Undergraduate Affairs News
The Office of Undergraduate Affairs distributes a monthly newsletter to undergraduate students from September to May each year. All undergraduate students automatically receive this newsletter and sign-up is not required. Brandeis faculty and staff who wish to receive this newsletter can subscribe.
Message from the Vice Provost
Dear Students,
Greetings and welcome back to campus for the new semester. I hope you had time to rest, decompress, recover, and spend some quality time with family and friends over the winter break. Though we’re only a week into the new term, there’s already a lot going on.
My colleagues and I have been hard at work over the last several months to execute on aspects of President Levine’s vision for the applied liberal arts at Brandeis. Central to that effort is a revision of the Brandeis Core. The changes we are currently discussing with the faculty are focused on two general goals.
First, we are aligning the learning outcomes from the core requirements with the most widely sought after career competencies (sometimes called “durable skills”), as determined by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) based on its broad survey of the job landscape for recent college graduates. Under the current Brandeis Core, we are providing students meaningful preparation in many of these competencies, so a good deal of the changes that are currently under discussion will be in renaming and reframing what we are already doing. But we believe this is important because it will help our graduates be better prepared to make their cases to potential employers about why they are right for the job.
Second, in addition to this repackaging, we are also working to make the Brandeis Core more streamlined, to enable students to complete the requirements more quickly, thereby allowing them to move into their majors sooner and freeing up time for more intensive and extensive co-curricular learning experiences, like internships, externships, community service, research assistantships, and others.
To be clear, as current students, you will continue to follow the requirements of the old Brandeis Core, but we believe that the changes these revisions entail will also provide new opportunities for those already enrolled, as well, including access to micro credentials in these durable skills and to more extensive career counseling and experiential learning opportunities.
I am also very pleased to share with you a new effort my office has undertaken in collaboration with the Student Union leadership, specifically aimed at creating more opportunities to spend time with and get to know our wonderful faculty. Last semester I sent out a message to the faculty asking them if they had hobbies they would like to share with students. I was delighted by the enthusiastic response we received, with more than fifty separate faculty members offering to share their love of activities running the gamut from bike-riding and hiking to cooking and music and so much more.
The response was so overwhelming, in fact, that it became clear we could not organize activities for all these different hobbies, so in consultation with Student Union leadership we selected four activities with which to begin:
- Baking with Dean Sara Shostak and Professor Stephanie Murray
- Cooking with Professor Xiwen Lu
- Collaging with Professor Tanishia Williams
- Board Games with Professors Katherine Shulenberger, Brian Michael, and Stephanie
We are now in the process of scheduling these events and as soon as we have further details we will be sharing them in a separate announcement. I am very excited about this initiative, and I hope it will be a way for you to learn more about your professors, to see them as more than subject matter experts, as full human beings whose lives encompass far more than the work they do at Brandeis. And I also hope it will become a fun way for you to get to know each other outside of the pressures of the classroom environment.
That’s it for now. Wishing you all an enriching and successful new semester.
Sincerely,
Jeffrey
Upcoming Deadlines & Events
Academic Updates & Resources
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Each year, three Teaching Awards recognize professors whose outstanding teaching and mentoring have had a positive impact on students.
Complete this nomination form by March 1, 2026 to nominate a faculty member for one of these awards.
Read more about the awards and past recipients on our website. Please contact Kathleen McMahan if you have questions or need additional information.
BUGS Peer Tutoring officially starts on January 26! Check out whether any of your spring courses has a BUGS tutor.
We encourage you to access this awesome FREE tutoring service throughout the semester! Questions? Please contact Julia Mani, Director of Peer Academic Support.
For students with disability accommodation letters, its important to share your letters with professors if you have not already done so. As a reminder, accommodations are not retroactive. Additionally, it’s important that you read through the text of the letter as well as the hyperlinked documents to review the implementation guidance. If you have any questions, contact your Accessibility Specialist or access@brandeis.edu.
Are you ready to have a strong spring semester? Add HWL 58: Foundations for Academic Success to your schedule!
The course is designed to help strengthen college-level study strategies, and assignments are intended to help you with your other classes! Topics include note-taking, communication with faculty and combatting procrastination. Sign up for a module 1 section on Tuesdays or a module 2 section on Thursdays! Questions? Contact Julia Mani, Director of Peer Academic Support.
This four-part Computer Literacies workshop series will provide students with the tech foundation needed to do more interesting projects with less stress, from finally knowing where your files live to confidently navigating the apps and hardware inside your laptop. Across the workshops, students will learn how to organize your local files, understand their computer’s core components, manage their accounts and data in the cloud, and troubleshoot problems using clear, repeatable strategies.
For emergencies, contact Public Safety at 781-736-3333 (on-campus issues) or 911 (off-campus issues).
For urgent mental health concerns, contact the Brandeis Counseling Center (BCC) at 781-736-3730 (24/7 consultation available).
For student behavior concerns that can wait at least one business day, submit an I Care Form to the Care Team to evaluate and coordinate resources of the university and provide necessary support. Also, please submit an I Care Form after calling Public Safety, 911, or the BCC to ensure follow up for student wellbeing.
SAS Fellows
Are you looking for student-led support with balancing responsibilities, time management skills, navigating campus resources, discussing implementation of accommodations with faculty, or other accessibility-related questions, the Fellows are glad to be available! Visit the SAS Fellows webpage to read their bios and see their office hours which are held in person (Usdan Academic Services Lobby) and virtually.
