Hello all Bates students,

Welcome to the Fall 2025 semester! 

I hope you all had a good summer and are excited to start a new Fall semester at Bates. I write with some important information that will assist you in getting situated and started in this new semester. Please always refer to the Student Advising Portal as a resource for information on registration and resources that may be useful to you as you make your way through the semester. The Portal can be found here: https://www.bates.edu/dof/student-advising-portal/

Your Course Schedule for Fall 2025

• The Add/Drop period opened today, Tuesday, September 2 at 7 AM. You can adjust your course schedule over the next couple of weeks as you explore what classes work best for your academic exploration and meet your remaining requirements. 
• The deadlines for the last day to add a class and the last day to drop a class can be found at the Important Dates and Deadlines Calendar at the Student Advising Portal. 
• Here are some dates to keep in mind: 

• Add/Drop opens at 7am, Sept 2. The first week of add/drop is open, the 2nd week is instructor permission
  Last day to add or drop a class: Sept 16
  Last day to select pass/fail or change from letter to P/F (or vice versa) from Fall 2025 course: Dec 5
  Last day to withdraw (rolls to a W on transcript) from Fall 2025 course: Dec 5
  Winter 2026 grids due Sept 22
  Winter 2026 new course proposals due Sept 22
  Winter 2026 draft schedule available Oct 6
  Winter 2026 advising period starts, Oct 24 (15 days)
  Winter 2026 registration opens Oct 31. Closes Nov 7 (4pm)
  Winter 2026 petition period opens Nov 12, Faculty review Nov 17-23, Results available Dec 1
  Add/Drop for Winter 2026 opens Dec 2

• Information on Off-Campus Study can be found here.
• If you are interested in student research, you can find information here.

Information by Class Year

Class of 2026 (Seniors) – Please read this section and take any needed action

• If you are a senior, please review your Degree Audit to ensure all of your degree requirements are either already fulfilled or that you can work with your academic advisor to ensure completion by the Winter 2026 semester. Your Degree Audit is accessible via Garnet Gateway. 

Class of 2027 (Juniors) – Please read this section and taken any needed action

• Please review your Degree Audit to ensure that you are on track with completing all degree requirements: 5 MOIs, 3 Ws, and Major + 1. You can get to Garnet Gateway by going to www.bates.edu/g or simply going to the Garnet Gateway link at the Student Advising Portal.
• Please note that it is recommended that all students complete their MOI requirements before the end of their sophomore year, so if you have any MOIs left to complete, please consider taking courses that are tagged with MOIs either this semester or next.

Class of 2028 (Sophomores) – Please read this section and take any needed action

• If you are a sophomore, please remember that you must declare your Major Plus 1 by March 1, 2026. If you are intending to study abroad during 2025-26, you must declare at least your Major by Mid January, 2026 to meet study abroad deadlines. 
• All students must have 1 major at Bates. The “+ 1” can be fulfilled either by a second major, a minor, or a General Education Concentration (GEC). GECs are course clusters that are often transdisciplinary. GECs require 4 courses or 4 credits (depending on the GEC). A full list of GECs is in the Bates Catalog.
• Declaring the major or a minor is a multi-step process that starts with you indicating an intention to declare a major on Garnet Gateway (simply click on the link labeled “Declaring Majors, Minors, and General Education Concentrations”). The declaration process usually involves meeting with faculty in your major or minor field of study before the declaration is finalized, and this can take a couple of weeks. 
• Unlike majors and minors, GECs are self-administered by the students. Once declared on Garnet Gateway, students do not need to meet with anyone to finalize their GEC declaration. Each GEC does have a coordinator and questions can be addressed to the GEC coordinator.
• Please review your Degree Audit to ensure that you are on track with completing all degree requirements: 5 MOIs, 3 Ws, and Major Plus 1. You can get to Garnet Gateway by going to www.bates.edu/g or simply going to the Garnet Gateway link at the Student Advising Portal.
• Please note that it is recommended that all students complete their MOI requirements before the end of their sophomore year, so if you have any MOIs left to complete, please consider taking courses that are tagged with MOIs either this Fall semester or next Winter semester.
• Please reach out to your pre-major academic advisor/FYS instructor for additional guidance.

Class of 2029 (First-Years) – Please read this section and take any needed action

• Welcome to your first semester at Bates! You should have met with your FYS instructor, who is also your pre-major academic advisor, during the first meeting of your First-Year Seminar on Friday, August 29, 2025. It is recommended that all students complete their MOIs before the end of their sophomore year. Please be sure to review your Degree Audit to ensure that you are on track with completing degree requirements. You can get to Garnet Gateway by going to www.bates.edu/g or simply going to the Garnet Gateway link at the Student Advising Portal.
• Continue to work with your pre-major academic advisor/FYS instructor to explore the curriculum to identify possible majors, minors, and/or GECs that you are interested in pursuing.

Please be in touch with your academic advisor should you have questions. Thank you.

Michael Rocque

Associate Dean of Faculty