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Academic Advising

As you navigate the next 4 years and encounter opportunities and challenges along the way, take advantage of the knowledge, support, and enthusiasm of the College’s advising team.

Advising Overview

During your time at Allegheny, you will be guided by an evolving team of advisors.

Exploratory Advisor

The summer before you begin classes until you declare a major, you’ll work with your exploratory advisor to navigate your initial college years.

Major Advisor

From the time you declare your major to graduation, you will have a major advisor to support you during a deeper level of study.

Senior Project Advisor

During your senior year, you’ll work with a senior project advisor on your Senior Comprehensive Project.

Of course, you will also benefit from the relationships you build with and counsel you receive from other faculty and staff — your instructors, coaches, Class Deans, staff from the Maytum Center for Student Success, and the array of other offices here to support you.

Curriculum Overview

The elements of Allegheny’s curriculum work together to provide you with a cohesive program in which to achieve four Institutional Learning Outcomes:

Think critically and creatively
Communicate clearly and persuasively as a speaker and writer
Invoke multiple ways of understanding to organize and evaluate evidence, and to interpret and make sense of your experiences and the experiences of others
Apply your knowledge and learning to engage in informed debate, and to analyze and solve problems

Curriculum highlights like the Speaking and Writing Seminar (SWS) program, junior seminar, and Senior Project will progressively develop your abilities to read and listen critically, formulate your ideas, and become a more effective communicator.

Seminar Sequence

What makes an Allegheny education special is our seminar experience — a throughline of core classes that will take you from the first day of your first semester to the final day of your last semester.

First-year seminar (SWS 105): Your first opportunity to engage with the Institutional Learning Outcomes as specified in the academic catalog
Sophomore seminar (SWS 205): Your introduction to the specific modes of writing, speaking, and research in an academic discipline
Junior seminar (550 to 589): Your capstone course for your minor or a preparation course for your Senior Comprehensive Project
Senior Comprehensive Project (600 to 630): Your significant piece of independent study, research, or creative work mentored by one or more faculty members

Additional Graduation Requirements

To progress from day one to Commencement, your advising team will help you reach the following accomplishments:

Complete a major and a minor with a minimum GPA of 2.0 cumulatively in each
Complete a set of courses that represent our values, such as civic learning, human experience, intercultural perspectives, modes of expression, power and privilege, quantitative reasoning, scientific behavior, and social behavior
Earn at least 128 credits with a minimum GPA of 2.0 cumulatively

More to Learn at Allegheny

Majors and Minors Maytum Center for Student Success Career and Professional Development Academic Records Academic Catalog Global Education Research Community Engaged Learning