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Your advisor

Every first-year student in Trinity College has an academic advisor. You can find the name of your advisor on ACES. Click on the Academics button from the main menu and then select the 
Academic Info link.

Approximately 125 academic advisors each work with 22 to 24 undeclared first-year and sophomore students in Trinity College. Advisors are faculty members, senior administrators, and staff drawn from across the university. They volunteer their time to serve as advisors because they are committed to helping Trinity students make the most of their Duke experience.

Contact information for your advisor is available in our list of advisors.

What your advisor does

Your academic advisor will assist you with course selection each semester and provide guidance and information on curriculum requirements and academic opportunities at Duke. Your advisor has access to your course schedule and grades and, if necessary, will meet with you to figure out ways to improve your academic performance if you are struggling with a class or having problems that are affecting your grades. Your advisor will also work closely with you as you decide on a major and will review and approve your Long Range Plan, a document that students complete as part of the major declaration process.

Meeting with your advisor

You can see your advisor as often as you like and can also get in touch via e-mail or phone if you have a question or problem or just need advice. All students are required to see their advisor during the preregistration period each semester to go over proposed course schedules and to be cleared for enrollment. Students who have one failing grade or two Ds at midterm must also meet with their advisor to formulate a plan to get back on track academically.

We recommend that you meet with your advisor at least twice a semester. Your advisor will let you know when it is time to schedule an appointment to discuss courses and be cleared for enrollment.

Advising on special interests

Each East Campus residence hall is affiliated with a group of academic advisors. You are assigned to one of these advisors when housing assignments are completed during the summer before your arrival at Duke. We try to pair students with advisors on the basis of shared academic interests, but that isn't always possible. Your advisor will refer you to appropriate people or resources if you have questions outside her or his areas of academic expertise.

Duke offers almost 100 majors, minors, and certificate programs, so your advisor is unlikely to know the requirements for all of them. However, your advisor will be able to show you how you can learn more about individual program requirements, and can refer you to faculty experts who can help.

Once you have chosen a major (which for most students is during the sophomore year), you will be assigned to a new academic advisor, who will be a faculty member in your major department or program.

Your parents and your advisor

There may be times when parents have concerns or questions about their son's or daughter’s academic progress at Duke, or when they would like to talk to someone about policies and regulations in Trinity College. Each fall the Academic Advising Center hosts an open house during Parents’ and Family Weekend where the academic deans are available to answer questions and talk to students and their parents. If questions or issues arise at other times of the year, parents are encouraged to contact the appropriate academic dean.

Health professions advising

Because the course requirements for medical, dental, and veterinary school are fairly extensive and may require special attention when scheduling, all first-year students who are interested in the health professions are assigned to a prehealth advisor in the Academic Advising Center based on their East Campus residence hall.

If you live in	Your prehealth advisor in the Academic Advising Center is
Alspaugh, Bassett, Brown, Pegram	Dean Donna Kostyu
Aycock, Epworth, Giles, Jarvis, Wilson	Dean Milton Blackmon
Gilbert-Addoms, Southgate	Dean Lynn White
Bell Tower, Blackwell, Randolph	Dean Aaron Todd