Welcome to Harvey Mudd College!
On behalf of all your professors and academic-support staff, welcome to Harvey Mudd! We are excited to meet you and have been preparing all summer to get ready for your arrival. This document contains specific information about your Fall courses and some general information about academics at Mudd.
The most important part is to check off this short “to do” list:
Here are the contents of the rest of this document:
Academics During your First Semester
How do I find my course schedule? How do I add more courses?
What options do I have for Core courses? What about advanced placement?
How do I find textbooks and course materials?
What kind of collaboration and support can I expect in my courses?
How do grades work during the first semester?
How can I get ready for courses this fall?
Can I take other non-Core courses in the first semester?
Additional General Information
Academics after your first semester
All students at Harvey Mudd College take the same set of Core courses regardless of their major. Your Fall schedule includes 14.5–15.5 credits of Core courses:
Biology 46: Introduction to Biology (3 credits) + Biology 23: Lab (1 credit)
or
Chemistry 42: Chemistry in the Modern World (4 credits) + Chem 24: Lab (1 credit)
Computer Science 5 or 42 (3 credits)
Math 19: Single and Multivariable Calculus (4 credits)
Physics 23: Special Relativity (1.5 credits)
Writ 1: Introduction to Academic Writing (2 credits)
One “credit” typically corresponds to three or four hours of academic time per week, including class time. Most three-credit courses have 150 minutes of class per week—usually split into two 75-minute sessions or three 50-minute sessions—and 6–9 hours of work outside of class.
The HMC Catalog contains descriptions of these courses. (See below for more about the Catalog.) Physics 23 (Special Relativity) and Writ 1 are half-semester courses, which run for approximately seven weeks each. Half-semester courses act like 3-credit courses when they are in session, so in these courses you will also have 150 minutes of class time per week. Half of the incoming class takes Writ 1 first, followed by Special Relativity; the other half starts with Special Relativity, followed by Writ 1. Similarly, half of the incoming class will take Biology + Lab this Fall; the other half will take Chemistry + Lab. In the Spring, you will take whichever course + lab you did not take in the Fall.
Most of the courses you will take this Fall are part of the Core Curriculum. We have designed these courses to be both challenging and enjoyable, taking into account your intellectual curiosity and academic achievements.
You will be registered for all your Core courses by the Registrar’s Office in mid-August. No action is needed on your part to ensure you are in Core courses. You will receive an email from the registrar when this is complete. Thereafter, you’ll be able to see your course schedule via the Portal. (See below for more information about the Portal.) Once you’ve logged into the Portal, click on the “Student” tab then click on the “My Course Schedule” link to see the meeting times and where your classes will be located.
August 25 is the first day you’ll be able to use the Portal to add a limited set of electives (more details below). Some first-year students choose to add additional electives during their first semester, and others choose to leave more room and time for personal projects, wellness, or immersing themselves into the Mudd social fabric. Stay tuned for information from the Registrar’s office, which will describe when and how to register for those additional electives and when you can make changes to your schedule.
While AP or IB courses do not automatically translate into credit for Core courses at Mudd, some Core courses offer options that take into account your prior coursework and experiences, to ensure that you feel appropriately challenged and learn new things. (This year, the options include CS 5 “Black” or “Gold,” Chem 42 “Helium” or “Hydrogen,” and Bio 46 “Global Climate Change from Cells to Ecosystems” or “Genes, Genomes, and Human Health.”) These different options typically only vary in their depth: some sections quickly review the topics covered by AP/IB courses then address the nuances, derivations, or applications of those topics, while other sections take a more balanced approach. Rest assured that all Core course options lead to the same end goal—students who take one option of a Core course are neither advantaged or disadvantaged from majoring in that discipline over other students.
Each department has slightly different procedures for determining the right courses for your first year at Mudd. Some departments offer diagnostic tests that you can take to make your own decision, other departments offer placement exams. In addition, there are optional exams for placing out of a Core course entirely (i.e., satisfying the requirement without taking the course); but this is a rare occurrence that we do not encourage. In all of these situations, you do not need to study for any of these diagnostics/exams nor put any pressure on yourself to do well. You have already done all the hard work!
Full details about the diagnostics and placement options for your courses are available on this Google form. Regardless of whether you plan to take a placement exam or not, or want to request advanced placement or not, you must fill out the form by July 7. Here’s what the survey includes:
Information about textbooks and other required/optional materials for a course will usually be listed on the syllabus for that course. The syllabus, notes, handouts and such things will be distributed in various ways depending on the instructor of your class—most instructors use either Sakai or Canvas as a repository for all materials related to their courses. (Our campus is currently transitioning from using Sakai to Canvas as our learning management system, so there will be some variation from class to class.)
Note that your lab course will likely require you to buy a notebook and supplies, which will cost around $20–$25. Also, your Writ 1 course will assign readings that are specific to your section.
There are many options for obtaining textbooks: you can purchase or rent physical or digital copies through various vendors. One place you can find books is the Claremont Colleges’ Huntley Bookstore. (Note that information on the Huntley Bookstore website may be incomplete or change over time; the syllabus from your professor is the most reliable source of information about textbooks.) Also, many students get their textbooks from other students who’ve already taken the class, so you might want to wait until you get to campus before purchasing textbooks. If you want to ask other students about textbooks before school starts, you can try asking on the Discord server.
