Hello all �ֲ���ý students,

This communication provides some information regarding course registration processes for Short Term 2026 and Fall 2026 semester. Please read all of this email and please discuss it with your academic advisor.

This communication will also be archived at the Student Advising Portal at the “Important Communications with All Students” Drop-Down. You can always go to that Portal to get this information.

Again, please connect with your academic advisor in order to discuss your plans and have your advising hold lifted so that you can complete the course registration process.

IMPORTANT DATES:

The entire registration schedule is available on the Student Dates and Deadlines Calendar and the Student Advising Portal. They are also listed below with notes for your convenience.

Monday, February 23, 2026 – Advising Period Begins

Short Term and Fall 2026 schedules are available on Garnet Gateway

Friday, February 27, 2026, at 9:00AM ET – Short Term and Fall 2026 Registration Opens

Please note: This initial round of registration is NOT first come, first served and class enrollment capacities do not apply.

Friday, March 6, 2026, at 4:00PM ET – Short Term and Fall 2026 Registration Closes

Wednesday, March 11, 2026, at 12:00PM ET – First-Round Registration Results are Released

Registration results are not final prior to this time. Statuses are subject to change while optimization is processed.

If you are satisfied with the outcome and you are registered for a minimum of 3.0 credits for Fall 2026, you do not have to do anything.

If you did not get optimized into courses you are still interested in taking, you may submit a petition for an available seat via Garnet Gateway.

Wednesday, March 11, 2026, at 12:00PM ET – Student Petitioning Opens

You may submit petitions for courses you registered for, but were not optimized into, through Garnet Gateway. These petitions go directly to the instructor for review.

Do not email the Registrar’s Office or Academic Standing for this petition.

Sunday, March 15, 2026, at 11:59PM ET – Student Petitioning Closes

Faculty will review petitions between 03/16 and 03/25.

If the faculty member accepts the petition, the Registrar’s Office will enroll the student; no action is needed by the student.

Monday, March 30, 2026, at 12:00PM ET – Petitioning Results Released

Petitioning results are not final prior to this time. Statuses are subject to change while petitioning is processed.

Tuesday, March 31, 2026, at 7:00AM ET – Add/Drop for Short Term and Fall 2026 Opens

If your petition was not accepted, you can choose an alternative course to add to your schedule.

Students can also register for up to 5.5 credits for Fall 2026 at this point.

Friday, April 17, 2026, at 11:59PM ET – Last Day to Withdraw from or Change Grade Mode for Winter 2026 Courses

Wednesday, May 6, 2026, at 11:59PM ET – Last Day to Add a Short Term 2026 Course

Friday, May 8, 2026, at 11:59PM ET – Last Day to Drop a Short Term 2026 Course

Sunday, May 31, 2026, at 11:59PM ET – Add/Drop Closes for Fall 2026

Please remember that students must be registered for no fewer than 3.0 credits per semester to be enrolled at �ֲ���ý. Standard academic progress per semester is 4.0 credits. The maximum permitted credit count per semester is 5.5 credits.

—�Ĕ�Ĕ�Ĕ�Ĕ�Ĕ�ē

Important Information by Class Year

Class of 2029 (First-Years)

Please connect with your pre-major academic advisor (your FYS instructor) to review your academic planning and to have your advising hold lifted. It is recommended that all students complete all of their MOI credits by the end of their sophomore year, so please attend to which MOIs you have not completed and consider registering for courses in those areas. Also, you may want to discuss with your academic advisor any ideas you have about possible majors or possible “plus one” areas including minors or general education concentrations (GECs). Standard academic progress after 2 semesters at �ֲ���ý is 8 credits completed; minimum academic progress after 2 semesters at �ֲ���ý is 6 credits completed.

Remember, that short-term is a general education requirement for your class year and the half-credit earned in a short-term course is counted toward the total 32 credits you need for the �ֲ���ý degree. Students must take 2 short-term courses as part of their �ֲ���ý degree. You can take a short-term as a first-year student, but you are not required to do so.

Class of 2028 (Sophomores)

Please be sure to have your “Major Plus One” fully declared by March 1, 2026. If you are intending to study abroad, the deadline for major declaration was February 7, 2026. If you have not completed your MOIs, please consider doing so during your junior year. Standard academic progress after 4 semesters at �ֲ���ý is 16 credits completed; minimum academic progress after 4 semesters at �ֲ���ý is 14 credits completed.

Remember, that short-term is a general education requirement for your class year and the half-credit earned in a short-term course is counted toward the total 32 credits you need for the degree. Students must take 2 short-term courses as part of their �ֲ���ý degree. You can take a short-term as a sophomore, but you are not required to do so.

Class of 2027 (Juniors)

If you are currently studying away or abroad from �ֲ���ý, your advising hold is already lifted. However, you may want to check in with your academic advisor(s) to review your course registration plans either by email or by setting up a Zoom video call at a mutually convenient time.

If you studied abroad in Fall 2025, please be sure to have completed and turned into the Registrar all forms to ensure that your credits from abroad are applied to your major, to your minor, and/or to your general education concentration if applicable. All forms and all information on what you must do to have your credits from study abroad applied to your degree are available here.

Standard academic progress after 6 semesters at �ֲ���ý is 24 credits completed; minimum academic progress after 4 semesters at �ֲ���ý is 22 credits completed.

Remember, short-term is a general education requirement for your class year and the half-credit earned in a short-term course is counted toward the total 32 credits you need for the degree. Students must take 2 short-term courses as part of their �ֲ���ý degree. You can take a short-term as a junior, but you are not required to do so.

Class of 2026 (Seniors)

If you studied abroad and have not filed your forms to have the credits applied to your major(s), minor(s), or general education concentrations, please do so as soon as possible. All forms and information on how to complete them are here.

Standard academic progress after 8 semesters at �ֲ���ý is 32 credits completed.

—�Ĕ�Ĕ�Ĕ�Ĕ�Ĕ�ē

If you have additional questions, please connect with your academic advisor(s). If you do not know who your academic advisors are, they are listed at the top of your Degree Audit, which you can access at Garnet Gateway and they are also listed in your “Success Network” on �ֲ���ýReach, which you can also access at Garnet Gateway.

Thanks!!

Welcome to the Winter 2026 semester! We hope you had a good break, and we hope you are excited to start a new semester. We write with some important information to assist you in getting situated for a great semester. All of the information and links below are also available at the Student Advising Portal (at the Important Communications with All Students drop-down). 

Before that though, Fudge would like to say !

This email provides information on 6 important topics:

1. Adjusting Your Winter 2026 Course Schedule (add/drop and important deadlines)
2. Off-Campus Study (important forms to complete if you are now returning and important deadlines to keep in mind if you are planning to study away from �ֲ���ý next year)
3. Important Information by Class Year (scroll down to your class year for relevant information)
4. Planning for the Summer
5. Resources for Academic-Year and Summer Research
6. Academic Advisor Information

1. ADJUSTING YOUR WINTER 2025 COURSE SCHEDULE & SHORT-TERM/FALL 2026 REGISTRATION INFO (ADD/DROP AND OTHER DEADLINES)

The add/drop period for the winter semester opened on Dec 2, 2025. It remains open until Jan 27, 2026.

To review the general education requirements, please look at this summary. 

The deadlines for the last day to add a class and the last day to drop a class can be found at the Important Dates and Deadlines Calendar at the Student Advising Portal. The �ֲ���ý Registrar also posts important dates for registration and schedule adjustment. Here are the basics for adjusting your winter 2026 schedule and registering for short-term and fall 2026:

• Wednesday January 14, 2026:First day of classes for the winter semester.
• Tuesday, January��20, 2026��(11:59 PM): This is the last day a student can add a course��without��permission of the instructor if the course has open seats.
• Wednesday, January��21, 2026:��The Add period remains open, but to add a course starting on this date students will require the permission of the instructor.
• Tuesday, January 27, 2026��(11:59 PM):�� This is the last day students can add��or drop��a course to their Winter 2025 semester schedule.��(NOTE: you must choose “withdrawal” to remove yourself from a winter 2026 class after this date).��
• Thursday,��February��7, 2025: Last day to register for Global Education to study away from �ֲ���ý��during 2026-27. Please see further information at Global Education’s
• Monday, February 23-March 6, 2026: Advising period opens–you should meet with your advisor to discuss short-term and fall 2026 classes if you are not a senior.
• Friday, February 27, 2026: Registration opens for Short-term and Fall 2026 classes for continuing students.
• Friday, March 6, 2026: Registration closes for Short-term and Fall 2026 classes for continuing students.
• Wednesday, March 11, 2026: Registration results available for continuing students.��
• Thursday, March 12-March 15, 2026: Petitioning opens for continuing students.
• Tuesday, March 31, 2026:��Add/Drop opens for Short-term and Fall 2026 classes.
• Friday,��April 17, 2026��(11:59 PM Eastern): The last day to select the letter grade grading option (A-F) for a Winter 2026 course
• Friday,��April 17, 2026��(11:59 PM Eastern): The last day to��withdraw from��a course��for the��Winter 2026 schedule.

