Advising Office

At Massachusetts College of Art + Design faculty advisors hold primary responsibility for student academic advising. All undergraduates are assigned a faculty advisor at the beginning of the their first semester at the college. Faculty from the Studio Foundation department advise first-year students. Sophomores, juniors, and seniors are advised by faculty from their concentration. In some departments, advisors change each year. Lists of students with their faculty advisors are maintained by the departmental assistant in each department office.

Faculty advisors help students clarify their individual artistic goals and directions and define and develop their educational objectives, matching these to the MassArt curriculum.

The Academic Advising Office offers undergraduates a broad range of information, advising, and inter-departmental problem-solving to complement faculty advising. The Advising Office may refer students to specific faculty members, departmental chairs, or relevant administrators. The Advising Office is the source for: graduation and curriculum requirements, college policies, change of major procedures, discussions of academic problems and issues, transfer credits, academic strategies for students with disabilities, leaves of absence and withdrawal procedures, advice on professional development and career directions, and off-campus domestic and study abroad opportunities.

In addition to the web catalog, degree audit software helps students follow graduation and curriculum requirements. The degree audit (tally sheet) lists curriculum requirements for a particular concentration and records a student's current registration, transfer credits if applicable, and all successfully completed courses. Information for the degree audit is gathered from official student transcripts and course registration maintained by the Registrar's Office.