Academics: Course Selection Process
Establish strong roots for your academic career! This is an important goal for your Orientation experience. To get ready for Orientation, take some time this summer to review the information linked below, which will guide you through Wellesley's basic degree requirements, academic policies and practices, and advising programs. You will also find some good advice for making promising choices for your first semester.
See also Academics: Getting Started and Advising & Academic Support.
Note: All entering students will be pre-registered for a First-Year Writing course over the summer, and fall First-Year Seminars will be pre-registered as well. Everyone will register for their remaining fall classes during Orientation.
Course selection and registration
Register for Fall Classes: How and When
Registration happens in the summer and during Orientation. Learn about Wellesley's online registration process.
Select and Pre-Register for a First-Year Writing Course
Start to think about which First-Year Writing course you prefer; you will tell us your preferences during the summer, and will be pre-registered before Orientation.
First-Year Seminars—and other helpful advice
Consider a First-Year Seminar; choose courses, not majors; build on existing strengths while experimenting to find new ones. You will let us know your preferences about these courses too, over the summer, and we will pre-register students for fall seminars.
How to Navigate the Course Catalog
Learn how to access the online catalog; explore the 50+ academic programs; peruse over 1,000 courses.
Course Placement and Selection
Learn about prerequisites and how to make sure you are placed in the appropriate level course.
How and when to take placement exams
Learn which you'll take in the summer and which during Orientation.
Wellesley’s Distribution Requirements
What they are and how they help students explore our rich curriculum.
Using AP/IB Credits for Placement or Credit
See Wellesley's guidelines for AP and other credits you have earned in high school or at another college.
Academics: Getting Started
Math and science: Getting started
A solid grounding in quantitative methods, mathematics, and natural and physical sciences is an essential component of a liberal arts education.
Studying a language at Wellesley
The Wellesley curriculum offers significant opportunities for studying language, well beyond the depth and breadth of language programs at most small liberal arts colleges.
Music: Performing, studying, and enjoying
Learn more about Music Department, which fosters an environment in which you can combine serious musical study with the depth and richness of a traditional liberal arts curriculum.
Physical Education requirements and registration
The Physical Education curriculum at Wellesley will develop your knowledge and skills in physical activities.
Advising and Academic Support
How college advising works
What an advisor does and does not do; what an advising meeting is like; how to prepare
First-Year advising
Important people and support services to advise you, including faculty advisors, first-year mentors, academic peer tutors, and your First-Year Dean.
Your advising team
Learn about additional advisors and mentors in your residence hall, Deans’ Offices, and elsewhere on campus, including Intercultural Education, Health and Counseling, Religious and Spiritual Life, and Career Education.
Additional academic support
Excellent resources: the Pforzheimer Learning and Teaching Center and Supplemental Instruction for certain classes.
Advising during orientation
You will have lots of time to ask questions about academic choices and opportunities.