Standard academic progress is 4.0 credits per semester. Minimum academic progress is 3.0 credits per semester. Students should not take fewer than 3.0 credits per semester. 

Students are permitted to take up to 5.5 credits per semester. Taking more than 5.5 credits requires permission from the Academic Standing Committee.

2. OFF-CAMPUS STUDY FROM BATES/RETURNING TO BATES AFTER OFF-CAMPUS STUDYIf you are a current sophomore considering off-campus study from �ֲ���ý, e.g., study abroad, during Fall 2026, Winter 2027, or Academic Year 26-27, please set up your, if you have not already. You can get started at this webpage and then make an appointment on with Deanna Young for more information.

If you are a current sophomore (Class of 2028) intending to study off-campus at any point next year (2026-27), you must declare one (1) major no later than January 30, 2026, and you must complete by 11:59 PM on February 5, 2026. 

Full information on the process can be found here. 

If you are now returning from a semester abroad, please be aware that the credit transfer from your experience away from �ֲ���ý is NOT automatic. There are various steps you must take, and they are outlined in 3 places (all places have the exact same information): (1) the, (2) the Center for Global Education website (mouse over “Off Campus Study,” then “Welcome Back”, then click on “Applying Credit at �ֲ���ý” or simply click here), or (3) the Student Advising Portal (under Academic Planning by Class Year, and then click on “Juniors” and then scroll down to Global Education).

To apply general credit toward your �ֲ���ý degree, i.e., 4 credits for the semester, you must: 1) complete the �ֲ���ý Off-Campus Study Evaluation. The evaluation is very important to the college and to future �ֲ���ý students and is available online at  Garnet Gateway (go to the Evaluation �ֲ���ý), and 2) you should ensure that the Center for Global Education receives an official transcript from your program or university directly. This second part usually happens automatically.

To apply credit to your major, your minor, or your GEC, you should complete the applicable online forms accessible at this site.  

3. IMPORTANT INFORMATION BY CLASS YEAR

Class of 2026 (Seniors)

If you are a senior, please review your Degree Audit to ensure all of your degree requirements are either already fulfilled or will be completed by the end of the Winter 2026 semester. You should not depend on the Short Term to fulfill any Degree requirements. Your Degree Audit is accessible via Garnet Gateway. You can get to Garnet Gateway by going to or simply going to the Garnet Gateway link at the Student Advising Portal. 

If you have not yet applied your credits from abroad or from any other educational institution beyond �ֲ���ý (e.g., AP credits, summer courses, IB-credits etc), to your degree please do so as soon as possible. Information on how to do so is at the Student Advising Portal. For credit from abroad see instructions listed above. For credit from AP, IB, or A-Level courses, please go to the Student Advising Portal, click on Academic Planning by Class Year, click on First-Year students, and scroll down to Credit for AP, IB and A-Levels.

Class of 2027 (Juniors)

If you are a junior, and you are returning from off-campus study from �ֲ���ý, please see the information above about applying credit from off-campus study detailed above.

In addition, please review your Degree Audit to ensure that you are on track with completing all degree requirements, e.g.,5 MOIs, 3 Ws, and Major + 1. You can get to Garnet Gateway by going to or simply going to the Garnet Gateway link at the Student Advising Portal. 

Please note that it is recommended that all students complete their MOI requirements before the end of their sophomore year, so if you have any MOIs left to complete, please consider taking courses that are tagged with MOIs either this semester or next.

Class of 2028 (Sophomores)

If you are a sophomore, and you have not declared your Major Plus 1, please remember that you must declare your Major Plus 1 by March 1, 2026. If you are intending to study abroad during 2026-27, you must declare at least your major by February 1, 2026 to meet study abroad deadlines.

Please review your Degree Audit to ensure that you are on track with completing all degree requirements: 5 MOIs, 3 Ws, and Major + 1. You can get to Garnet Gateway by going to or simply going to the Garnet Gateway link at the Student Advising Portal. 

Please note that it is recommended that all students complete their MOI requirements before the end of their sophomore year, so if you have any MOIs left to complete, please consider taking courses that are tagged with MOIs either this semester or next.

All students must have 1 major at �ֲ���ý. The “Plus 1” can be fulfilled either by a second major, a minor, or a General Education Concentration (GEC). GECs are course clusters that often cut across the boundaries of a given discipline. A full list of.

Declaring the major or a minor is a multi-step process that starts by you indicating an intention to declare a major on Garnet Gateway (simply click on the link labeled “Declaring Majors, Minors, and General Education Concentrations”). The declaration process usually involves meeting with faculty in your major or minor field of study before the declaration is finalized, and this can take a couple of weeks. Please factor that into your scheduling and deadlines.

Unlike majors and minors, GECs are self-administered by the students. Once declared on Garnet Gateway, students do not need to meet with anyone to finalize their GEC declaration. Each GEC does have a coordinator and questions can be addressed to the GEC coordinator.

Class of 2029 (First-Years)

Congratulations on completing your first semester at �ֲ���ý! Please continue to work to complete your MOI requirements. It is recommended that all students complete their MOIs before the end of their sophomore year. Please review your Degree Audit to ensure that you are on track with completing degree requirements. You can get to Garnet Gateway by going to or simply going to the Garnet Gateway link at the Student Advising Portal. Continue to work with your pre-major academic advisor/FYS instructor to explore the curriculum to identify possible majors, minors, and/or GECs that you are interested in pursuing

4. PLANNING FOR THE SUMMER

Please consider working with the Center of Purposeful Work to identify summer internship and job opportunities. Please consider working with the Harward Center for Community Partnerships to identify summer opportunities (as well as opportunities during the Winter 2026 semester).

There is also a Dean of Faculty funded Summer Apprenticeship program that you are encouraged to explore.

5. RESOURCES FOR ACADEMIC-YEAR AND SUMMER RESEARCH 

The Dean of Faculty office as well as other offices and centers around campus offer a range of resources to support student-led research. You can find a full list of student grants and fellowship opportunities that are administered by �ֲ���ýhere

Student Summer Funding Opportunities Deadlines are here

6. ACADEMIC ADVISOR INFORMATION

Please be in touch with your academic advisor (not your student support advisor) should you have questions. Your academic advisor is listed at the top of your Degree Audit on Garnet Gateway. 

If your academic advisor is on research leave for Winter 2026, please contact the professor who chairs the academic unit in which your major is located for assistance. 

Have a great semester!

-Mike Rocque

Michael Rocque��
�ֲ���ý College
Sociology
Dean of Faculty’s Office

This communication provides some information regarding the course registration processes for Winter 2026. Please read this email in its entirety and discuss it with your academic advisor. This, and other helpful information, will also be available on the Student Advising Portal.

IMPORTANT REMINDERS:

Registration Holds

All students have an ADVISOR HOLD for Winter 2026. You must connect with your academic advisor to lift this hold. Your academic advisor is the only person who can lift the advisor hold.

You may also have other holds on your account. For example, if you have not completed your Title IX and Civil Rights training, that will result in a hold on your account. You will not be able to register for classes until all registration holds are lifted.

Credit Limits

For Winter: All continuing students are required to register for a minimum of 3.0 credits to maintain their Active Student status. 

All students are permitted to register for up to 4.5 credits for the first round of registration. When Add/Drop opens on Dec 2, 2025, you will be able to register for the default semester maximum of 5.5 credits.

Registration Errors & Overrides

With few exceptions, if you receive a registration error, you must contact the instructor of the course for the corresponding override. A list of errors is available here on the �ֲ���ý Registrar website for your reference.

The Registrar’s Office can only assist with TIME CONFLICT overrides. Even then, all class time conflicts must be approved first by the instructor(s).

DATES:

The entire registration schedule is available on the Student Dates and Deadlines Calendar and the Student Advising Portal. They are also listed below with notes for your convenience.

