What is an advisor at Clark?
Advisors from the Academic Advising Center provide general academic support. They can help you clarify your goals, connect your interests and abilities to your plans, and explore and select majors and other academic programs.
A First Year Success Advisor (FYSA) is a holistic advisor who supports first-year and undeclared sophomores who is your go-to to help with academic questions, extracurricular activities, and personal support.
A faculty advisor is your go-to for questions about major program requirements, course planning, and registration. They help you design an educational program relevant to your future career.
How can I find out who my advisors are?
You can look up the name of your assigned advisor(s) for your declared programs through the ClarkYou Portal, under the Main Menu link. Here’s how: Main Menu → Registrar Office, Student Account, Financial Aid → Student Record → Student Record Information.
How can I make an appointment to meet with advisor or someone in the Academic Advising Center?
The best way to reach a specific advisor is by sending an email to their Clark email account; you can find contact information here.
The Advising Center also is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Visit us then or schedule an appointment; call 508-793-7468 or email advising@clarku.edu.
Advising and Registration
What are the requirements for graduation?
To graduate from Clark you will need to have a minimum of a 2.0 GPA, have declared and fulfilled the requirements of at least one major program, and have completed 32 units (classes) with at least 16 units completed at Clark.
You also must complete a First Year Intensive and the nine Clark Core requirements from at least five different academic disciplines. These requirements include:
- Written Expression
- Formal Analysis
- Aesthetic Perspective
- Global Comparative Perspective
- Historical Perspective
- Language and Culture Perspective
- Scientific Perspective
- Values Perspective
- Diversity and Inclusion Perspective
What is the timeline for registration?
Dates for the posting of course schedules, the student advising period, and online registration are found on the Registrar Office web page. Access the Academic Calendar by clicking here.
To be ready for registration, you must meet with your major advisor (academic advisor if you have yet to declare your major) and get their approval of your class list to release the registration hold. We recommend having 4-6 classes prepared prior to this meeting.
Spring 2026 Pre-Registration Period Begins: October 29th, 2025
Spring 2026 Senior Class Registration Begins: November 13th, 2025
Spring 2026 Junior Class Registration Begins: November 17th, 2025
Spring 2026 Sophomore Class Registration Begins: November 19th, 2025
Spring 2026 First-Year Class Registration Begins: November 21st, 2025
What is a hold and how is it removed?
From the Check Your Registration Status screen, scroll to the bottom and click on View Holds. All holds must be released for you to be able to register at your appointed time.
Here are the offices that review and can release each hold.
- Advising Hold – Primary Faculty Advisor
- Emergency Contact – Will be released once completed through CUWeb.
- Student Accounts Hold – Student Accounts Office
- Get Inclusive Modules – Office of Community Standards
- Health Forms – Health Services Department
Taking a fifth course during the semester
Students are eligible to request taking a fifth course during the semester if they are hoping to either catch up on units, apply it towards an accelerated program, or take a course for personal enrichment.
- Only Sophomores (8-15 units) with a 3.6 GPA or higher, or Juniors and Seniors (16 or more units) with a 3.0 GPA or higher, are eligible.
- Forms are reviewed once grades are submitted at the end of the semester. This review usually occurs in the first week of January for the Spring semester and the first week of June for the Fall semester.
- The deadline for fifth course request forms to be submitted to the Academic Advising Center is the last day of add/drop each semester. Please make sure to turn these in prior to the deadline, as this will provide time for the AAC staff to approve the forms and have the Registrar’s Office process the submission so you can register for the 5th class before add/drop ends.
Adding a course after the add/drop deadline
Should you wish to add a course after the add/drop deadline, you will need to get permission from the professor of the course and have you and the professor sign off on the form below before submitting it to the Registrar’s Office. Please note the following requirements below before submitting this petition:
- If this late added course will put you over the 4.5 unit maximum, you will also need to submit a 5th Course Approval form to the Academic Advising Center prior to approval from the Registrar’s Office.
- Adding a course after the add/drop deadline will include a $100 fee.
- Should you add a course late to the semester, especially if it is after the third week of the semester, the expectation is on the student to catch up with the missing work and understand that the professor is not mandated to help you make up the missing work that impacts your grade.
