Academics

First Year Advising

 

Carving relief

First-years choose their courses under the guidance of a faculty adviser, either in the AB or the BSE program. First-years will be assigned an academic adviser shortly before the start of term, and will meet with them the day before classes start to pick a group of classes that are appropriate for each student’s academic goals and interests. First-years in the AB program typically continue with their faculty adviser through the sophomore year, although changes are sometimes made based on student preference as well as advisers’ schedules for students in the sophomore year. BSE students receive a new faculty adviser at the end of first year, when BSE concentrations are declared.

In addition to the assigned faculty advisers, the residential college offers students a number of additional sources of support and advice when picking classes and negotiating other academic decisions. Our Peer Academic Advisers (PAAs) are available to talk with you about academic issues, and our Residential College Advisers (RCAs) and Resident Graduate Students (RGSs) are also good resources to consult when you have questions about classes, majors, or other things related to your academic work at Princeton.

Advising for Upperclass Students

The Dean of the College's website proposes an excellent Sophomore Action Plan - check it out! But sophomores in the A.B. program continue to meet with their college-affiliated academic advisers, as well as meet with the college's assistant dean and dean.

The main source of academic advising for juniors and seniors in the A.B. program, and for sophomores, juniors and seniors in the BSE program, are directors of undergraduate studies and departmental advisers. Check each department’s webpage for the most up-to-date listing of the faculty taking on those roles.

See the Junior Action Plan -- and the Senior Action Plan.

Remember that your Residential College Dean and Assistant Dean are also essential resources for the following areas of academic support, regardless of your class year:

  • Planning your courses, declaring a major, and troubleshooting academic difficulty
  • Approving “Dean’s Date” extensions or incompletes – including those for independent work
  • Changing concentrations
  • Approving peer tutoring (when it goes beyond the Frist Study Halls)
  • Pre-approval of courses away from Princeton for transfer credit (the link is here: https://odoc.princeton.edu/resources/approval-course-taken-another-institution on the Dean of the College's website)
  • Allowing a senior to drop beneath a three-course load for one term of their senior year.