Resources for Parents & Students

Academic Advising

The Offices of the Registrar and Academic Advising work together to provide a full range of integrated academic student services.

Academic advising at Puget Sound is a faculty-based system designed to assist students in the development and implementation of their educational plans.

Supporting and complementing faculty advisors, the Office of Academic Advising offers a wide range of advising services for students throughout their academic careers, with special programs for incoming, first-year students, transfer students, and students facing special academic challenges. Special features of Puget Sound’s faculty-based, first-year advising program include special sections of first-year courses, the instructors of which serve as academic advisors. The program also features peer advisors, upper-division students who are trained to work with first-year students on academic planning and support.

The university admits all students as “open” majors and recommends that they postpone declaring a major until the end of the sophomore year. Most students alter their major plans at least once, and premature specialization may actually prevent a student from considering significant options or benefiting from the well-rounded education available at Puget Sound.

In the junior and senior years, the Office of Academic Advising offers students support in researching, selecting, and being admitted to a wide range of graduate and professional schools. Of particular note is the role Academic Advising plays in advising students interested in going to law school. Students may seek guidance in preparing for post-baccalaureate options at any time during their college careers.