While you may think of your academic work as something that happens in the classroom, you'll find that academics become an important part of your relationships and life at Rocky, too. Your faculty adviser is assigned through Rocky, you'll see faculty fellows in the dining hall and at college events, and at any time you can come to the Rocky office to request a meal pass to invite a professor to eat with you! You'll also get academic support right in your college community.
Advising
During your time at Princeton, you're likely to have all kinds of questions. Some of these may involve immediate concerns, such as fall term courses; others may be longer range, such as which major to choose.
In our "advising community" model, you'll have several different kinds of advisers--faculty, peer, and professional staff--who will collaborate to help you with all things academic at Princeton.
During your first two years, Rocky will be the hub of your advising community: your faculty adviser handles much of the primary premajor advising, your peer advisers offer additional perspective and support, and Dean Levine and your assistant dean for studies work closely with students who have more complicated questions, situations or plans. Don’t be shy about getting to know us — talk with us at any time about your intellectual passions, ask questions about coursework and consult with us to find appropriate academic resources. Our offices are in the College, where we can be found most of the time. You can make an appointment with one of us through our Calendly (links are on the homepage and in our email signatures) or through Alyson LeBlanc, the College Office Coordinator.
Even in your junior and senior years, when you have joined a department and may have moved out of Rocky residence halls, we will continue to guide your progress towards graduation and offer you support. You can always call the office for an appointment with Dean Levine or Dr. Tippenhauer if you have an academic question and don't know who might be the right person to answer it. You may also work with a special adviser in the Office of International Programs (for study abroad), Health Professions, the Center for Career Development (for law school), and Fellowship Advising. We communicate regularly with the professional staff in those offices to help you make the most of your Princeton experience.
Academic Support
How will you become the best student you can be?
When we talk about academic support at Princeton, we mean something a little more broad than you may be used to. Princeton is supposed to be a challenging place, but we provide the tools you need to succeed, and academic support is designed for everyone; just as star athletes and CEOs work with coaches to improve their performance, so do our students work with faculty and support professionals to enhance their approaches to research, writing and problem solving. Princeton students use academic support to ease the transition from high school to college, and then to excel here; this includes course-based support, tutoring, learning consultations, senior thesis boot camps, workshops on everything from maximizing efficiency to funding for your research. Some of these things happen right at Rocky. Click here for details, and talk with your faculty adviser, director of studies, or dean about how you can leverage these resources to reach your goals.
Academic Programming
Rocky offers a variety of academic programming for its members, including events sponsored by the Academic Committee of the College Council; senior thesis boot camps that provide space, motivation, and guidance on senior independent work; tutoring to supplement offerings at McGraw; and workshops/discussions on everything from choosing a major ... to overcoming procrastination ... to discovering study abroad opportunities ... and much more!
Watch your email, our newsletter, and social media for announcements, and come talk with us if there's something you'd like to see happen at Rocky.
Useful Advising Links
- First Year Academic Guide
- Sophomore Year Action Plan
- Junior Year Action Plan
- Senior Year Action Plan
- Undergraduate Announcement (everything you need to know about academic regulations, programs of study, and course offerings of the University)
- University policies on Academic Integrity (includes useful examples of what not to do)
- Forms (e.g. pre-approval to transfer summer courses, approval to enroll in grad courses, etc.)
- How Do I ... (a FAQ that covers everything from enrolling in classes to getting academic support to choosing a major to what do do when you miss an exam or need an extension)
- Choosing a Major
- Academics A-Z List
- Academic Calendars
- Blackboard/Course Webpage
- Registrar course offerings, important deadlines, policy guidelines and exam schedules.
- TigerHub