• Friday, October 24, 2025 – Advising Period begins and the FINAL Winter 2026 schedule is available on Garnet Gateway.
• Friday, October 31, 2025 – Happy Halloween!!! Winter 2026 Registration Opens at 9:00AM ET (Please Note: This initial round of registration is not first-come, first-served and class enrollment capacities do not apply.)
• Friday, November 7, 2025 – Winter 2026 Registration Closes at 4:00PM ET
• Wednesday, November 12, 2025 at Noon ET – First-Round Registration Results are Released
  • Registration results are not final prior to this time. Statuses are subject to change while optimization is processed.
  • If you are satisfied with the outcome, and you are registered for a minimum of 3.0 credits, you do not have to do anything.
  • If you did not get optimized into courses you are still interested in taking, you may file a petition for an available seat via Garnet Gateway.
• Thursday, November 13, 2025 – Student Petitioning Opens
  • You may submit petitions through Garnet Gateway. These petitions go directly to the instructor for review.
  • Do not email the Registrar’s Office or Academic Standing for this petition.
• Sunday, November 16, 2025 – Student Petitioning Closes at 11:59PM ET
  • Faculty will review petitions between 11/17 and 11/23.
  • If the faculty member accepts the petition, the Registrar’s Office will enroll the student; no action is needed by the student.
• Monday, December 1, 2025 – Petitioning Results Released at Noon ET
  • Petitioning results are not final prior to this time. Statuses are subject to change while petitioning is processed.
• Tuesday, December 2, 2025 – Add/Drop Opens at 7:00AM ET
  • If your petition was not accepted, you can choose an alternative course to add to your schedule.
  • Students can also register for up to 5.5 credits for Winter 2026 at this point.
• Tuesday, January 27, 2026 – Last Day to Add a Winter 2026 Course. This is ALSO the last day to drop a Winter 2026 course. Note this is a change from previous practice when there was a longer window to drop courses. After this date, you need to withdraw from a course, which will be indicated on your transcript.

Wishing you the best on the rest of your semester,

Michael

Welcome to the Fall 2025 semester! 

I hope you all had a good summer and are excited to start a new Fall semester at �ֲ���ý. I write with some important information that will assist you in getting situated and started in this new semester. Please always refer to the Student Advising Portal as a resource for information on registration and resources that may be useful to you as you make your way through the semester. The Portal can be found here: /dof/student-advising-portal/

Your Course Schedule for Fall 2025

• The Add/Drop period opened��today, Tuesday, September��2 at 7 AM.��You can adjust your course schedule over the next couple of weeks as you explore what classes work best for your academic exploration and meet your remaining requirements.��
• The deadlines for the last day to add a class and the last day to drop a class can be found at the��Important Dates and Deadlines Calendar��at the��Student Advising Portal.��
• Here are some dates to keep in mind:��

• Add/Drop opens at 7am, Sept 2. The first week of add/drop is open, the 2nd week is instructor permission
  Last day to add or drop a class: Sept 16
  Last day to select pass/fail or change from letter to P/F (or vice versa) from Fall 2025 course: Dec 5
  Last day to withdraw (rolls to a W on transcript) from Fall 2025 course: Dec 5
  Winter 2026 grids due Sept 22
  Winter 2026 new course proposals due Sept 22
  Winter 2026 draft schedule available Oct 6
  Winter 2026 advising period starts, Oct 24 (15 days)
  Winter 2026 registration opens Oct 31. Closes Nov 7 (4pm)
  Winter 2026 petition period opens Nov 12, Faculty review Nov 17-23, Results available Dec 1
  Add/Drop for Winter 2026 opens Dec 2

• Information on��Off-Campus Study��can be found��here.
• If you are interested in��student research, you can find information��here.

Information by Class Year

Class of 2026 (Seniors) – Please read this section and take any needed action

• If you are a senior, please review your Degree Audit to ensure all of your degree requirements are either already fulfilled or that you can work with your academic advisor to ensure completion by the Winter 2026 semester. Your Degree Audit is accessible via Garnet Gateway.��

Class of 2027 (Juniors) – Please read this section and taken any needed action

• Please review your Degree Audit to ensure that you are on track with completing all degree requirements: 5 MOIs, 3 Ws, and Major + 1. You can get to Garnet Gateway by going to��or simply going to the Garnet Gateway link at the��Student Advising Portal.
• Please note that it is recommended that all students complete their MOI requirements before the end of their sophomore year, so if you have any MOIs left to complete, please consider taking courses that are tagged with MOIs either this semester or next.

Class of 2028 (Sophomores) – Please read this section and take any needed action

• If you are a sophomore, please remember that you must declare your Major Plus 1 by��March 1, 2026. If you are intending to study abroad during 2025-26, you must declare at least your Major by��Mid January, 2026��to meet study abroad deadlines.��
• All students must have 1 major at �ֲ���ý. The “+ 1” can be fulfilled either by a second major, a minor, or a General Education Concentration (GEC). GECs are course clusters that are often transdisciplinary. GECs require 4 courses or 4 credits (depending on the GEC). A full list of.
• Declaring the major or a minor is a��multi-step process��that starts with you indicating an intention to declare a major on Garnet Gateway (simply click on the link labeled “Declaring Majors, Minors, and General Education Concentrations”). The declaration process usually involves meeting with faculty in your major or minor field of study before the declaration is finalized, and this can take a couple of weeks.��
• Unlike majors and minors, GECs are self-administered by the students. Once declared on Garnet Gateway, students do not need to meet with anyone to finalize their GEC declaration. Each GEC does have a coordinator and questions can be addressed to the GEC coordinator.
• Please review your Degree Audit to ensure that you are on track with completing all degree requirements: 5 MOIs, 3 Ws, and Major Plus 1. You can get to Garnet Gateway by going to��or simply going to the Garnet Gateway link at the��Student Advising Portal.
• Please note that it is recommended that all students complete their MOI requirements before the end of their sophomore year, so if you have any MOIs left to complete, please consider taking courses that are tagged with MOIs either this Fall semester or next Winter semester.
• Please reach out to your pre-major academic advisor/FYS instructor for additional guidance.

Class of 2029 (First-Years) – Please read this section and take any needed action

• Welcome to your first semester at �ֲ���ý! You should have met with your FYS instructor, who is also your pre-major academic advisor, during the first meeting of your First-Year Seminar on Friday, August��29, 2025. It is recommended that all students complete their MOIs before the end of their sophomore year. Please be sure to review your Degree Audit to ensure that you are on track with completing degree requirements. You can get to Garnet Gateway by going to��or simply going to the Garnet Gateway link at the��Student Advising Portal.
• Continue to work with your pre-major academic advisor/FYS instructor to explore the curriculum to identify possible majors, minors, and/or GECs that you are interested in pursuing.

Please be in touch with your academic advisor should you have questions. Thank you.

Michael Rocque

Associate Dean of Faculty

This communication provides some information regarding the course registration processes for Short Term and Fall 2025. Please read this email in its entirety and discuss it with your academic advisor. This, and other helpful information, will also be available on the Student Advising Portal.

IMPORTANT REMINDERS:

Registration Holds

All students will receive two ADVISOR HOLDS, one for Short Term and one for Fall 2025. You must meet with your academic advisor to lift this hold. Your academic advisor is the only person who can lift the hold.

Current sophomore students (class of 2027) will also receive a MAJOR +1 HOLD. You must declare your major in Garnet Gateway to lift this hold.

You will not be able to register for classes until all registration holds are lifted.

Credit Limits

For Short Term: Students may register for a maximum of 0.5 credits at all points in the registration process.

For Fall: All continuing students are required to register for a minimum of 3.0 credits to maintain their Active Student status. You are expected to meet this 3.0 minimum by May 31, 2025, which is the last day for Add/Drop before the summer break.

All students are permitted to register for up to 4.5 credits for the first round of registration. When Add/Drop opens on April 1, 2025, you will be able to register for the default semester maximum of 5.5 credits.

Registration Errors & Overrides

With few exceptions, if you receive a registration error, you must contact the instructor of the course for the corresponding override. A list of errors is available here on the �ֲ���ý Registrar website for your reference.

The Registrar’s Office can only assist with TIME CONFLICT overrides. Even then, all class time conflicts must be approved first by the instructor(s).

DATES:

The entire registration schedule is available on the Student Dates and Deadlines Calendar and the Student Advising Portal. They are also listed below with notes for your convenience.

• Monday, February 24, 2025 – Advising Period begins and Short Term and Fall 2025 schedule is available on Garnet Gateway.
• Friday, February 28, 2025 – Short Term and Fall 2025 Registration Opens at 9:00AM ET��(Please Note: This initial round of registration is not first-come, first-served and class enrollment capacities do not apply.)
• Friday, March 7, 2025 – Short Term and Fall 2025 Registration Closes at 4:00PM ET
  • This is also the last day to drop a Winter 2025 course.
  • This is also the last day to elect a letter grade for a Winter 2025 course.
• Tuesday, March 11, 2025 at Noon ET – First-Round Registration Results are Released
  • Registration results are not final prior to this time.��Statuses are subject to change while optimization is processed.
  • If you are satisfied with the outcome, and you are registered for a minimum of 3.0 credits, you do not have to do anything.
  • If you did not get optimized into courses you are still interested in taking, you may file a petition for an available seat via Garnet Gateway.
• Wednesday, March 12, 2025 – Student Petitioning Opens
  • You may submit petitions through Garnet Gateway. These petitions go directly to the instructor for review.
  • Do not email the Registrar’s Office or Academic Standing for this petition.
• Sunday, March 16, 2025 – Student Petitioning Closes at 11:59PM ET
  • Faculty will review petitions between 3/17 and 3/26.
  • If the faculty member accepts the petition, the Registrar’s Office will enroll the student; no action is needed by the student.
• Monday, March 31, 2025 – Petitioning Results Released at Noon ET
  • Petitioning results are not final prior to this time.��Statuses are subject to change while petitioning is processed.
• Tuesday, April 1, 2025 – Add/Drop Opens at 7:00AM ET
  • If your petition was not accepted, you can choose an alternative course to add to your schedule.
  • Students can also register for up to 5.5 credits for Fall 2025 at this point.
• Wednesday, April 30, 2025 – Last Day to Add a Short Term 2025 Course
• Friday, April 2, 2025 – Last Day to Drop a Short Term 2025 Course
• Saturday, May 31, 2025 – Last Day to Add a Fall 2025 Course

Wishing you the best on the rest of your semester,

�ֲ���ý College Office of the Registrar

Welcome to the Winter 2025 semester! We hope you had a good break, and we hope you are excited to start a new semester. We write with some important information to assist you in getting situated and started in this new semester. All of the information and links below are also available at the Student Advising Portal (at the Important Communications with All Students drop-down). 

