New Student Orientation

New students: What you need to know

By choosing a major in the College of Arts and Sciences, you will have opportunities to explore, create, invent, and make a difference. You've already taken a few of the first steps on this journey by meeting with a College advisor and enrolling in your first semester at IU Bloomington.

Your advisor will have recommended courses based on your major, exploratory interests, placement exam scores, and college credit you may have already earned. In addition to the major courses suggested, your advisor may have also recommended general education (GenEd) courses and College of Arts and Sciences education (CASE) courses, with final selection up to you.

On the College's website, you can find a helpful Student Portal and a list of advisors. Other important updates will come to you through your official IU email address. Checking your email on a frequent and consistent basis will help you stay current with university-related communications.

Academic + career planning resources

Your academic career in the College has only just begun, but there are plenty of resources to guide you when you need it. Explore our complete list of majors and certificates, which include detailed information about our programs, degree maps, and more. We also encourage you to spend time reading about your areas of interest on our department and program websites.

View list of majors

By working with your academic advisors early, you can create a plan for success in your undergraduate studies. We have a number of tools that you can use to enhance your planning and academic experience:

View list of academic advisors

Career coaches at the Walter Center for Career Achievement are ready to work with you from your first semester through graduation and beyond. You can begin your career planning on the Walter Center’s website and schedule an appointment with a career coach at any time. If you’re considering a career in law, medicine, or other health professions, be sure to connect with the Health Professions and Prelaw Center (HPPLC).

Visit the Walter Center website

There is a lot to think about when planning your freshman year schedule. We’re here to help as you navigate course registration, placement exams, and credit transfers.

We’ve made changing majors simple for our incoming students. To initiate a major change, contact the College Advising Office: collavsg@iu.edu. We can offer guidance and complete the major change for you.

If you want to make a change to your class schedule after your initial registration, you can make changes through the drop/add function in One.IU through the end of the first week of classes. You can search for alternatives on the GenEd and College of Arts and Sciences websites.

Learn about honors and scholarship programs, international student resources, credit transfers and placement exams, pre-professional opportunities, and more.

Locate student resources

New Student Orientation

New students: What you need to know

Academic + career planning resources

Majors, minors, and certificates

Academic advising

Career planning

Course scheduling

Changing your major or class schedule

Other resources

College of Arts + Sciences social media channels