Academic Advising & Support

Haverford students are encouraged to engage proactively and deeply with the range of resources and opportunities available to them. Over their four years, you will embark on this exploration and engagement process in partnership with several advisors.

In your first year you will be paired with a pre-major advisor and an advising dean. Upon declaring a major, students transition from a pre-major advisor to an advisor within their declared major. This team serves as the core advising unit within a much wider web of support that includes mentors from the Center for Career and Professional Advising, Access and Disability Services, the Office of Academic Resources, the Writing Center and other related offices.

Advising Deans

Your Advising Dean will partner with you over the course of your four years at Haverford to work with you as you navigate academic, social, and pre-professional opportunities and challenges.

Deans are assigned alphabetically by last name. Your dean will reach out via email, and you will have different opportunities to connect with them over the summer and throughout the academic year. This might include small group discussions, town halls, individual conversations, and on-campus gatherings.

Deans aim to meet students where they are; to listen wholeheartedly to students’ questions, concerns, and visions; to learn from students’ multivalent experiences; and to work closely with their colleagues across the campus community to ensure equity in students’ educational experience.

Your advising dean is here to:

Learn about your goals, aspirations and concerns
Connect you with opportunities, resources, and networks of support and enable you to navigate college protocols and practices
Identify structural barriers to equity and work with colleagues to enable you to fully animate your gifts and get access to the opportunities and resources of the College
Encourage you to reflect on the interrelations between their curricular, co-curricular, and community investments
Provide scaffolding as you rise to meet challenges and identify opportunities and offer support in times of crisis.

Pre-Major and Major Advising

Pre-Major Advising

First-year students generally receive a pre-major advising assignment in August before the fall semester begins. Your pre-major advisor will reach out to you during Customs orientation to arrange a time to meet with you about your goals and aspirations for your first semester as well as for your academic trajectory, and to talk through the classes in which you are interested and to work with you to align your interests in relation to college and domain requirements.

Major Advising

Your major advisor will work closely with you to map out a path for successful completion of your major, drawing from the major proposal plan crafter during the major declaration process. In addition they will guide you towards successful completion of all domain requirements, as well as other graduation requirements. Finally, they will be an invaluable resource and guide as you successfully navigate and complete the thesis experience at Haverford.