This email provides information on 6 important topics:

1. Adjusting Your Winter 2025 Course Schedule (add/drop and important deadlines)
2. Off-Campus Study (important forms to complete if you are now returning and important deadlines to keep in mind if you are planning to study away from �ֲ���ý next year)
3. Important Information by Class Year (scroll down to your class year for relevant information)
4. Planning for the Summer
5. Resources for Academic-Year and Summer Research
6. Academic Advisor Information

Feel free to scroll down to the section you find relevant. Please note that all of the relevant dates can be found at this calendar on the Student Advising Portal and on this calendar at the Registrar’s site. If you dislike reading the dates in the narrative format below, please add the calendar at the Student Advising Portal to your �ֲ���ý Google Calendar so that these dates are part of your calendar (Instructions on how to add the calendar to your google calendar are at the Student Advising Portal).

1. ADJUSTING YOUR WINTER 2025 COURSE SCHEDULE (ADD/DROP AND OTHER DEADLINES)

As was announced via email last semester (sent to all students on October 21, 2024 and available at the Student Advising Portal’s “Important Communications with All Students” section), the Add/Drop period opened on Tuesday, December 3, 2024 at 7 AM Eastern, and it remains open. You can adjust your schedule over the next couple of weeks (see specific deadlines below) as you explore what classes work best for your academic exploration and meet your remaining requirements. 

To review the general education requirements, please look at this summary. 

The deadlines for the last day to add a class and the last day to drop a class can be found at the Important Dates and Deadlines Calendar at the Student Advising Portal. Here are the basics:

• Wednesday, January 15, 2025 (11:59 PM): This is the last day a student can add a course without permission of the instructor if the course has open seats. 

• Thursday, January 16, 2025: The Add period remains open, but to add a course starting on this date students will require the permission of the instructor.

• Wednesday, January 22, 2025 (11:59 PM):  This is the last day students can add a course to their Winter 2025 semester schedule. 

• Winter, January 22, 2025 (11:59 PM): This is also the last day to select pass/fail grading option for a Winter 2025 semester course. 
  • Note: �ֲ���ý students can pass/fail up to 2 classes during their entire time at �ֲ���ý and only take 1 class pass/fail in a given semester. They cannot pass/fail any general education requirement, i.e., Mode of Inquiry requirements or the W1, W2, or W3 requirements. Majors and minors may have additional restrictions on what courses can be taken pass/fail. Check with your academic advisor.

• February 6, 2025: Last day to register for Global Education to study away from �ֲ���ý during 2025-26. Please see further information at Global Education’s

• Friday, March 7, 2025 (11:59 PM Eastern): The last day to select the letter grade grading option (A-F) for a Winter 2025 course 

• Friday, March 7, 2025 (11:59 PM Eastern): The last day to drop a course from your Winter 2025 course schedule.

Standard academic progress is 4.0 credits per semester. Minimum academic progress is 3.0 credits per semester. Students should not take fewer than 3.0 credits per semester. 

Students are permitted to take up to 5.5 credits per semester. Taking more than 5.5 credits requires permission from the Academic Standing Committee.

Finally, the advising period for Short Term 2025 course selection and Fall 2025 course selection will open on Monday, February 24, 2025. Course selection for Short Term and Fall 2025 is scheduled to open at 9 AM Eastern on Friday, February 28, 2025. Students can select up to 4.5 credits once their academic advising hold is lifted by their academic advisor.

2. OFF-CAMPUS STUDY FROM BATES/RETURNING TO BATES AFTER OFF-CAMPUS STUDY

If you are a current sophomore considering off-campus study from �ֲ���ý, e.g., study abroad, during Fall 2025 or Winter 2026, please be sure to be in touch with the Center for Global Education to set up your. You can get started at this webpage and then make an appointment on with Associate Dean and Director of Global Education Darren Gallant or Global Education Advisor Jennifer Hyde to get more information.

If you are a current sophomore (Class of 2027) intending to study off-campus at any point next year (2025-26), you must declare your major no later than February 1, 2025, and you must complete by February 6, 2025. 

Full information on the process can be found here. More information on declaring your major is below under the Class of 2027 section.

If you are now returning from a semester abroad, please be aware that the credit transfer from your experience away from �ֲ���ý is NOT automatic. There are various steps you must take, and they are outlined in 3 places (all places have the exact same information): (1) the, (2) the Center for Global Education website (mouse over “Off Campus Study,” then “Welcome Back”, then click on “Applying Credit at �ֲ���ý” or simply click here), or (3) the Student Advising Portal (under Academic Planning by Class Year, and then click on “Juniors” and then scroll down to Global Education).

To apply general credit toward your �ֲ���ý degree, i.e., 4 credits for the semester, you must: 1) complete the �ֲ���ý Off-Campus Study Evaluation. The evaluation is very important to the college and to future �ֲ���ý students and is available online at  Garnet Gateway (go to the Evaluation �ֲ���ý), and 2) you should ensure that the Center for Global Education receives an official transcript from your program or university directly. This second part usually happens automatically.

To apply credit to your major, your minor, or your GEC, you should complete the applicable online forms accessible at this site.  

3. IMPORTANT INFORMATION BY CLASS YEAR

Class of 2025 (Seniors)

If you are a senior, please review your Degree Audit to ensure all of your degree requirements are either already fulfilled or will be completed by the end of the Winter 2025 semester. You should not depend on the Short Term to fulfill any Degree requirements. Your Degree Audit is accessible via Garnet Gateway. You can get to Garnet Gateway by going to or simply going to the Garnet Gateway link at the Student Advising Portal. 

If you have not yet applied your credits from abroad or from any other educational institution beyond �ֲ���ý (e.g., AP credits, summer courses, IB-credits etc), to your degree please do so as soon as possible. Information on how to do so is at the Student Advising Portal. For credit from abroad see instructions listed above. For credit from AP, IB, or A-Level courses, please go to the Student Advising Portal, click on Academic Planning by Class Year, click on First-Year students, and scroll down to Credit for AP, IB and A-Levels.

Class of 2026 (Juniors)

If you are a junior, and you are returning from off-campus study from �ֲ���ý, please see the information above about applying credit from off-campus study detailed above.

In addition, please review your Degree Audit to ensure that you are on track with completing all degree requirements, e.g.,5 MOIs, 3 Ws, and Major + 1. You can get to Garnet Gateway by going to or simply going to the Garnet Gateway link at the Student Advising Portal. 

Please note that it is recommended that all students complete their MOI requirements before the end of their sophomore year, so if you have any MOIs left to complete, please consider taking courses that are tagged with MOIs either this semester or next.

Class of 2027 (Sophomores)

If you are a sophomore, and you have not declared your Major Plus 1, please remember that you must declare your Major Plus 1 by March 1, 2025. If you are intending to study abroad during 2025-26, you must declare at least your major by February 1, 2025 to meet study abroad deadlines.

Please review your Degree Audit to ensure that you are on track with completing all degree requirements: 5 MOIs, 3 Ws, and Major + 1. You can get to Garnet Gateway by going to or simply going to the Garnet Gateway link at the Student Advising Portal. 

Please note that it is recommended that all students complete their MOI requirements before the end of their sophomore year, so if you have any MOIs left to complete, please consider taking courses that are tagged with MOIs either this semester or next.

All students must have 1 major at �ֲ���ý. The “Plus 1” can be fulfilled either by a second major, a minor, or a General Education Concentration (GEC). GECs are course clusters that often cut across the boundaries of a given discipline. A full list of.

