The relationships between first-year advisors and advisees transition at this point as students seek advisors from the faculty in their declared majors.

Talking to the Department Chair

When students declare their major, they also select an advisor from the faculty in that major (or majors—nearly half of all Middlebury students have combined majors of some kind). For some students in their second or third semesters at Middlebury, selecting a major advisor is more difficult than selecting the major itself; those students are encouraged to work with the department or program chair, until they have further experience in that major and find a faculty member best suited to their interests and needs.

Transitioning Advisors

Students may select their major at any time after the first semester; they are required to declare their major no later than the end of their third semester. After the first semester of a student’s experience at Middlebury, when the first-year seminar ends, the relationship between advisor and advisee subsides in frequency of contact. The challenge, then, to adviser and advisee, is to maintain the momentum of the first semester.

Faculty Advisors on Leave

Those students who are “undeclared” but whose first-year advisor is on leave or otherwise unavailable to advise are assigned to another faculty, usually the First-Year Seminar Director, who provides transitional advising.