Academics: Beyond the Classroom: Academic Advising and Support

PRE-MAJOR ADVISING

The best way to navigate the academic requirements for Trinity College, get a handle on how to declare a major, and decide on a course of study is through Duke's Academic Advising Center. The Center's staff of nine and team of 125 advisors help students meet their academic goals by providing guidance in choosing courses, strengthening students' overall academic skills, and ultimately declaring a major.

Pratt Engineering students are assigned a faculty advisor during their first year, based on the major that student initially identified. The first-year experience at Pratt is designed so that students can explore different engineering fields and career tracks while their advisors provide information and overall support. Because engineering students must formally declare a major at the end of their first year, we encourage students to interact with faculty members from all four departments.

IMPROVING STUDY AND WRITING SKILLS

Duke's Academic Resource Center provides one-on-one peer tutoring in specific academic areas and helps students with their overall time management and "study smart" techniques. The Center's conferences and workshops, on everything from test-taking skills to managing assignments, help students refine their study methods to achieve the best possible academic results.

The Writing Studio, part of Duke's University Writing Program, offers free, one-on-one tutoring to students working on writing for any course they are taking at Duke. The Writing Studio tutors can help with all stages of a writing project, from developing ideas, to drafting and revising, to copy-editing and proofreading.

DISABILITY MANAGEMENT

The Disability Management System is a central clearinghouse on disability-related information at Duke University and the Duke University Health System. Within this larger system, the Student Disability Access Office provides support services and coordinates accommodations to meet the needs of students who may have a variety of disabilities such as attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, learning disabilities, psychological disorders, visual impairments, hearing impairments, mobility impairments, and chronic health disorders, among other disabilities.

GRADUATE/PROFESSIONAL SCHOOL ADVISING

Duke also provides special advising services for students interested in Pre-Law, Pre-Medicine/ Pre-Health, and Pre-Business, as well as students who want to pursue graduate studies in other areas.

The Pre-Law Advising Center sponsors programs and distributes information to students who are considering careers in law. All pre-law students are invited and encouraged to join the undergraduate pre-law society, Bench and Bar, which offers a variety of programs and activities for those considering law as a profession.

The Health Professions Advising Center (HPAC), part of the Trinity College academic advising system, works with students from both arts and sciences and engineering who are interested in applying to medical school when they finish their undergraduate degrees. The Center provides advice on specific courses and requirements, as well as general preparation tips, through one-on-one counseling and group meetings.

The Pre-Business Advising Office counsels students who want to apply to a graduate business school, providing general preparation guidelines as well as steering them toward available undergraduate courses at Duke in business and management.

For students who plan to proceed to graduate school in other fields after graduation from Duke, advisors through the Pre-Graduate School Advising program are available to help answer their questions.