Declaring the major or a minor is a multi-step process that starts by you indicating an intention to declare a major on Garnet Gateway (simply click on the link labeled “Declaring Majors, Minors, and General Education Concentrations”). The declaration process usually involves meeting with faculty in your major or minor field of study before the declaration is finalized, and this can take a couple of weeks. Please factor that into your scheduling and deadlines. For example, if you need to be fully declared by February 1, 2025, you should register your intention to declare on Garnet Gateway no later than January 15, 2025.

Unlike majors and minors, GECs are self-administered by the students. Once declared on Garnet Gateway, students do not need to meet with anyone to finalize their GEC declaration. Each GEC does have a coordinator and questions can be addressed to the GEC coordinator.

Class of 2028 (First-Years)

Congratulations on completing your first semester at �ֲ���ý! Please continue to work to complete your MOI requirements. It is recommended that all students complete their MOIs before the end of their sophomore year. Please review your Degree Audit to ensure that you are on track with completing degree requirements. You can get to Garnet Gateway by going to or simply going to the Garnet Gateway link at the Student Advising Portal. Continue to work with your pre-major academic advisor/FYS instructor to explore the curriculum to identify possible majors, minors, and/or GECs that you are interested in pursuing.

4. PLANNING FOR THE SUMMER

Please consider working with the Center of Purposeful Work to identify summer internship and job opportunities. Please consider working with the Harward Center for Community Partnerships to identify summer opportunities (as well as opportunities during the Winter 2025 semester).

5. RESOURCES FOR ACADEMIC-YEAR AND SUMMER RESEARCH 

The Dean of Faculty office as well as other offices and centers around campus offer a range of resources to support student-led research. You can find a full list of student grants and fellowship opportunities that are administered by �ֲ���ýhere.

6. ACADEMIC ADVISOR INFORMATION

Please be in touch with your academic advisor (not your student support advisor) should you have questions. Your academic advisor is listed at the top of your Degree Audit on Garnet Gateway. 

If your academic advisor is on research leave for Winter 2025, please contact the professor who chairs the academic unit in which your major is located for assistance. 

Stephen M. Engel, Associate Dean of Faculty and Professor of Politics

Megan McHenry, Registrar

SUBJECT: Information about Winter 2025 Course Registration

Hello all �ֲ���ý students,

This communication provides some information regarding course selection and registration processes and deadlines for the upcoming Winter 2025 semester. Please read all of this email and please discuss it with your academic advisor.

This communication is also archived at the Student Advising Portal under the “Important Communications with All Students” Drop-Down. 

Please connect with your academic advisor between October 28 and November 8 (the last day to register) in order to discuss your academic plans and have your advising/registration hold lifted so that you can complete the course registration process. You will not be able to register until your advising hold is lifted, and it is recommended that all students meet with their academic advisor prior to having their hold lifted so that you may discuss your academic plans with your advisor.

Only your academic advisor can lift your hold. Your student support advisor cannot lift your hold. Your academic advisor is listed at the top of your Degree Audit as well as in your “Success Network” on �ֲ���ý Reach.

First, below are the important dates and deadlines of the registration process for the WInter 2025 semester. All of the dates listed below are also available in the Important Dates and Deadlines Calendar, which is at the Student Advising Portal:

• Friday, October 25, 2024 – The schedule of courses for Winter 2025 will be available on on or near 4 PM for you to review and to start thinking about what courses you want to select.��

Friday, October 25, 2024 is also the last day to drop a Fall 2024 course. And, it is also 

the last day to select a letter-grade mode for any course you may be taking in the 

current Winter 2024 semester. Dropping a class and changing the grade mode (only from pass/fail to letter-grade, but not letter-grade to pass/fail) must be done by 11:59 PM EST. Please note: all General education requirements such as the MOIs, the W-courses, and courses to count for a GEC, must be taken for a letter grade. Students can only utilize 1 pass/fail per semester. Students are allocated 2 pass/fails during their time at �ֲ���ý.

• Monday, October 28, 2024 – The academic advising period begins, and you should be in touch with your academic advisor to have your “advising hold” lifted. Only a student’s academic advisor can lift advising holds for course registration; Student Support Advisors cannot lift advising holds for course registration. Waiting until the last minute to reach out to your advisor puts you at risk for missing the course registration deadline.

• Friday, November 1, 2024 – The Registration Period opens at 9 AM eastern. Students can select up to 4.5 credits for Winter 2025 in Garnet Gateway. Please remember that registration is NOT first-come/first-served, and you have until Friday, November 8 at�� 4 PM Eastern time to select courses for Winter 2025.��

• Friday, November 8, 2024 – Course registration closes at 4 P Eastern time.��
• Tuesday, November 12, 2024 – At about Noon Eastern time, first-round results of registration will be released and a notification will be sent to students’ �ֲ���ý email when the process is complete and the results are available. If you are satisfied with the outcome, and you are registered for the 4.0 or 4.5 Winter 2025 credits that you want to take, you do not have to do anything. If you did not get optimized into courses you are still interested in taking, you may file a petition for an available seat via Garnet Gateway (see petitioning dates below).��

• Wednesday, November 13, 2024 – Petitioning for a course that you selected but did not receive during the first-round of registration opens once initial course schedules are released. Petitions are submitted on Garnet Gateway. You can only submit a petition for a course that you attempted to register for during the first round. Petitions should be only 1 or 2 sentences, and they should indicate how and why the course you seek fits within your academic plan, i.e., how does it fulfill a general education requirement, such as an MOI, a W course, or a requirement within the major or the +1 (a second major, minor, or GEC). Indicate why it is important that you fulfill that requirement during the Winter 2025 semester.

• Sunday, November 17, 2024 – The petitioning process closes at 11:59 PM eastern time. Faculty will review petitions between Monday, November 18 and Sunday, November 24. If the faculty member accepts the petition, the Registrar will enroll the student; no action is needed by the student.

• Tuesday, December 3, 2024 – The Add/Drop period for all classes opens at 7 AM Eastern time. If your petition was accepted by the faculty member, the course has been added to your schedule automatically prior to the beginning of the add/drop period and you do not need to add it.. You can add credits to your schedule up to a total of 5.5 credits at this time.

The Add/Drop period will continue into the first few weeks of the Winter 2025 semester. Specific dates and deadlines for Winter 2025 that start in January 2025 will be listed on the Important Dates and Deadlines Calendar at the Student Advising Portal. All students will receive an email reminder of these dates and deadlines at the start of the Winter 2025 semester.

Second, you can watch a video, which explains the entire registration process, at the Student Advising Portal. Go to the portal, and click on the Drop-Down �ֲ���ý labeled, “How to Register for Courses.” If you are a first-year student, you can also find this video and related information at your FYE Workshops Class of 2028 Lyceum Page, which you have been reviewing with your FYS professor.

Third, please remember that students must be registered for no fewer than 3.0 credits per semester to be enrolled at �ֲ���ý. Standard academic progress per semester is 4.0 credits. The maximum permitted credit count per semester is 5.5 credits.

—�Ĕ�Ĕ�Ĕ�Ĕ�Ĕ�ē

Important Information by Class Year

Class of 2028 (First-Years)

Please connect with your pre-major academic advisor (your FYS instructor) to review your academic planning and to have your advising hold lifted. It is recommended that all students complete all of their MOI credits by the end of their sophomore year, so please attend to which MOIs you have not completed and consider registering for courses in those areas. Remember, MOIs can be completed with at least .5 credits in each.

Standard academic progress after 1 semester at �ֲ���ý is 4.0 credits completed, and after 2 semesters it is 8.0 credits completed; minimum academic progress after 2 semesters at �ֲ���ý is 6.0 credits completed; those MUST be 6.0 BATES credits. Even if you come to �ֲ���ý with prior credits such as AP, IB, or A-Level Credits, you must have completed 6.0 credits at �ֲ���ý to remain in good academic standing at the end of 2 semesters.

If you came to �ֲ���ý with prior credits and those are not listed on your Degree Audit yet, please complete the necessary steps to do so. All information on that process is accessible here. 

Class of 2027 (Sophomores)

Please be sure to have your “Major Plus One” fully declared by March 1, 2025. Declaration is initiated and completed on Garnet Gateway. See here for more information, or speak with your pre-major academic advisor. If you intend to study abroad, the deadline for major declaration is on or near February 1, 2025. 

Please identify any MOIs you have not completed, and consider taking those your Winter 2025 semester as it is recommended that all MOIs be completed by the end of the sophomore year. Remember, MOIs can be completed with at least 0.5 credits in each.

Standard academic progress after 3 semesters at �ֲ���ý is 12.0 credits completed; standard academic progress after 4 semesters is 16.0 credits; minimum academic progress after 4 semesters at �ֲ���ý is 14.0 credits completed.

Class of 2026 (Juniors)

If you are currently studying away from �ֲ���ý, your advising hold is already lifted. However, you may want to check in with your academic advisor(s) to review your course registration plans either by email or by setting up a Zoom video call at a mutually convenient time.

