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Academic Advising and Course Selection



The advising process at Dickinson is designed to support and assist you on the unique path that you will take in earning your degree. You have the responsibility to carefully prepare yourself for your Summer Advising call, and to complete all necessary placement exams before you speak with the summer advisor.

Course Planning for First-Year Students

In addition to your First-Year Seminar, you will be requesting three more courses (for a total of four), which is considered a normal full-time load for the semester. An additional half-credit course (certain music, dance or military science classes) may be added to your four courses each semester.

The following guides will help you prepare for your call with the academic advisor as it relates to guidelines to consider when initially selecting courses:

Course Request and Selection

You will receive a phone call from a Summer Advisor on the date noted below based on your last name.  Calls will be made Monday-Thursday, July 8-12, and can be expected between noon and 8 p.m., EDT; calls on Friday, July 12, will be made between noon and 6 p.m., EDT. Ideally, you will be at a computer with Internet access during the call.   

Summer advising dates based on last names:

Monday, July 8 - A thru F

Tuesday, July 9 - G thru L

Wednesday, July 10 - M thru R

Thursday, July 11 - S thru T

Friday, July 12 - U thru Z

If you are not available on that date, or if you cannot be reached at your home phone number, please contact summeradvising@dickinson.edu as soon as possible.  You will not be able to register for courses without first having contact with a Summer Advisor.

After speaking with your summer academic advisor, first-year students will have the opportunity to request courses July 15-22. Course requests take place within the Dickinson Gateway. It is important that you have your alternate PIN and Course Request Instructions to show you how to request classes for the fall.  


International students and U.S. citizens living abroad will not receive phone calls during the times indicated. Instead, they will be contacted via their Dickinson e-mail account the first two weeks in July to begin the advising process. This is typically accomplished through an exchange of anywhere from two to five e-mails, though communicating via Skype also is possible. Students should monitor their Dickinson e-mail and begin thinking about the courses for which they would like to register. Once these courses are reviewed and discussed, the alternate PIN will be e-mailed to the student, and the student will enter courses during the course-selection time period.

Questions about Summer Advising (or to provide us with a cell phone number or let us know that the day you are scheduled for your call will not  work) should be directed to summeradvising@dickinson.edu. 

Additional course selection information concerning AP, transfer credits and placement can be found on the Tools and Tips page.

Additional Information

Generally the advising and registrar's Web pages will become useful resources throughout your years at Dickinson and beyond. The following specific pages may also be of interest to you:

  • The Academic Advising Handbook provides more detailed and practical information about each major which is useful for planning.
  • Advanced Credit - If you took AP, A-levels, IB courses, French Baccalaureate courses or SAT II Language exams in high school, this page tells you what scores earn transfer credit and/or placement.
  • Transferring in College Credit - If you took coursework at an accredited college or university, this page tells you how to transfer that credit to Dickinson.
  • The Course Priority Information shows you which departments have saved spaces for first-year students in some courses and the availability of other courses to upper-level students and/or majors. This information also is available on the detailed Class Schedule Search.
  • Courses Appropriate for First-Years can be found on Banner Self-Service by searching using course attributes.
  •  If you are a student with a disability seeking any type of academic accommodation and you have not yet disclosed your disability, it is critical that you do so right away through Disability Services.

    • If you have questions about any of this information, someone is available to help by contacting:

    Advising Office
    Phone: 717-245-1080
    advising@dickinson.edu

    Registrar’s Office
    Phone: 717-245-1315
    reg@dickinson.edu