Academic Advising
The College believes that academic advising is central to helping students make the most effective use of the diverse curricular and co-curricular options available to them at Connecticut College. Our academic advising features a team advising approach for a student’s first two years that includes a pre-major faculty adviser, staff member, and student advisers. This team assists in the transition to the major faculty advisor, typically during the sophomore year. Of course, many additional faculty and staff are available to work with students as they plan their academic programs, and we encourage students to take advantage of advising assistance available across the campus throughout their years at the College.
First-year students will receive their pre-major advising assignment from the dean of first-year students after being assigned to a First-Year seminar during the summer prior to matriculation. Each student will be assigned an advising team connected to their first-year seminar which includes their faculty pre-major adviser, a staff adviser, and two to three student advisers. Transfer students will be assigned a pre-major or major adviser by their class dean depending on their class year. The dean of sophomores and dean of juniors and seniors advise upper-class students, in close consultation with the student’s major adviser, who will be assigned when the student declares a major. Students may declare a major at any time prior to the second semester of their sophomore year, at which point a declaration of major is mandatory.
Academic deans and advisers in the major field advise transfer students, and advisers in the Psychology department advise graduate students in the M.A. program in Psychology. A pre-major adviser advises students in the Return to College (RTC) program until they declare a major. Students interested in single-course exchanges with Wesleyan University, Trinity College or the U.S. Coast Guard Academy should consult with the registrar. Special students are under the administrative purview of either the dean of first year students or the registrar.
Additional counseling and advising assistance is available through the offices of Career and Professional Development, the Dean of Students, Student Counseling Services, Academic Resource Center, Student Accessibility Services, the Writing Center, and Residential Education and Living.