Academic Advising

Begin your journey at Trinity by considering interesting Majors and minors. Explore your options across five academic disciplines, with over 40 Majors and minors available to you. Visit the Majors and minors page for more information.

Every Trinity College student fulfills the curricular requirements of an academic Major. Early exploration in the college process allows students to find the right major, which must be declared by the end of the sophomore year. By beginning with a working plan, students can target areas that are interesting and may later become a focused area of expertise.

Visit the entry courses to majors website to see which courses you should explore to build a foundational knowledge that’s interesting to you.

Trinity requires 35 credits to graduate. Of these, three “Plus” credits will give you the opportunity to apply your learning in experiences like internships, Teaching Assistant-ships, Research assistantships, etc. These credits are listed on your transcript as “co-curricular credits” and contribute equally to your semester total. If you want, you can also design your “Plus” as three academic credits.

Explore internships, summer research, short term global study, J-Term courses, as well as leadership opportunities to fulfill your Trinity Plus.

Expand your horizons by studying away from Trinity. Whether you spend time studying domestically or traveling abroad, you are sure to gain new perspectives and additional context through exciting courses and programs away. Get more information by connecting with the Office of Study Away.

The Health Professions Advising Committee (HPAC) exists for the purpose of assisting those who are interested in pursuing a career in a health profession. We advise, counsel, and evaluate students applying to health profession schools. The first step toward proper preparation for a career in the health care professions is to consult with Professor Charles Swart, Chair of the Health Professions Advising Committee (HPAC). Learn more on the Information for Pre-Health Professional Students webpage!

Fall 2024: Tuesday September 10th – Add/Drop deadline
First week of classes each semester. Students may freely add and drop courses via TConline, ideally in conversation with their academic adviser.

It is usually a good idea to wait to drop one class until you are sure of being able to add another. To see if there are spots available, check the Course Enrollments link on my.bianlifan.com to see whether a course has spaces available (green circle), or has a waitlist (yellow triangle—on tconline you can get on a total of two waitlists at a time). If it is full without a waitlist (blue square), you can email the professor to see if it might be possible to add.

Note that some courses require instructor permission to add: on the Course Schedules link, you’ll see a column called “permission required” that will tell you (with a Y or N) whether you need permission. If you do, contact the professor, who can give you a PIN: a number code that you submit on TConline when you register.

Add/drop week is the only time when you can freely change a course to pass/fail from a letter grade. You can change it back to a grade anytime through the last day of classes.

Fall 2024: Tuesday November 5th – Withdraw deadline

The withdrawal deadline is the last day to withdraw from a class without having to petition the Academic Affairs Committee to do so. The withdrawal form is located on the Registrar’s Office website, “Undergraduate Forms,” “Late add/late drop,” “withdrawal.” The registrar will require the student’s adviser to approve.

When should a student consider withdrawing from a course?

• When they decide that they will not be able to finish the course successfully
• When they decide that their total course load is too much for them, and that lessening it by one course could help them be successful in others

What are the results of withdrawing from a course?

• They will get a permanent “W” on their transcript. 
• Their GPA will not be affected
• Their status as a full-time student will not be affected (their total number of courses is determined by “courses attempted” by the end of add/drop, which would include a course they withdraw from)
• Depending on their current number of credits, withdrawing might affect their progress toward graduation, requiring them to take extra credits in future semesters and/or in J-term or summer
• Their academic standing could be affected, depending on their GPA and other credits. Find the rules for academic standing on page 47 of the Bulletin.

What if I want to withdraw after the official deadline?

• The student must petition the Academic Affairs Committee, which involves documenting medical or other reasons for withdrawal. Being behind in the coursework, or getting poor grades, are not a valid reason for this petition.

Fall 2024: Monday October 28th to Friday November 1st – Advising Week

Meet with your academic adviser to discuss your list of courses for the following semester.

Fall 2024: Monday November 4th to Monday November 11th – Advance Registration for Spring 2025 Semester 

Register for next semester’s courses on your designated day via TConline.

Spring 2025: Friday March 28th – Major Declaration deadline for members of Class of 2027

You can declare a major at any point up until the Friday after spring break in your sophomore year. To do so, contact the chair of your desired department. The majors and minors page of the Trinity website has direct links to each available area of study. You can find the department chair within each major or minor’s website, under the “Faculty” tab of the website’s drop down menu.