Assignment Accountability Hours
Do you get more accomplished when you are outside of your room or when working alongside others? Come join the SAS Fellows and the BUGS Study Skills Tutors for a quiet place to study and the opportunity to seek guidance or study tips, organizational help, etc.
Spring 2026 Hours:
- Mondays: 7-9 p.m., Gardner Jackson Room (Goldfarb Library, Mezzanine Level)
- Tuesdays: 12-2 p.m., Group Study Room 2 (Farber Library, Mezzanine Level)
- Thursdays: 7-9 p.m., Gardner Jackson Room (Goldfarb Library, Mezzanine Level)
For more information, please visit the Assignment Accountability Hours page.
Deisvergent
Are you looking for a space to connect with students who identify with autism, ADHD, and other neurodiversities? Deisvergent is a great opportunity to meet people, share resources, and shape the group into whatever the community wishes it to be. New members are always encouraged to attend!
Spring 2026 Hours:
- Tuesdays: 2:30-3:30p.m., Shapiro Campus Center (SCC) Room 314
For more information, please visit the Deisvergent page.
Research & Event Highlights
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Mark your calendar for ENACT’s Immigration Justice Week at Brandeis February 2-6! Events will be open to the Brandeis community. Professors are encouraged to bring their classes.
Highlights include:
Monday, February 2nd, 5:45-7:00 p.m. in Mandel G03
Know Your Rights Workshop featuring Massachusetts Law Reform Institute Senior Immigration Attorney, Heather Yountz, and Jessica Chico from the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition
Tuesday, February 3rd, 3:55-5:15 p.m. in Shiffman 219
Stories from the Front: Immigrant Justice and Advocacy Strategies featuring Doug Smith from The Right to Immigration Institute (TRII) & Jonathan Paz from Fuerza
Friday, February 6th, 12:45-2:05 p.m. in Mandel G03
Screening of “The Vigil” and Q&A with Filmmaker Jenny Alexander & Dr. Piñeros-Shields
See the full schedule!
The Office of Undergraduate Affairs in collaboration with Student Union leadership are pleased to offer four activities for you to get to know members of the faculty during the course of this semester.
The first will take place on Monday, February 9 from 3-5 p.m. in ASAC Atrium. Space is limited to 26 undergraduate students, so we encourage you to sign up! If you aren't able to attend this one, we will have three additional activities across the coming semester.
Collaging with Professor Tanishia Williams, February 9 | 3–5 p.m. | ASAC Atrium
Cut, paste, layer, repeat. This collaging session is a relaxed, hands-on space to slow down and make something tactile. Bring a journal or junk journal if you have one, or jump in and create a single collage on mixed-media paper provided. Students are encouraged to bring photos, images, scraps, text, fabric (that old stained sweatshirt), or other bits they’ve been saving “for something.” This is that something. Some supplies will be on hand, but the heart of the session is creating with materials that already matter to you. Space is limited, so sign up today!
Additional details and sign-up instructions will be shared soon regarding additional events, but be sure to save the dates for:
- March 6, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., Cooking with Xiwen Lu
- March 24, 4:45-6:45 p.m., Board Games with Katherine Shulenberger, Brian Michael, and Stephanie Murray
- April 23, 3-6 p.m., Baking with Dean Sara Shostak and Stephanie Murray
Questions? Contact Kathleen McMahan.
Through a 12-day intensive learning experience known as the Delta Summer Research Institute scholars are introduced to professional workshops, speakers, and research presentations. You will embark on a Delta Innovation Tour, an immersive experience for learning more about the history of the Multi-State Delta Region as a model of innovation to build skills to foster growth and change. Summer Research Institute and Delta Innovation Tour Dates: June 1-12, 2026. You must be available to attend entire session
Contact Professor Rajesh Sampath with Questions. Applications are still OPEN!
Deadline: Feb 15, 2026 at 11:59 PM
Delta Scholar Program Application
Attention current sophomores and juniors: Would you like to make an impact, have fun, and support your peers? Roosevelt Fellows are trained junior and senior peer academic advisors who provide an informed and accessible peer perspective on navigating academics at Brandeis.
Consider applying for this paid opportunity for the next academic year!
Sign up to attend an upcoming zoom information session to find out more about the role and the application process! Applications are due by Sunday, March 1.
See our website for more information and to apply.
Do you want to present your research or creative project? The Sign up to Present Form will be available later this semester.
The Undergraduate Research and Creative Collaborations Symposium is a fun opportunity to learn from and engage with students from all fields that represent our mission and strength as a liberal arts university. Undergraduate students will display and explain their research or creative work in different modalities such as posters, oral presentations, exhibits, performances, and multimedia displays.
The Library's Research Excellence Prize recognizes students who apply sophisticated information literacy skills to the selection, evaluation, and synthesis of sources for a research project. Consider submitting your work! The application deadline is May 12, 2026.
Campus Groups includes a multitude of capabilities, is user-friendly, and has the ability to manage all student organization functions within one platform. Campus Groups is the hub for all processes related to clubs and organizations, including organization management (such as rosters, club documents, and mission statements), event creation and management, financial processes, service-hour tracking, and communication with club members and Brandeis students at large.
To access the app:
- Download Campus Groups from the App store or Google Play
- Search “Brandeis University”
- Sign on using SSO (Brandeis credentials)