If you are currently studying away from �ֲ���ý, when you return to �ֲ���ý in January, please complete and send to the Registrar all forms to ensure that your credits from abroad are applied to your major, to your minor, and/or to your general education concentration if applicable. All forms and all information on what you must do to have your credits from study abroad applied to your degree are available here.

Standard academic progress after 5 semesters at �ֲ���ý is 20 credits; after 6 semesters at �ֲ���ý it is 24 credits completed, and at least 1 short term course (worth .5 credit) must be completed by the end of your junior year; minimum academic progress after 6 semesters at �ֲ���ý is 22 credits completed.

Class of 2025 (Seniors)

If you studied abroad and have not filed your forms to have the credits applied to your major(s), minor(s), or general education concentrations, please do so as soon as possible. All forms and information on how to complete them are here.

Standard academic progress after 7 semesters is 28 credits; after 8 semesters at �ֲ���ý, you should have 32 credits completed. You must complete 32 credits including at least 2 .5-credit short term courses by the end of your senior year. 

—�Ĕ�Ĕ�Ĕ�Ĕ�Ĕ�ē

Registration for Short Term 2025 will be in March 2025, which is also when you register for Fall 2025 courses. Please remember that students must take at least 2 short-term courses to earn the �ֲ���ý degree; they can take up to 3 short-term courses, but they are not permitted to take more than 3 short-term courses. Each short-term course is worth .5 credits, and those credits are included in the total 32 credits needed for the �ֲ���ý degree. A short-term course, if it is tagged with an MOI, completely fulfills that particular MOI requirement. 

If you have additional questions, please connect with your academic advisor(s). If you do not know who your academic advisors are, they are listed at the top of your Degree Audit, which you can access at and they are also listed in your “Success Network” on �ֲ���ýReach, which you can also access at.

Thank you.

Stephen M. Engel, Professor of Politics and Associate Dean of the Faculty

Megan McHenry, Registrar

Hello all �ֲ���ý students,

Welcome to the Fall 2024 semester! 

I hope you all had a good break, and I hope you are excited to start a new Fall semester at �ֲ���ý. I write with some important information that will assist you in getting situated and started in this new semester.

I recognize that this is a long email. It is meant to provide you with a strong foundation for the academic year. Please read it.

All of the information and links in this communication are available at the Student Advising Portal. This email highlights important information and provides links as well. I highly encourage you to explore the Student Advising Portal to utilize its various resources.

To access the Student Advising Portal, you can click on the link above or go to; then, click on the 3 horizontal lines next to the “�ֲ���ý” at the upper left corner; then click on “Academics.” And, finally click on the big red button labeled “Student Advising Portal.”  Alternatively, you can go to the, scroll down to “Useful Links,” and click on the Student Advising Portal.

Your Course Schedule for Fall 2024

The Add/Drop period opens today, Tuesday, September 3, at 7 AM. You can adjust your course schedule over the next couple of weeks as you explore what classes work best for your academic exploration and meet your remaining requirements. To review the general education requirements, you can go review this summary.

The deadlines for the last day to add a class and the last day to drop a class can be found at the Important Dates and Deadlines Calendar at the Student Advising Portal. Here are the basics:

• Last day to add a class without permission of instructor (unless the instructor already requires permission): Tuesday, September 10, 2024 (after this date, you will need permission of instructor)
• Last day to add a class (with instructor permission): Tuesday, September 17, 2024
• Last day to select pass/fail as a grading option for a Fall 2024 course: Tuesday, September 17, 2024
• Last day to drop a class: Friday, October 25, 2024
• Last day to select letter grade (A through F) as a grading option for a Fall 2024 course: Friday, October 25, 2024

Minimum Academic Progress and Standard Academic Progress Requirements

Standard academic progress is 4.0 credits per semester. Minimum academic progress is 3.0 credits per semester. Students may not take fewer than 3.0 credits per semester. Students are permitted to take up to 5.5 credits per semester. Taking more than 5.5 credits requires permission from the Academic Standing Committee.

Off-Campus Study from �ֲ���ý and Returning to �ֲ���ý after Off-Campus Study

If you are considering off-campus study, please be sure to be in touch with the Center for Global Education to learn how to set up your. If you are a current sophomore and thinking about off-campus study for Fall 2025 or Winter 2026, you should connect with Global Education during this current semester. You can get started at this webpage and then make an appointment on with Associate Dean and Director of Global Education Darren Gallant or Global Education Advisor Jennifer Hyde to get more information.

If you are a current sophomore intending to study off-campus at any point next year (2025-26), you must declare your major no later than February 1, 2025. Full information on the Global Education exploration process can be found here. More information on declaring your major is below under the Class of 2026 section.

If you are now returning from a semester or a year abroad, please be aware that the credit transfer from your experience away from �ֲ���ý is NOT automatic. There are various steps you must take, and they are outlined in 3 places (all places have the exact same information): (1) the, (2) the Center for Global Education website (mouse over “Off Campus Study,” then “Welcome Back”, then click on “Applying Credit at �ֲ���ý” or simply click here, or (3) the Student Advising Portal (under General Academic Resources (scroll down to Global Education).

To apply general credit toward your �ֲ���ý degree, i.e., 4 credits, you must: 1) complete the �ֲ���ý Off-Campus Study Evaluation. The evaluation is very important to the college and to future �ֲ���ý students and is available online at  Garnet Gateway (go to the Evaluation �ֲ���ý), and 2) you should ensure that the Center for Global Education receives an official transcript from your program or university directly. This second part usually happens automatically.

To apply credit to your major, you should complete this form and review it with the chair of your major field of study. To apply credit to your minor, you should complete this form and review it with the chair of that field of study. To apply credit to your GEC, you should complete this form and review it with the GEC coordinator. Information on GEC coordinators can be found at the �ֲ���ý Catalog here.

Class of 2025 (Seniors) – Please read this section and take any needed action

If you are a senior, please review your Degree Audit to ensure all of your degree requirements are either already fulfilled or that you can work with your academic advisor to ensure completion by the Winter 2025 semester. Your Degree Audit is accessible via Garnet Gateway. You can get to Garnet Gateway by going to or simply going to the Garnet Gateway link at the Student Advising Portal.

Class of 2026 (Juniors) – Please read this section and taken any needed action

Please review your Degree Audit to ensure that you are on track with completing all degree requirements: 5 MOIs, 3 Ws, and Major + 1. You can get to Garnet Gateway by going to or simply going to the Garnet Gateway link at the Student Advising Portal.

Please note that it is recommended that all students complete their MOI requirements before the end of their sophomore year, so if you have any MOIs left to complete, please consider taking courses that are tagged with MOIs either this semester or next.

Class of 2027 (Sophomores) – Please read this section and take any needed action

If you are a sophomore, please remember that you must declare your Major Plus 1 by March 1, 2025. If you are intending to study abroad during 2025-26, you must declare at least your Major by February 1, 2025 to meet study abroad deadlines. 

All students must have 1 major at �ֲ���ý. The “+ 1” can be fulfilled either by a second major, a minor, or a General Education Concentration (GEC). GECs are course clusters that are often transdisciplinary. GECs require 4 courses or 4 credits (depending on the GEC). A full list of.

Declaring the major or a minor is a multi-step process that starts with you indicating an intention to declare a major on Garnet Gateway (simply click on the link labeled “Declaring Majors, Minors, and General Education Concentrations”). The declaration process usually involves meeting with faculty in your major or minor field of study before the declaration is finalized, and this can take a couple of weeks. Please factor that into your scheduling and deadlines. For example, if you need to be fully declared by February 1, 2025, you should register your intention to declare on Garnet Gateway no later than January 15, 2025.

Unlike majors and minors, GECs are self-administered by the students. Once declared on Garnet Gateway, students do not need to meet with anyone to finalize their GEC declaration. Each GEC does have a coordinator and questions can be addressed to the GEC coordinator.

Please review your Degree Audit to ensure that you are on track with completing all degree requirements: 5 MOIs, 3 Ws, and Major Plus 1. You can get to Garnet Gateway by going to or simply going to the Garnet Gateway link at the Student Advising Portal.

Please note that it is recommended that all students complete their MOI requirements before the end of their sophomore year, so if you have any MOIs left to complete, please consider taking courses that are tagged with MOIs either this Fall semester or next Winter semester.

Please reach out to your pre-major academic advisor/FYS instructor for additional guidance.

Class of 2028 (First-Years) – Please read this section and take any needed action

Welcome to your first semester at �ֲ���ý! You should have met with your FYS instructor, who is also your pre-major academic advisor, during the first meeting of your First-Year Seminar on Friday, August 30, 2024. It is recommended that all students complete their MOIs before the end of their sophomore year. Please be sure to review your Degree Audit to ensure that you are on track with completing degree requirements. You can get to Garnet Gateway by going to or simply going to the Garnet Gateway link at the Student Advising Portal.

