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Liberal Arts BA/BS Advising

Meet Your Advising Team

Students enrolled in a Liberal Arts BA/BS degree program have three members on their Advising Team: a Pre-Major/Major Advisor, a Senior Academic Advisor, and an Advising Dean. Each member of your team plays a different role in your advising process at Tufts.

Faculty or parents/guardians with academic concerns about students should contact the student’s Advising Dean directly.

Your Pre-Major/Major Advisor

Pre-Major/Major Advisors can help all students with:

  • Course planning
  • Registration
  • Academic guidance
  • Finding campus resources

New Liberal Arts BA/BS students are assigned a Pre-Major Advisor prior to matriculation. Pre-Major Advisors meet students during Orientation and provide ongoing support until students declare a major. When a major is declared, students also select a  Major Advisor, who must be full-time faculty from the declared department or program. Liberal Arts students must declare a major and secure a Major Advisor by March 1st of their sophomore year.

If you don't know your Advisor, log in to SIS and look under "Academics" on your homepage. You'll find their name and a link to email them directly.

​Your Senior Academic Advisor

Your Senior Academic Advisor is the first point of contact for first-year and sophomore students who have technical questions about requirements or who want to discuss broader issues of transitioning to college. Faculty or parents/guardians with academic concerns about students should contact the student’s Advising Dean directly, not the Senior Academic Advisor.

Your Senior Academic Advisor can help first-year and sophomore students with:

  • Resources for first- and second-year students
  • Course exploration
  • Campus life questions
  • Major exploration
  • University resource and co-curricular opportunities
  • Internal transfers from the School of Engineering to the Schools of Arts and Sciences 
Tara ZantowTara Zantow

Senior Academic Advisor
School of Arts and Sciences
First-Year and Sophomore Liberal Arts BA/BS Students 
Engineering to Liberal Arts Internal Transfers

  • Appointments are held in Dowling Hall, Room 710
  • Book an Appointment (first-year and sophomore students; juniors and seniors, faculty and parents/guardians should contact an Advising Dean)
  • Email Tara​​ (first-year and sophomore students; juniors and seniors, faculty and parents/guardians should contact an Advising Dean)
Your Advising Dean

The Advising Deans (also known as the alpha deans) are the first point of contact for faculty and parents /guardians who are concerned about a student’s academics.

Advising Deans can help all students with:

  • Campus resources
  • Academic difficulty
  • Extended absences/leaves
  • Policies related to curriculum and graduation requirements
  • Graduation progress

We are located in Dowling Hall, Suite 710.

Kendra BarberKendra Barber

Advising Dean (alpha dean)
School of Arts and Sciences
Last names A to G

Dean Barber administers the Resumed Education for Adult Learners (R.E.A.L.) Program. She also coordinates the advising and orientation program for transfer students.

Matthew BellofMatthew Bellof

Advising Dean (alpha dean)
School of Arts and Sciences
Last names H to O

Robin OlinskyRobin Olinsky

Advising Dean (alpha dean)
School of Arts and Sciences
Last Names P to Z

Dean Olinsky serves as advisor for students in the combined-degree programs with the New England Conservatory and School of the Museum of Fine Arts. Dean Olinsky also advises students participating in domestic exchange programs.