extramural payroll of approximately 1,000 (including Graduate Student Instructors, Graduate Student Researchers and research staff). Financial resources include approximately $51M in annual extramural funding (which accounts for over half of the total sponsored research awards in the College of Letters & Science) and over $46M other fund sources.

The division has a total annual enrollment in classes of ~20,000. Divisional personnel are currently housed in eight buildings located in three widely separated parts of the campus.

The Neuroscience Senior Academic Advisor counsels students on academic program policies and issues and provides specialized expertise in an assigned major. This position serves as a representative of that major on cross-campus advisory committees and to faculty in the department, leads office-wide projects such as graduation audits and advising survey reviews, acts as the main transfer equivalency coordinator, leads special projects and programs, mentors and trains other staff, and fills in for the Assistant Director in case of absences.

The First Review Date for this job is September 4, 2026. For full consideration, please apply on or before the first review date.

Academic Advising - 45%

• Applies advanced academic advising concepts and experience to identify and resolve intricate student issues/grievances such as alleged discrimination, complex grade dispute issues, and students' personal crises while empowering students to make the most of their collegiate experience, including the development of both technical and non-technical skills.
• Advises undergraduate students in an assigned major using a holistic advising approach, through scheduled appointments, drop-in hours, email communication, workshops, and presentations. Establishes individualized, collaborative relationships with students to learn their skill levels, aptitudes, interests, and strengths. Assists students with identifying academic and career goals and establishing realistic plans to achieve them.
• Utilizing in-depth knowledge of the field, counsels students on post-degree employment opportunities and practices. Uses this knowledge to make recommendations to faculty and staff on best practices for career counseling.
• Determines the proper referrals for students whose academic success may be adversely impacted by issues related to mental health, financial aid, study habits, personal and/or family concerns, etc.
• Manages all aspects of the degree conferral process for undergraduate students in the major, including identifying honors notations, ensuring final research theses are received, assigning caseloads to other advisors, ensuring that all advisors review their caseloads, updating the Academic Progress Reports (APR), and entering final statuses for graduation tracking.
• Leads complex programs in the office, such as the Honors Program, Transfer Seminar/Mentoring Program, and/or Peer Advising Program, with assistance from other advisors.
• Assists the Assistant Director in training and mentoring other staff.
• Acts as Advising Office liaison to the Faculty Advisors, scheduling their office hours, onboarding new faculty advisors, and directing policy petitions.
• Counsels L&S…