Continue to work with your pre-major academic advisor/FYS instructor to explore the curriculum to identify possible majors, minors, and/or GECs that you are interested in pursuing.

Planning for Summer 2025

Please consider working with the Center of Purposeful Work to identify summer internship and job opportunities. Please consider working with the Harward Center for Community Partnerships to identify summer opportunities (as well as opportunities during the Winter 2023 semester).

Resources for Research Experiences

The Dean of Faculty office as well as other offices and centers around campus offer a range of resources to support student-led research. This page provides details on these resources. You can also find a full list of student grant and fellow opportunities that are administered by �ֲ���ý.

Please be in touch with your academic advisor should you have questions. Thank you.

Steve Engel
Associate Dean of Faculty and Professor of Politics

Information about Short Term 2024 and Fall 2024 course registration

Hello all �ֲ���ý students,

This communication provides some information regarding course registration processes for Short Term 2024 and Fall 2024 semester. Please read all of this email and please discuss it with your academic advisor.

This communication is also archived at the Student Advising Portal at the “Important Communications with All Students” Drop-Down. You can always go to that Portal to get this information.

Again, please connect with your academic advisor in order to discuss your plans and have your advising hold lifted so that you can complete the course registration process.

First, below are some important dates. All of the dates listed below are also available in the Important Dates and Deadlines Calendar, which is at the Student Advising Portal. You can add that calendar to your Google Calendar. To learn how, watch the video, “How to Use the Student Advising Portal,” which is also at the Student Advising Portal:

• Monday, February 26, 2024 – The schedule of courses for both Spring Short Term 2024 and Fall 2024 will be available on by noon for you to review and to start thinking about what courses you want to select. The academic advising period also begins on February 26, and you should be in touch with your academic advisor to have your “advising hold” lifted. You will NOT be able to register until your advising hold is lifted by your academic advisor. Only academic advisors can lift advising holds for course registration; Student Support Advisors cannot lift advising holds for course registration. Waiting until the last minute to reach out to your advisor puts you at risk for missing the course registration deadline.

• Saturday, March 2, 2024 – You can select one .5-credit short term course for Short Term 2024 and up to 4.5 credits for Fall 2024 in Garnet Gateway starting at midnight EST. Please remember that registration is NOT first-come/first-served, and you have until Friday, March 8, 2024 at 4:00pm �ֲ���ý (Eastern) time to select courses for both Short Term 2024 and Fall 2024. Also, please remember that the short-term requirement has been waived for the Class of 2024 only. Students in the Class of 2024 can select a short-term course, but they do not have to take any. Students in the Classes of 2025, 2026, and 2027 must complete no fewer than 2 short-term classes (each short term would add .5 credits to the total 32 credits needed for the degree) before they graduate. 

• Friday, March 8, 2024 – Course registration closes at 4:00 PM �ֲ���ý (Eastern) time. This is also the last day to drop a Winter 2024 course. And, it is also the last day to select a letter-grade mode for any course you may be taking in the current Winter 2024 semester. Dropping a class and changing the grade mode (only from pass/fail to letter-grade, but not letter-grade to pass/fail) must be done by 11:59 PM EST. Please note: all General education requirements such as the MOIs, the W-courses, and courses to count for a GEC, must be taken for a letter grade. Students can only utilize one pass/fail per semester. Students are allocated 2 pass/fails during their time at �ֲ���ý.

• Wednesday, March 13, 2024 – First-round results of registration will be released and a notification will be sent to students’ �ֲ���ý email when the process is complete and the results are available. If you are satisfied with the outcome and you are registered for the 4.0 or 4.5 Fall 2024 and 0.5 Short Term 2024 credits that you want to take, you do not have to do anything. If you did not get optimized into courses you are still interested in taking, you may file a petition for an available seat via Garnet Gateway (see petitioning dates below). 

• Wednesday, March 13, 2024 – Petitioning for a course that you selected but did not receive during the first-round of registration opens once initial course schedules are released.

• Sunday, March 17, 2024 – The petitioning process closes at 11:59 PM EST (Faculty will review petitions between Monday, March 18 and Wednesday, March 27–if the faculty member accepts the petition, the Registrar will enroll the student; no action is needed by the student).

• Monday, April 1, 2024 – The Add/Drop period for all classes opens at 7 AM �ֲ���ý (Eastern) time. If your petition is accepted by the faculty member, the course is added to your schedule automatically prior to the beginning of the add/drop period. You can add credits to your schedule up to a total of 5.5 credits at this time.

• Wednesday, May 1, 2024 – This is the last day to add a Short Term 2024 course; the course must be added by 11:59 PM Eastern. The add period for Fall 2024 remains open.

• Friday, May 3, 2024 – This is the last day to drop a short-term course. The course must be dropped by 11:59 PM Eastern.

• May 31, 2024 at 11:59pm EDT – The add/drop period for Fall 2024 closes. It will reopen on Tuesday, September 3, 2024 at 7:00 AM EDT.

Second, you can watch a video, which explains the entire registration process, at the Student Advising Portal. Go to the portal, and click on the Drop-Down �ֲ���ý labeled, “How to Register for Courses.”

Third, please remember that students must be registered for no fewer than 3.0 credits per semester to be enrolled at �ֲ���ý. Standard academic progress per semester is 4.0 credits. The maximum permitted credit count per semester is 5.5 credits.

—�Ĕ�Ĕ�Ĕ�Ĕ�Ĕ�ē

Important Information by Class Year

Class of 2027 (First-Years)

Please connect with your pre-major academic advisor (your FYS instructor) to review your academic planning and to have your advising hold lifted. It is recommended that all students complete all of their MOI credits by the end of their sophomore year, so please attend to which MOIs you have not completed and consider registering for courses in those areas. Also, you may want to discuss with your academic advisor any ideas you have about possible majors or possible “plus one” areas including minors or general education concentrations (GECs). Standard academic progress after 2 semesters at �ֲ���ý is 8 credits completed; minimum academic progress after 2 semesters at �ֲ���ý is 6 credits completed.

Remember, that short-term is a general education requirement for your class year and the half-credit earned in a short-term course is counted toward the total 32 credits you need for the �ֲ���ý degree. Students must take 2 short-term courses as part of their �ֲ���ý degree. You can take a short-term as a first-year student, but you are not required to do so.

Class of 2026 (Sophomores)

Please be sure to have your “Major Plus One” fully declared by March 1, 2024. If you are intending to study abroad, the deadline for major declaration was February 9, 2024. If you have not completed your MOIs, please consider doing so during your junior year. Do not wait until your senior year to complete your MOIs. Standard academic progress after 4 semesters at �ֲ���ý is 16 credits completed; minimum academic progress after 4 semesters at �ֲ���ý is 14 credits completed.

Remember, that short-term is a general education requirement for your class year and the half-credit earned in a short-term course is counted toward the total 32 credits you need for the degree. Students must take 2 short-term courses as part of their �ֲ���ý degree. You can take a short-term as a sophomore, but you are not required to do so.

Class of 2025 (Juniors)

If you are currently studying away or abroad from �ֲ���ý, your advising hold is already lifted. However, you may want to check in with your academic advisor(s) to review your course registration plans either by email or by setting up a Zoom video call at a mutually convenient time.

If you studied abroad in Fall 2023, please be sure to have completed and turned into the Registrar all forms to ensure that your credits from abroad are applied to your major, to your minor, and/or to your general education concentration if applicable. All forms and all information on what you must do to have your credits from study abroad applied to your degree are available here.

Standard academic progress after 6 semesters at �ֲ���ý is 24 credits completed; minimum academic progress after 4 semesters at �ֲ���ý is 22 credits completed.

Remember, short-term is a general education requirement for your class year and the half-credit earned in a short-term course is counted toward the total 32 credits you need for the degree. Students must take 2 short-term courses as part of their �ֲ���ý degree. You can take a short-term as a junior, but you are not required to do so.

Class of 2024 (Seniors)

If you studied abroad and have not filed your forms to have the credits applied to your major(s), minor(s), or general education concentrations, please do so as soon as possible. All forms and information on how to complete them are here.

Standard academic progress after 8 semesters at �ֲ���ý is 32 credits completed.

The short-term requirement has been waived for your class year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. You can register for a short-term course and take it, but you are not required to do so. The half-credit from the short-term class is NOT added to your 32 total credits needed to graduate. You must reach 32.0 total credits including courses taken in the Fall and Winter semesters, as well as credit earned from non-�ֲ���ý sources.

—�Ĕ�Ĕ�Ĕ�Ĕ�Ĕ�ē

If you have additional questions, please connect with your academic advisor(s). If you do not know who your academic advisors are, they are listed at the top of your Degree Audit, which you can access at and they are also listed in your “Success Network” on �ֲ���ýReach, which you can also access at.

Thank you.

