Hello Bates students,

Welcome to the Winter 2026 semester! We hope you had a good break, and we hope you are excited to start a new semester. We write with some important information to assist you in getting situated for a great semester. All of the information and links below are also available at the Student Advising Portal (at the Important Communications with All Students drop-down). 

Before that though, Fudge would like to say hi and welcome back!

This email provides information on 6 important topics:

1. Adjusting Your Winter 2026 Course Schedule (add/drop and important deadlines)
2. Off-Campus Study (important forms to complete if you are now returning and important deadlines to keep in mind if you are planning to study away from Bates next year)
3. Important Information by Class Year (scroll down to your class year for relevant information)
4. Planning for the Summer
5. Resources for Academic-Year and Summer Research
6. Academic Advisor Information

1. ADJUSTING YOUR WINTER 2025 COURSE SCHEDULE & SHORT-TERM/FALL 2026 REGISTRATION INFO (ADD/DROP AND OTHER DEADLINES)

The add/drop period for the winter semester opened on Dec 2, 2025. It remains open until Jan 27, 2026.

To review the general education requirements, please look at this summary. 

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. The Bates Registrar also posts important dates for registration and schedule adjustment. Here are the basics for adjusting your winter 2026 schedule and registering for short-term and fall 2026:

• Wednesday January 14, 2026:First day of classes for the winter semester.
• Tuesday, January 20, 2026 (11:59 PM): This is the last day a student can add a course without permission of the instructor if the course has open seats.
• Wednesday, January 21, 2026: The Add period remains open, but to add a course starting on this date students will require the permission of the instructor.
• Tuesday, January 27, 2026 (11:59 PM):  This is the last day students can add or drop a course to their Winter 2025 semester schedule. (NOTE: you must choose “withdrawal” to remove yourself from a winter 2026 class after this date). 
• Thursday, February 7, 2025: Last day to register for Global Education to study away from Bates during 2026-27. Please see further information at Global Education’s Global Bobcat Portal
• Monday, February 23-March 6, 2026: Advising period opens–you should meet with your advisor to discuss short-term and fall 2026 classes if you are not a senior.
• Friday, February 27, 2026: Registration opens for Short-term and Fall 2026 classes for continuing students.
• Friday, March 6, 2026: Registration closes for Short-term and Fall 2026 classes for continuing students.
• Wednesday, March 11, 2026: Registration results available for continuing students. 
• Thursday, March 12-March 15, 2026: Petitioning opens for continuing students.
• Tuesday, March 31, 2026: Add/Drop opens for Short-term and Fall 2026 classes.
• Friday, April 17, 2026 (11:59 PM Eastern): The last day to select the letter grade grading option (A-F) for a Winter 2026 course
• Friday, April 17, 2026 (11:59 PM Eastern): The last day to withdraw from a course for the Winter 2026 schedule.

Standard academic progress is 4.0 credits per semester. Minimum academic progress is 3.0 credits per semester. Students should not take fewer than 3.0 credits per semester. 

Students are permitted to take up to 5.5 credits per semester. Taking more than 5.5 credits requires permission from the Academic Standing Committee.

2. OFF-CAMPUS STUDY FROM BATES/RETURNING TO BATES AFTER OFF-CAMPUS STUDYIf you are a current sophomore considering off-campus study from Bates, e.g., study abroad, during Fall 2026, Winter 2027, or Academic Year 26-27, please set up your Global Bobcats Portal, if you have not already. You can get started at this webpage and then make an appointment on BatesReach with Deanna Young for more information.

If you are a current sophomore (Class of 2028) intending to study off-campus at any point next year (2026-27), you must declare one (1) major no later than January 30, 2026, and you must complete the Off-Campus Study Registration at the Global Bobcat Portal by 11:59 PM on February 5, 2026. 

Full information on the process can be found here. 

