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General Advisory NotesPlease read these notes before selecting your courses. Advanced Placement and Advanced Credit. If you have taken special courses or have done other unusual work in secondary school or at a college or university, you are eligible to be considered for advanced placement and advanced credit. Advanced placement permits you to enter advanced courses. Advanced credit includes the award of one or more credits toward the Hamilton degree. Most frequently, placement and credit will be based on the results of the College Entrance Examination Board Advanced Placement Tests, so you should make sure that your scores are reported to Hamilton. Placement tests in mathematics and several foreign languages have been mailed to you. You can expect to know the results of that evaluation when you discuss your courses with your faculty advisor. However, you should plan a tentative program on the assumption that you will not receive placement and credit. Adjustments can be made later. Any first-year student who has not taken the College Entrance Examination Board Advanced Placement Tests may be eligible for special placement. If you believe you have covered the work of a college course by means other than a regular advanced placement course, you may request the opportunity to take an examination or be evaluated by other means to be determined by the appropriate Hamilton department. If you have questions about advanced placement and credit, please consult with the appropriate departmental chair or a member of the Dean's Office after arrival on campus. A student may not receive credit toward a Hamilton degree solely on the basis of a score on an Advanced Placement Test (see the College Catalogue). Hamilton College may award placement, but will not award credit, to a student who has taken either "enriched courses" taught by teachers in secondary schools under the general direction of a college or university or who has taken college courses in which a substantial portion of the enrollment consists of high school students. Field of Concentration. In the spring of the second year, each student will choose a concentration or major field of study. Each concentration normally includes eight to ten courses. To be eligible to declare a concentration during the second year, a student must have completed at least two courses in the department or program of concentration by the end of that year and achieved a cumulative average of 72 or better in the courses taken in that department. Additional information about concentrations may be found in the College Catalogue. Interdisciplinary Studies. The College has been offering an increasing number of interdisciplinary programs. They are listed, with general descriptions, throughout the Academic Viewbook as well as in the College Catalogue. Interested students should note the first-year courses that are required for pursuit of further work in these programs. It is advisable to confer with the faculty member in charge of the program. Foreign Study. Students who may wish to study in a foreign country, usually during the third year, should consult with their faculty advisors and the foreign study advisor early in their college careers about the place of such study in their academic plans and the criteria they will have to meet in order to qualify. Those who hope to study in non-English-speaking countries should also ascertain the foreign-language requirements for such study. A student who intends to earn transferred credit for study abroad must earn an average of at least 82 (B-) in all courses taken during the two consecutive semesters preceding the last semester at Hamilton prior to the period of study abroad. Beginning with the Class of 2002, students who intend to earn transferred credit for study abroad in a country whose language is not English must meet certain requirements specific to the language of that country (see "Study in a Foreign Country" in the College Catalogue). Interested students should consult Dean Edith Toegel as early as possible. The Liberal Arts and Life After College. Many students choose Hamilton and its liberal arts curriculum because they seek an opportunity to explore many fields and are genuinely undecided about career or professional plans. Others have a particular profession or area of study in mind when they enter, and they have selected a liberal arts college because they know that their chances for success in any professional pursuit will be strengthened by the breadth that a liberal arts education provides. If you are among the latter group, you may find the following suggestions useful: Graduate Study. A student who is considering the possibility of graduate study should keep in mind that most graduate schools require a reading knowledge of one foreign language for the master's degree and two for the doctorate. In addition, graduate programs in the sciences and social sciences may require proficiency in mathematics, statistics or computer usage. Students should consult with faculty members in the disciplines in which they intend to do graduate work. Engineering. A student preparing for engineering should elect to take Mathematics 113-114 and Physics 190 in the first year. Graduate Work in Economics. Students planning graduate work in economics should consult a member of the department for specific advice. They should take 400, selections from the other 400-level courses, 560, and obtain as strong a background in mathematics as possible. The sequence in calculus and linear algebra is required by virtually all good Ph.D. programs in economics; additional work in mathematics, such as courses in differential equations and real analysis, is strongly recommended. Graduate Work in Business Administration. Students who plan to study for an MBA should complete at least one semester of calculus and should consult Information for Prospective MBA Students. Health Professions. All accredited medical and dental schools require one year of English, one year of biology, two years of chemistry (including organic) and one year of physics. Mathematics and other requirements and recommendations are varied. These requirements must be completed by the end of the junior year if application is made for admission to medical school immediately after graduation from Hamilton. Schools of veterinary medicine commonly have more exacting requirements, while those in nursing and associated health professions are often more flexible in their pre-professional requirements. Students interested in medicine or dentistry would be wise to begin fulfilling the general requirements by electing at least English and one of the sciences during the first semester. Electing English, two sciences and a mathematics course provides the strongest start that will offer the most options in the three years available to complete the requirements. All those considering careers in the health-related professions are encouraged to consult with the Health Professions Advisory Committee early in their academic career. Law. Law schools do not prescribe particular courses or programs of study as part of a formal pre-law curriculum. They seek graduates who demonstrate analytical reasoning powers, skill in oral and written forms of expression, and the ability to comprehend and organize large amounts of factual data. Students interested in attending law school should sample a wide range of disciplines and should not fail to elect courses in mathematics, science or disciplines that offer understanding of experimental or quantitative methods of analysis. All those considering careers in law are invited to consult with the Pre-Law Committee as they plan a course of study to meet requirements for admission to particular schools. During Orientation, there will be special meetings about careers in law, engineering and the health professions. Throughout the year various departments and the Career Center will sponsor programs about specific professions and careers.
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