Stephen M. Engel, Professor of Politics and Associate Dean of the Faculty

Megan McHenry, Registrar

Welcome to the Winter 2024 semester! We hope you had a good break, and we hope you are excited to start a new semester. We write with some important information to assist you in getting situated and started in this new semester. All of the information and links below are also available at the Student Advising Portal (at the Important Communications with All Students drop-down). 

This email provides information on 3 important topics:

1. Adjusting Your Winter 2024 Course Schedule 
2. Off-Campus Study (Important Forms to Complete if Your are Now Returning and Important Deadlines to Keep in Mind if you are Planning to Study Away from �ֲ���ý Next Year)
3. Important Information by Class Year (Scroll Down to Your Class Year for Relevant Information)

ADJUSTING YOUR WINTER 2024 COURSE SCHEDULE (ADD/DROP AND OTHER DEADLINES)

As was announced via email last semester, the Add/Drop period opened on December 7, 2023, and it remains open. You can adjust your schedule over the next couple of weeks (see specific deadlines below) as you explore what classes work best for your academic exploration and meet your remaining requirements. 

To review the general education requirements, please look at this summary. 

The deadlines for the last day to add a class and the last day to drop a class can be found at the Important Dates and Deadlines Calendar at the Student Advising Portal. Here are the basics:

• Add period without permission of instructor ends Wednesday, January 17 (required permission of instructor runs from Thursday, January 18 to Wednesday, January 24, 2024)
• The last day to select pass/fail grading option is the same as the last day to add a course: Wednesday, January 24, 2024 
  • Note: �ֲ���ý students can pass/fail up to 2 classes. They cannot pass/fail any general education requirement, i.e., Mode of Inquiry requirements or the W1, W2, or W3 requirements. Majors and minors may have additional restrictions on what courses can be taken pass/fail. Check with your academic advisor.
• February 8, 2024 – Last day to register for Global Education to study away from �ֲ���ý during 2024-25. Please see further information at Global Education’s
• The last day to select the letter grade grading option (A-F) for a Winter 2024 course is Friday, March 8, 2024
• The last day to drop a class is Friday, March 8, 2024

Standard academic progress is 4.0 credits per semester. Minimum academic progress is 3.0 credits per semester. Students should not take fewer than 3.0 credits per semester. 

Students are permitted to take up to 5.5 credits per semester. Taking more than 5.5 credits requires permission from the Academic Standing Committee.

OFF-CAMPUS STUDY FROM BATES/RETURNING TO BATES AFTER OFF-CAMPUS STUDY

If you are a current sophomore considering off-campus study from �ֲ���ý, e.g., study abroad, during Fall 2024 or Winter 2025, please be sure to be in touch with the Center for Global Education to set up your. You can get started at this webpage and then make an appointment on with Associate Dean and Director of Global Education Darren Gallant or Global Education Advisor Jennifer Hyde to get more information.

If you are a current sophomore intending to study off-campus at any point next year (2024-25), you must declare your major no later than February 1, 2023, and you must complete by February 8. Full information on the process can be found here. More information on declaring your major is below under the Class of 2026 section.

If you are now returning from a semester abroad, please be aware that the credit transfer from your experience away from �ֲ���ý is NOT automatic. There are various steps you must take, and they are outlined in 3 places (all places have the exact same information): (1) the, (2) the Center for Global Education website (mouse over “Off Campus Study,” then “Welcome Back”, then click on “Applying Credit at �ֲ���ý” or simply click here), or (3) the Student Advising Portal (under Academic Planning by Class Year, and then click on “Juniors” and then scroll down to Global Education).

To apply general credit toward your �ֲ���ý degree, i.e., 4 credits for the semester, you must: 1) complete the �ֲ���ý Off-Campus Study Evaluation. The evaluation is very important to the college and to future �ֲ���ý students and is available online at  Garnet Gateway (go to the Evaluation �ֲ���ý), and 2) you should ensure that the Center for Global Education receives an official transcript from your program or university directly. This second part usually happens automatically.

To apply credit to your major, you should complete this form and review it with the chair of your major field of study. To apply credit to your minor, you should complete this form and review it with the chair of that field of study. To apply credit to your GEC, you should complete this form and review it with the GEC coordinator. 

IMPORTANT INFORMATION BY CLASS YEAR

Class of 2024 (Seniors)

If you are a senior, please review your Degree Audit to ensure all of your degree requirements are either already fulfilled or will be completed by the end of the Winter 2024 semester. You should not depend on the Short Term to fulfill any Degree requirements. Your Degree Audit is accessible via Garnet Gateway. You can get to Garnet Gateway by going to or simply going to the Garnet Gateway link at the Student Advising Portal. Please note that due to the COVID pandemic, the short term requirement has been waived for your class and taking a short term—if you choose to do so—does not count toward your total of 32 required credits for degree.

If you have not yet applied your credits from abroad or from any other educational institution beyond �ֲ���ý (e.g., AP credits, summer courses, IB-credits etc), to your degree please do so as soon as possible. Information on how to do so is at the Student Advising Portal. For credit from abroad see instructions listed above. For credit from AP, IB, or A-Level courses, please go to the Student Advising Portal, click on Academic Planning by Class Year, click on First-Year students, and scroll down to Credit for AP, IB and A-Levels.

Class of 2025 (Juniors)

If you are a junior, and you are returning from off-campus study from �ֲ���ý, please see the information about applying credit from off-campus study detailed above.

In addition, please review your Degree Audit to ensure that you are on track with completing all degree requirements: 5 MOIs, 3 Ws, and Major+1. You can get to Garnet Gateway by going to or simply going to the Garnet Gateway link at the Student Advising Portal. 

Please note that it is recommended that all students complete their MOI requirements before the end of their sophomore year, so if you have any MOIs left to complete, please consider taking courses that are tagged with MOIs either this semester or next.

Class of 2026 (Sophomores)

If you are a sophomore, and you have not declared your Major Plus 1, please remember that you must declare your Major Plus 1 by March 1, 2024. If you are intending to study abroad during 2024-25, you must declare at least your major by February 1, 2024 to meet study abroad deadlines.

Please review your Degree Audit to ensure that you are on track with completing all degree requirements: 5 MOIs, 3 Ws, and Major Plus 1. You can get to Garnet Gateway by going to or simply going to the Garnet Gateway link at the Student Advising Portal. 

Please note that it is recommended that all students complete their MOI requirements before the end of their sophomore year, so if you have any MOIs left to complete, please consider taking courses that are tagged with MOIs either this semester or next.

All students must have 1 major at �ֲ���ý. The “Plus 1” can be fulfilled either by a second major, 

a minor, or a General Education Concentration (GEC). GECs are course clusters that are often transdisciplinary. GECs require 4 courses or 4 credits. A full list of.(Once you are at that web page, click on “Programs” to see the list of GECs and their descriptions and requirements).

Declaring the major or a minor is a multi-step process that starts by you indicating an intention to declare a major on Garnet Gateway (simply click on the link labeled “Declaring Majors, Minors, and General Education Concentrations”). The declaration process usually involves meeting with faculty in your major or minor field of study before the declaration is finalized, and this can take a couple of weeks. Please factor that into your scheduling and deadlines. For example, if you need to be fully declared by February 1, 2024, you should register your intention to declare on Garnet Gateway no later than January 15, 2024.

Unlike majors and minors, GECs are self-administered by the students. Once declared on Garnet Gateway, students do not need to meet with anyone to finalize their GEC declaration. Each GEC does have a coordinator and questions can be addressed to the GEC coordinator.

Class of 2027 (First-Years)

Congratulations on completing your first semester at �ֲ���ý! Please continue to work to complete your MOI requirements. It is recommended that all students complete their MOIs before the end of their sophomore year. Please review your Degree Audit to ensure that you are on track with completing degree requirements. You can get to Garnet Gateway by going to or simply going to the Garnet Gateway link at the Student Advising Portal. Continue to work with your pre-major academic advisor/FYS instructor to explore the curriculum to identify possible majors, minors, and/or GECs that you are interested in pursuing.

Planning for this Summer

Please consider working with the Center of Purposeful Work to identify summer internship and job opportunities. Please consider working with the Harward Center for Community Partnerships to identify summer opportunities (as well as opportunities during the Winter 2023 semester).

Resources for Research Experiences

The Dean of Faculty office as well as other offices and centers around campus offer a range of resources to support student-led research. You can find a full list of student grant and fellow opportunities that are administered by �ֲ���ý.

Please be in touch with your academic advisor (not your student support advisor) should you have questions. Your academic advisor is listed at the top of your Degree Audit on Garnet Gateway. If your academic advisor is on research leave for Winter 2024, please contact the chair of your department or Professor and Associate Dean of the Faculty Stephen Engel at sengel@bates.edu. 

Stephen M. Engel

Associate Dean of Faculty and Professor of Politics

Megan McHenry

Registrar