Student Resources

Planning Tools

  • Incoming Students

    Important information for incoming first-year students, including orientation, housing, first-year seminar, and more, as well as information for incoming transfer students, can be found in the Admission section of the website.

  • Important Dates & Deadlines

    When can I register? When do classes start? What’s the last day I can drop a course? Answers to these questions and more can be found on the Academic Calendar page in the Records & Registrar section of the website.

    View the Academic Calendar

    View Registration Dates

  • General Education Requirements

    Current (Catalog 2023-2025) General Education Requirements:

    • First-Year Seminar or Advanced-Entry Seminar (FYS or AES)
    • Languages and Cultures (need through the 3rd semester of a foreign language)
    • Social Justice 
    • Fitness and Recreational Activity (FRA, 1 FRA is required)
    • Exploration and Breadth  (6 courses – one course from each of the 4 areas and one additional course from 2 of the 4 areas)
      • Humanities, Natural Sciences, Social Sciences, and Fine Arts (Generally major courses cannot be counted in Exploration and Breadth)

    See Degree Requirements in the Catalog for more information. Previous Catalogs are also available at that link. 

  • Declaring or Changing Majors/Minors/Catalog Year/Graduation Date

    Please go to this page for the links to the appropriate form. 

  • Changing Advisors

    If you are a first-year student, you are assigned to a Professional Advisor. If you want to change your academic advisor, please contact Dr. Leach (Director of Advising and Retention).

    If you are a sophomore or transfer student, you will be able to change your advisor after your first semester. To change your advisor, please email the faculty member you wish to be your advisor. If they are willing and able to add you as an advisee, please forward the email with their confirmation to Hayley Harned at harnedh@southwestern.edu. 

  • Transfer Credit

    Information on obtaining credit for transfer courses or AP/IP credit can be found at the following location in the Records & Registrar section of the website. 

    Acceptance of External Academic Credit 

    Course equivalencies for transfer credit can be found in the Texas Common Course Number System (TCCNS).

  • Degree Plans

    Degree plan templates for each catalog year since 2014-2015 can be found on the Registrar’s page.