Much of your work in the Core and at Mudd is designed with collaboration in mind. Mudders expect to work with one another and help one another learn, and professors expect the same. Here are the main ways we learn and practice collaboration in the Core:
In addition to these options for collaboration and support above, students usually form study sessions and on their own. Dorm proctors and mentors are also happy to point you in the direction to get what you need to be successful.
We hope you will find your academic work challenging. We know that you are prepared for the challenge, and we have lots of ways to support you. One form of support is Mudd's "first-semester-first-year" grading scheme. This Fall, instead of the usual letter grades, your Core courses will be graded using the following designations:
High Pass (HP): Superior performance and mastery of course material. Credit awarded.
Pass (P): Satisfactory performance and mastery of course material. Credit awarded.
No Pass (NP): The course must be repeated. No credit awarded.
Most people get a P in most courses. These grades do not factor into your GPA because we want you to have freedom to navigate your first semester as you see fit. At times, you may want to give yourself a break from academics, knowing that you have some academic slack. At other times, you may want to focus more on a course that is challenging you. It will likely take some time for you to learn how to learn in this new environment: enjoy your courses and don’t overload yourself with so much academic work that you can’t enjoy yourself and attend to the various facets of your life.
Some of your Core courses have review materials available online. These materials cover topics that you may have learned before coming to Mudd, and your Core courses will build on these topics. These resources are recommended for all students, especially those interested in building or refreshing skills before the semester begins.
In addition to the required 14.5–15.5 credits of Core courses, there is room in your schedule to add a PE or dance course or music lessons, if you wish. In principle, you can take any such course that you are eligible for, that fits in your schedule, and doesn’t take you over 17.0 credits, but Core courses are scheduled throughout the week and there will be many other courses that do not fit in your schedule in the first semester.
Here are a few important things to know about course registration in your first semester:
Your g.hmc.edu email account is an official mode of communication at Mudd and you will want to check it frequently (at least daily). Professors often send time-sensitive emails with useful information (e.g., “skip problem 11”, “here’s a hint for question 42”, and so on). Mudd uses Google Workspace, so you’ll have access to Google Drive, Google Calendar, and other tools using your g.hmc.edu credentials.
The Portal is the system that you will use to register for courses, view your course schedule, view final grades in your courses, obtain unofficial transcripts, view accounts/billing information, and perform other administrative tasks. You can reach the Portal at https://portal.hmc.edu.
Sakai (https://sakai.claremont.edu) and Canvas (https://harveymuddcollege.instructure.com) are “learning management systems”–they are websites that centralize course handouts, assignments, and many other things for each of your courses. Our campus is transitioning from Sakai to Canvas: some instructors might use Sakai, some Canvas, and others something else. Once you are registered for classes, new tabs for each of your courses will appear in either Sakai or Portal. Again, please check your g.hmc.edu email frequently, as professors will often send emails to students before the first day of class to give them instructions on various things.
If you have any login issues with your g.hmc.edu email, Portal, Sakai, Canvas, our Computing and Information Services (CIS) helpdesk can assist you: just email helpdesk@g.hmc.edu.
The HMC Catalog is your definitive guide to all of the academic rules, requirements for each major, and so much more. We recommend that you familiarize yourself with it. Here are a few helpful tips to help you decode its contents.
The Claremont Colleges will pay close attention to guidance from local and federal health agencies about how to live and learn together safely. Please keep an eye out for more information about COVID-19 safety protocols and guidelines later this summer. We plan to be flexible and compassionate with everyone’s differing needs, and we hope you will be, too.
You will have at least three faculty advisors during your time at Mudd: a First-Year (pre-major) Advisor who will assist you up until the point you declare a major, a Major Advisor once you declare a major, and a Humanities, Social Sciences and the Arts (HSA) Advisor assigned in the coming Spring semester. Your First-Year Advisor serves as a general source of information on academic matters, helps with acclimation to academic life at Mudd, and helps you select courses for your Spring semester and beyond, until you declare a major. First-Year Advisors are assigned randomly (e.g., if you expressed strong interest in math in your application, that does not necessarily mean that a Math professor will be your advisor) and begin their advising role after the start of the Fall semester. You will meet your First-Year Advisor after classes begin.
Academic advising is supported by the Academic Deans—a team that stands ready to help you with all of your learning-related questions and needs. The Academic Deans offer course- and trajectory-related advice, support students experiencing personal or health related issues affecting their academics, offer academic coaching and training in study strategies, mediate between students and faculty when short-term accommodations are needed, and are your pathway to disability and accessibility resources if and when longer-term accommodations are in order. Reach out to academicdeans@g.hmc.edu if you need assistance finding and accessing resources.
The majority of courses in your first year (and part of your second year) are Core courses. The Core is an essential component of the HMC degree, building a common foundation across the disciplines and providing excellent opportunities to work with and learn from your peers and professors. During your time at Mudd, you will also take courses in the Humanities, Social Sciences, and the Arts, and in your chosen major. You should not feel pressured to identify with any given major upon arrival. In fact, Mudd students are not even allowed to declare a major before completing two semesters at the College. While most students enter Mudd with interests in particular disciplines, many re-examine those interests after spending a semester or two at Mudd. It is healthy to keep an open mind as you go through the Core and begin to build relationships with students and faculty from all departments and majors.