First-Year Experience

Welcome to Lewis & Clark! We’re excited to have you join our community of scholars, athletes, artists, and adventurers this fall. Get excited about your Pacific Northwest home!

The New Student Summer Checklist launches in May and is designed to help you navigate new student tasks leading up to class registration and your arrival on campus.

• First-Year Student Checklist
• Transfer Student Checklist
• New Student and Family Summer Webinars

The common reading is a New Student Orientation tradition, where all faculty and new students read the same book or articles. During NSO, you will hear from a distinguished speaker related to the reading and have the opportunity to participate in a professor-led small group discussion. More information to come soon about this year’s reading.

Registration for fall semester courses occurs in two rounds, on August 1 and August 3. Learn more.

Every year in August we offer new students an opportunity to launch their Lewis & Clark career in a fun and adventurous way. There are two types of trips: outdoor adventures and on-campus programs. The Pacific Northwest has a lot to offer and we love sharing what we are lucky enough to call our backyard! New Student Trips (NSTs) happen just before the college-wide New Student Orientation (NSO).

Check out this year’s offerings!

Throughout the five-day orientation process at the end of August, free from classes or returning students, you will engage in activities to learn about academic offerings, resources on campus, social outlets, and ways to engage with your new community. You will be assigned a New Student Peer Mentor, who will lead you and a small group of other new students through orientation and fall semester.

Schedule to come. 

NSO teams up with the Center for Social Change and Community Involvement for a Service Day in August. More information to come.

During NSO, you will be assigned to a small group that consists of other new students, led by a New Student Peer Mentor. Your group will meet regularly throughout orientation, will be the same peers in your First-Year Seminar (Words or Numbers) class, and will connect together for programming during the fall semester (including an excursion off campus in Portland!). Your New Student Peer Mentor will also facilitate one-on-one check-ins with each student in the group.

Kick-off the academic year at our annual Pio Fair in September, hosted by our Student Engagement office! You will meet student leaders from L&C’s 100+ student clubs and organizations, as well as offices and departments to learn about what they have planned for the year and how you can get involved.

Lewis & Clark is committed to the academic success of every student. One of the benefits of our personal approach to education is that we provide many resources to support students, both in and outside of the classroom. We find that the most successful students are the ones who take advantage of these resources!

Congratulations, you made it thorough your first semester of college! Now you are feeling more at home, confident, and ready to take on another semester at L&C. The First-Year Experience team is here for you when you need the support.