If you are now returning from a semester abroad, please be aware that the credit transfer from your experience away from Bates is NOT automatic. There are various steps you must take, and they are outlined in 3 places (all places have the exact same information): (1) the Global Bobcats Portal, (2) the Center for Global Education website (mouse over “Off Campus Study,” then “Welcome Back”, then click on “Applying Credit at Bates” or simply click here), or (3) the Student Advising Portal (under Academic Planning by Class Year, and then click on “Juniors” and then scroll down to Global Education).

To apply general credit toward your Bates degree, i.e., 4 credits for the semester, you must: 1) complete the Bates Off-Campus Study Evaluation. The evaluation is very important to the college and to future Bates students and is available online at  Garnet Gateway (go to the Evaluation Menu), and 2) you should ensure that the Center for Global Education receives an official transcript from your program or university directly. This second part usually happens automatically.

To apply credit to your major, your minor, or your GEC, you should complete the applicable online forms accessible at this site.  

3. IMPORTANT INFORMATION BY CLASS YEAR

Class of 2026 (Seniors)

If you are a senior, please review your Degree Audit to ensure all of your degree requirements are either already fulfilled or will be completed by the end of the Winter 2026 semester. You should not depend on the Short Term to fulfill any Degree requirements. Your Degree Audit is accessible via Garnet Gateway. 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. 

If you have not yet applied your credits from abroad or from any other educational institution beyond Bates (e.g., AP credits, summer courses, IB-credits etc), to your degree please do so as soon as possible. Information on how to do so is at the Student Advising Portal. For credit from abroad see instructions listed above. For credit from AP, IB, or A-Level courses, please go to the Student Advising Portal, click on Academic Planning by Class Year, click on First-Year students, and scroll down to Credit for AP, IB and A-Levels.

Class of 2027 (Juniors)

If you are a junior, and you are returning from off-campus study from Bates, please see the information above about applying credit from off-campus study detailed above.

In addition, please review your Degree Audit to ensure that you are on track with completing all degree requirements, e.g.,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)

If you are a sophomore, and you have not declared your Major Plus 1, please remember that you must declare your Major Plus 1 by March 1, 2026. If you are intending to study abroad during 2026-27, you must declare at least your major by February 1, 2026 to meet study abroad deadlines.

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.

All students must have 1 major at Bates. The “Plus 1” can be fulfilled either by a second major, a minor, or a General Education Concentration (GEC). GECs are course clusters that often cut across the boundaries of a given discipline. A full list of GECs is in the Bates Catalog.

Declaring the major or a minor is a multi-step process that starts by 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. Please factor that into your scheduling and deadlines.

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.

Class of 2029 (First-Years)

Congratulations on completing your first semester at Bates! Please continue to work to complete your MOI requirements. It is recommended that all students complete their MOIs before the end of their sophomore year. Please 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

4. PLANNING FOR THE SUMMER

Please consider working with the Center of Purposeful Work to identify summer internship and job opportunities. Please consider working with the Harward Center for Community Partnerships to identify summer opportunities (as well as opportunities during the Winter 2026 semester).

There is also a Dean of Faculty funded Summer Apprenticeship program that you are encouraged to explore.

5. RESOURCES FOR ACADEMIC-YEAR AND SUMMER RESEARCH 

The Dean of Faculty office as well as other offices and centers around campus offer a range of resources to support student-led research. You can find a full list of student grants and fellowship opportunities that are administered by Bates here

Student Summer Funding Opportunities Deadlines are here

6. ACADEMIC ADVISOR INFORMATION

Please be in touch with your academic advisor (not your student support advisor) should you have questions. Your academic advisor is listed at the top of your Degree Audit on Garnet Gateway. 

If your academic advisor is on research leave for Winter 2026, please contact the professor who chairs the academic unit in which your major is located for assistance. 

Have a great semester!

-Mike Rocque

Michael Rocque 
Bates College
Sociology
Dean of Faculty’s Office
Athletics