Arts & Sciences students often say they come to Cornell because the university’s curriculum is extraordinarily rich and its faculty among the most distinguished in the world. They say, “I can study anything here with someone who has written a book on the subject.” Hundreds of courses are offered each semester, and no single one is required of every undergraduate. Our curriculum and degree requirements, like our intellectual, social, and administrative structures, are non-hierarchical (and have been since the day Ezra Cornell and Andrew D. White created this “new university”); no subject is considered inherently more intellectually important than others. In addition, science and math departments offer several levels of entry courses. Consequently students come to the college both free and required to choose from among hundreds of courses in dozens of subjects and at several levels the four or five they will take each semester. This freedom is exhilarating and sometimes overwhelming. At the same time, new students explore and test academic interests and options for majors, start at levels appropriate to their background, and satisfy general college requirements.
Academic advising helps students design imaginative and solid curricula that also satisfy degree requirements. It informs them about the college’s many special academic options such as independent research/study and study abroad. In short, it helps students make the fullest and best possible use of Cornell’s extraordinary resources. It also supports them when they feel vulnerable - when they feel confused, overwhelmed, or troubled or when they change academic directions.
We provide four kinds of official academic help, all of which are available during Orientation as well as during the semester:
The faculty advisor is the best source of help in designing an adventurous course of study that develops a student’s intellect and interests. (Each faculty member in Arts and Sciences advises about ten students)
We attempt to match freshmen and sophomores with faculty advisors in their intended majors, which is possible for virtually all students but those who intend to major in psychology, government and economics. Because faculty in these three disciplines advise at least ten majors each, they cannot advise freshmen or sophomores. The advantage of a match of students with professors in their prospective major is that students have ready access to informed professional advice about particular courses. The disadvantage is that the advisor and advisee may concentrate too much on embarking on the study of one particular subject.
First- and second-year students need to talk with faculty about their general curricula; they need to test existing interests and discover new ones. They need to explore. The best advice is usually not how to proceed in as straight a line as possible toward one particular major, but how to prepare for an intended major while opening options for others. Furthermore, about half our students change their intended majors more than once before finally deciding on one (or two) in the second semester of the sophomore year. They need to be able to discuss their choices and changes with faculty whom they do not perceive as having a vested interest in their original choice and who can help them move from one field to another.
Once in a major, a student finds a faculty advisor in that field. Together they plan an academic program that develops the student’s particular interests.
The directors of undergraduate studies in the individual departments offer a second source of academic advice. These faculty members provide informed advice about the structure of the departmental curriculum and about how to begin the study of their subject, given different individual preparation. They also accept students into the major and help them find a major advisor.
Ten advising deans in the college’s Office of Undergraduate Admissions and Advising are expert in the college’s overall curriculum and academic options, college rules and procedures, and available support services. Your sons and daughters may consult them about particular programs of interest, about general goals and options, about petitioning for an exception to a usual college procedure or rule, or about any academic or personal problem. They can be particularly useful in helping students plan strategies for finding academic direction.
The advising deans for freshmen and sophomores [and affiliated supervisory/academic responsibility] are
The advising deans for juniors and seniors are
Students are encouraged to call 255-5004 or go to 55 Goldwin Smith for an appointment with a freshman/sophomore dean, or 255-4833/172 Goldwin Smith Hall for an appointment with a junior/senior dean.
If you have a question about the College or, more importantly, if you are worried about your son or daughter, please telephone one of the offices above to speak to a dean. If you have a question about tuition, financial aid, housing, or another university-wide issue, please address the relevant university office.
(http://www.arts.cornell.edu/career/)
We all need career skills; we do not magically acquire them at the moment we are looking for a job. Consequently, Arts & Sciences career programs and individual counseling are geared to students at different stages of their undergraduate careers: explorations of interest, ability and careers in the freshman and sophomore years, work experience in the sophomore and junior years, job search in the senior year. Students should consult the Arts & Sciences website listed above and telephone 255-4166 to make an appointment with Lisa Harris, director of Arts & Sciences Career Services; Diane Miller, assistant director; or Irene Komor, career counselor.