Undergraduate Advising
The College of Arts and Science provides a variety of advising resources to help you make the most of your academic career at Vanderbilt. Advising at A&S takes place in two stages: pre-major and major advising.
Pre-Major Advising
All A&S students are assigned a CASPAR (pre-major) adviser, whom they work with until they declare a major. Your CASPAR adviser will contact you during the summer prior to your first year and will work with you until you declare your major sometime in your second year at Vanderbilt. They will help you pinpoint your academic interests and career goals, choose an appropriate major to fit them, and choose and register for classes.
Major Advising
Once you declare a major, you will be assigned an adviser in the appropriate academic department. Your major adviser, together with your major department’s Director of Undergraduate Studies, will help you choose courses that suit your interests and career goals, assist you in staying on track to graduate, and help you identify opportunities (such as internships, study abroad, and research) that will enrich your classroom studies and prepare you for your chosen career.
Pre-Professional Advising
Students on a pre-professional track have access to additional advising resources based on their anticipated field of study. Pre-professional advisers serve as specialized resources to help you explore and understand various career options within the relevant field. They will also help you ensure that your undergraduate course of study prepares you for entrance exams and satisfies necessary prerequisites for graduate school. If you are planning a career in one of the following fields, please contact the appropriate pre-professional adviser as soon as possible.
Advising and Support from the A&S Office of Undergraduate Education
You may experience a situation where you need greater expertise or access to different resources than those described above. In such a situation, the A&S associate deans are available to serve as an additional advising resource. Relevant situations might include:
- Academic performance issues that could result in your inability to continue at Vanderbilt
- Non-academic issues (such as a death in the family, financial hardship, or prolonged illness) that may impair your ability to remain at Vanderbilt or to graduate on time
- The desire to design a custom major that does not currently exist
- Exceptional circumstances that justify modifying major or degree requirements
If you believe you need advising from an associate dean, please email or call the Office of Undergraduate Education at (615) 343-5495 or arts-sci-records@vanderbilt.edu.