This web page contains information and links to the resources needed for students attending Whitman College for the first time in Spring 2010.
Additional information is also included in the orientation packet that has been sent to you.
NOTE: It is important to activate your Whitman College email account right away to obtain access to useful web resources and so you can receive current information in a timely manner. Follow the Link below and the instructions to activate your new Whitman College email and network account. You will need your 7-digit Whitman ID number, which was included in the first orientation packet that has been sent to you. If you were given a 6-digit number, please add a zero (0) at the beginning.
Activate Whitman College email and Network Account
The academic program at Whitman College provides students with a breadth of knowledge through completion of distribution requirements and a depth of knowledge through concentrated study in a major. Whitman believes this focus on a liberal arts education meets two important objectives: preparation for intelligent living and preparation for a successful career.
It is important that you plan your academic coursework carefully. To help you plan your first semester’s schedule, the College provides you with the Whitman College Catalog, the Pre-Registration booklet and this webpage. Along with these items, many academic departments and programs have additional information on their individual Web sites. The catalog is the primary source of information about courses, requirements for graduation, majors and special programs, and general College policies. You should read through the catalog carefully and familiarize yourself with its contents. Another important resource is Search for Classes. It is here that you will find course times and other information on current course offerings. This webpage is designed to be a basic introductory guide to selecting your first-semester classes.
All first-year students are required to take General Studies 145, 146, Encounters, and are automatically pre-registered for the class. Organized around a variable theme, this course takes as its broad topic the examination of encounters between peoples and cultures, and the formation and transformation of dominant and competing world views. The study of primary sources, discussion, writing, and the construction of knowledge across fields will be emphasized. The theme for the 2009-2010 academic year will be "Encounters: Ancient and Modern."
This year-long course explores questions, ideas, and issues that have long fascinated and challenged humanity. Rather than follow a chronological development of ideas, Encounters: Ancient and Modern investigates ideas and problems across times, periods, and cultures. The course is divided into modules, each of which includes a variety of genres and tackles key questions about our world now and in the past. Within the overarching theme, modules include motifs such as Truth and Doubt, Divinity, and Social and Political Encounters. For example, the Truth and Doubt section asks what is truth and how do we know it. It moves from Plato's Symposium to Kurosawa's film, Rashômon, from the absolute to the relative, so to understand changing conceptions of truth. Social and Political Encounters explores power and participation in society, and how who is excluded or included is shaped by questions of race, gender, and class, among other things. Close reading of texts, such as Sophocles play Antigone, Graffigny's novel, Letters from a Peruvian Woman, and the autobiography The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano encourages students to form their own ideas and opinions.
All first-year students are assigned a Premajor Adviser to help plan their first two years. This faculty member or administrator may or may not be in your primary field of interest, but he or she will be familiar with the overall curriculum and will be able to help you fulfill the College’s requirements. If you want more specialized information about a particular department, you are always welcome to consult members of that department. To assist us in assigning you a Premajor Advisor it is important that you complete the Advising Questionnaire as soon as possible after "activating" your Whitman College email account.
First Year Advising Questionnaire
The college also provides a group of student academic advisers (SAs), who live in residence halls with first-year students. SAs are specially-trained students who are available opening week through fall semester to help you select courses, navigate through the catalog, and find answers to your questions. They will help you with paper writing, and may even provide some tutoring assistance if you are having trouble with your coursework or if you need to improve your time management or study skills.
Up to eight credits per exam may be awarded for certain scores achieved on specified College Board Advanced Placement exams. Please refer to pages 10-11 of the catalog to find which scores are required for individual exams to receive credit. Note that you cannot receive credit for a class at Whitman if you have received the equivalent AP credit. (Example: If you score a 4 or 5 on the Calculus BC exam, you will receive six math credits which are equivalent to Math 125 and Math 126. Therefore, you cannot take either Math 125 or 126 for credit.) If you believe you are eligible for AP credit, please have an official report of your scores sent directly from the College Board to Whitman as soon as possible.
A maximum of 30 credits may be awarded for scores of 5, 6, or 7 in selected higher-level IB examinations. Please refer to page 11 of the catalog for a list of eligible examinations. Note that you cannot receive credit for a class at Whitman if you have the equivalent IB credit. If you believe you are eligible for IB credit, please have an official report of your IB examinations sent to Whitman as soon as possible from the International Baccalaureate Programme.
The Registrar evaluates transfer credit (including Running Start and Associate of Arts or Science programs) on a class-by-class basis. For specific regulations concerning transfer credit, please refer to the Advanced Standing and Transfer Credit section on pages 10-12 of the catalog. If you have college coursework, please request of the Registrar of the institution attended that an official transcript of all your previous college or university coursework be sent directly to the Registrar's Office as soon as possible. You will also be required to complete and submit a Transfer Credit Eligibility form confirming that the transfer credit was not earned via a "College in the High School" (or similar) program.
The following link takes you to the web page with all the detailed information concerning the Pre-registration Process for First Year Students at Whitman College.
This link takes you to a web page that has answers to some Commonly Asked Questions asked by students who will be attending Whitman College for the first time.
The staff in the Registrar’s Office is available to provide assistance in getting answers to your questions (phone 509-527-5983 or email firstyear@whitman.edu).
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