Academic Struggles
Pass/Fail Policy
If you are uncertain how you will do in a class that is not required for your major or minor, you can speak with your professor to take the class pass/fail instead of for a grade that will impact your GPA.
Should you receive a C- or better, the course will be indicated with a P but will not impact your GPA. Any grade below C- will result in a F grade. Students must choose this grading option within the first three weeks of the semester.
Download Pass/Fail Fillable Form
Fall 2025 Deadline for Pass/Fail Submission: September 12th, 2025
Withdrawing from a course
Use this form to withdraw from a single course. As a result of a withdrawal, a grade of “W” will appear on your academic record. The deadline to withdraw from a course is the last day of the semester. This form must be signed by your faculty advisor, or by staff from the Academic Advising department. Submit your form to the Registrar’s Office.
Download Course Withdrawal Form
Fall 2025 Deadline for Withdrawal Form Submission: December 8th, 2025
Petition for Incomplete
In cases where students are not able to finish their course work by the end of the semester because of extenuating circumstances, students can ask their professor for a grade of incomplete (IN). Should the professor approve this request, students and instructors must work together to complete this form. Students may talk to someone in the Academic Advising Center for assistance with figuring out if an incomplete is appropriate. Completed forms can be turned into the Academic Advising Center before the end of day on the last day of finals.
In order to receive final approval of their Petition for Incomplete, students must meet with a staff member in the Academic Advising Center. Please ensure that you turn in your signed Petition for Incomplete with enough time to meet with a staff member in the AAC prior to the end of the day on the last day of finals.
Please note that it can take up to 5 business days for the paperwork to be reviewed and filed with a final decision.
Download Petition for Incomplete Fillable Form
Fall 2025 Deadline for Incomplete Form Submission: December 16th, 2025
College Board Petition
Use this form to petition for any action outside of the parameters of our academic forms and petitions or policies. Return the completed petition to the Academic Advising Center after gathering all required signatures. For help with filling out or submitting your College Board petition, visit the Academic Advising Center for assistance.
Please note that it can take up to 14 business days for the paperwork to be reviewed and filed with a final decision.
Reasons for College Board Petitions can include, but are not limited to:
- Missing deadlines for Clark administrative forms like course withdrawals,
- Appealing application denials by Clark departments,
- Appealing final course grades.
Download College Board Petition for Special Action Fillable Form
Transferring Credits into Clark
AP units
A student may receive a maximum of 8 units from their AP exams. One unit for each College Entrance Examination Board AP score of 4 or 5. A score of 5 for English Lit/Comp will result in a waiver of the Written Expression (WE) requirement. Scores of 4 or 5 in other areas may result in Clark Core (Core) waivers. Students may receive a maximum of 3 Core waivers in total. Please see the table below for the full list of how your 4’s and 5’s on your AP exams will transfer into Clark University.
Please submit these scores before starting your first semester at Clark to prevent classes from overlapping with your accepted AP units. You will have to use your college board portal to submit these credits to Clark.
