Peabody Advising for Undergraduates
Summer/Pre-Matriculation Advising: Peabody students choose a major at the time they apply to Vanderbilt and are assigned an advisor in their major prior to the first semester at Peabody. All Peabody first-year students and transfer students enter with their primary major already declared. In their first semester, first-years and transfers are expected to take the coursework recommended for the major into which they were admitted.
Students are assigned their first advisor in late-May or early-June. They will be contacted directly by their new advisor at that time to discuss course work selection prior to registration for the coming fall. After classes begin, students may be reassigned to another advisor for the remainder of their time in the program, or they may remain assigned to their summer advisor — this depends on the department.
Major Advising: Students may choose their own major and add other majors/minors during their tenure at Vanderbilt. An advisor must be assigned for each major and minor. Once a student has decided they would like to declare a major/minor, they can either request a specific advisor or allow the department to assign them to an advisor.
How to declare a major/minor and be assigned an advisor:
Form needed: major/minor declaration form. These are the steps a student takes no matter what major or minor they are declaring.
- Students should contact the department of the major/minor they wish to declare, have a member of the department assign them to an advisor, have that new advisor (or someone from that department) sign the major/minor declaration form form, then return the completed form to the Peabody Office of Academic Services (peabodyacademicservices@vanderbilt.edu; Peabody Administration Building room 215).
If you're adding a major/minor, you only need the approval of your NEW advisor. You do not need the approval(s) of any previously assigned advisor(s), and you do not need to bring a copy of the form to any other department/school besides Peabody.
You do not need an advisor's approval to drop a minor, but you do need an advisor's approval to drop a major.
There is no due date for a major/minor, but it is in the student's best interest to declare it sooner rather than later. The Peabody Office of Academic Services suggests doing it at least 4 months prior to one's graduation date.
Don't know who to reach out to in a department? Start by looking at the department's website and find their contact information - here.