Student Resources
The Advising Community
At Hamilton the advising community provides students with a comprehensive network so that students can access necessary resources during their education.
Advising
Academic advising at Hamilton helps students make responsible, informed decisions about their intellectual development. Working with a faculty advisor, students craft an educational plan reflecting their particular interests and abilities, and the College’s purposes and goals. The plan, which typically evolves over time, balances the freedom of an open curriculum and the breadth of a liberal arts education.
Planning by Class Year
The Faculty Advisor-Student Relationship
The faculty advisor-student relationship sits at the center of a larger system of formal and informal advising resources on campus, a system that engages students in conversations that transcend mere course selection. Drawing on multiple sources of advice will enable students to make the most of their college experience through a well-thought-out exploration of various disciplines, selection and completion of a concentration, consideration of options for off-campus study, and preparation for life after Hamilton.
For the first two years, until students declare a concentration, faculty advisors help them adjust to the intellectual demands of the College. Once students declare a concentration, they will be advised by a professor in that department or program. Advisors vary in their approaches to advising, but all are eager to see students succeed and to help them toward that success. Although advisors are ready to assist, students must assume major responsibility for their own education when they matriculate at Hamilton. Students must take the initiative to seek out advice, and take responsibility for their educational plans.