| AP Exam | Clark Equivalent Class | Core Fulfilled |
|---|---|---|
| Art History | ARTH 101 | AP |
| Music Theory | MUSC A001 | AP |
| Studio Art: 2-D Design | ARTS 100 | AP |
| Studio Art: 3-D Design | ARTS A001 | AP |
| Studio Art: Drawing | ARTS 102 | AP |
| English Language and Composition | ENG A001 | None |
| English Literature and Composition (4) | IDND 018 | None |
| English Literature and Composition (5) | IDND 040 | WE |
| African American Studies | IDND A001 | HP |
| Comparative Government and Politics | PSCI 070 | GP |
| European History | HIST A001 | HP |
| Human Geography | GEOG A001 | GP |
| Macroeconomics | ECON 010 | GP |
| Microeconomics | ECON 011 | FA |
| Psychology | PSYC 101 | None |
| US Government and Politics | PSCI 050 | None |
| US History | HIST 011 | HP |
| World History | HIST A002 | HP |
| Calculus AB | MATH 120 | FA |
| Calculus BC | MATH 120 and MATH 121 (half unit each) | FA |
| Computer Science A | CSCI 099 | FA |
| Computer Science Principles | CSCI A001 | None |
| Statistics | MATH 123 | FA |
| Biology | BIOL 102 | SP |
| Chemistry | CHEM 101 | SP |
| Environmental Science | EN A001 | SP |
| Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism | PHYS A003 | SP |
| Physics C: Mechanics (4) | PHYS A004 | SP |
| Physics C: Mechanics (5) | PHYS 110 | SP |
| Physics 1: Algebra-Based | PHYS A001 | SP |
| Physics 2: Algebra-Based | PHYS A002 | SP |
| Chinese Language and Culture | CHIN 104 | LP |
| French Language and Culture | FREN 104 | LP |
| German Language and Culture | GERM 106 | LP |
| Italian Language and Culture | TRN A001 | LP |
| Japanese Language and Culture | JAPN 104 | LP |
| Latin | LAT 103 | LP |
| Spanish Language and Culture | SPAN 106 | LP |
| Spanish Literature and Culture | SPAN 131 | LP |
IB units
Credit is awarded for: full International Baccalaureate Diplomas are given one full semester (4 Clark units) of advanced standing credit. The full diploma with 36 or above will be given one full year of credit (8 units) provided all exam scores (including SL scores) are 5 or above.
Individual IB courses (at the higher level) with scores of 5 or higher are awarded one Clark unit each; British A-level courses are awarded 1.0 unit each for grade of C or better up to a maximum of 4.0 units; Ontario 13th Year earns up to 4 units of advanced placement; Quebec CEGEP program earns 8 units of advanced placement for completing the full 2 years of study; the German ABITUR (4 units); the Swiss MATURA and Italian MATURITA (4 units); the French or Moroccan Baccalaureate will earn 4 units with the diploma (level of “admis” at least), otherwise one unit will be awarded for each eligible course (with a coefficient of at least 4 and note of at least 10) up to a maximum of 4 units.
Other international academic experiences are evaluated individually. Students who have completed Bard Early College are eligible to receive a maximum of 8.0 units of advanced standing credit for appropriate college level courses in which the student has earned a minimum grade of B.
Dual enrollment credits
Generally, students may earn up to four units of university credit for college courses completed while in high school. Students must have the college send an official transcript to the Academic Advising Center at Clark. Courses are then evaluated for possible transfer credit by the Academic Advising Center. Students should check with the Registrar’s Office to confirm that their transcript was received. If the course work has been evaluated positively, the student will receive notification. If there is a problem, the student will find out what it may be at that time.
Transfer credit approval form
This form should be used before registering for courses at another college or university to ensure the acceptability of course and credits at Clark University. Department Chair approval is required for courses that will fulfill a major requirement. Turn in your completed request form with course descriptions to the Academic Advising Center (if it is an online course then a syllabus is required). Please make sure to submit this form prior to taking the transfer class when possible.
What credits are unacceptable?
- No credit is awarded for successfully passing CLEP (College Level Examination Program) tests, Regents Exams or credit by exam from another college.
- No credit is awarded for any elementary language courses if you have completed more than two years of that language in high school.
- No credit is awarded for internships, vocational classes, sports, club activities, or personal wellness classes.
College Transfer report
The Academic Advising Center handles all Academic & Disciplinary Report requests should any student need to send this information to other higher education institutions through the Common Application for transfer. Please make sure to fill out the top part of the reports prior to emailing them to advising@clarku.edu and check whether the report will be submitted directly to the other institution. Please note that it can take up to 5 business days for the paperwork to be reviewed and filed so please plan accordingly.
Transfer Student Support
All transfer students will have their transcripts reviewed and approved by the Academic Advising department. Once this is complete, you can use your degree audit tool to see how your previous credits have transferred over to your degree program at Clark.
During your first semester at Clark, all transfer students will be assigned to a staff member in the Academic Advising Department. This staff member will serve as a point person for any questions or concerns that arise as the assigned students acclimate to being a member of the Clark community and learn to navigate Clark’s many supports and resources.
The Academic Advising Department will host events for transfer students throughout the year to connect with Clark offices and develop a community of current and past transfer students across the campus.
