Course Registration

Quick Links:

Course Registration

Course registration occurs on a quarterly basis. You will work with your department or program to choose your courses for your program of study. Below are useful links for managing registration:

Registration Requirements

  • Full-time, active graduate students in the PSD must register for at least 300 units each quarter.
  • Students may not enroll for more than 500 units without permission from their department/program and the Dean of Students Office.
    • Please note: individual programs and departments may impose registration limits (e.g. 300 units per quarter). Students should consult their individual program or department regarding registration limits. 
  • Full-time International Students on F-1 or J-1 visas must register for at least 300 units each quarter. To maintain F-1 or J-1 status, federal immigration regulations require students to be enrolled full-time for all quarters listed on the I-20/DS-2019, with the exception of the vacation quarter (usually summer).
  • International students seeking authorization to drop below full-time enrollment must contact the Office of International Affairs about reduced course load (RCL) options

Back to top

PhD Students

PhD students should be registered for 300 units (including Reading & Research, Advanced Research, etc.) each quarter, including Summer Quarter.

Exceptions include: students on Pro Forma, students who submit and defend their dissertation by Friday of first week of their graduation quarter, leaves of absence

MS Students

Most MS students register for 300 units each quarter but should check with their individual department/program for more specific guidance.

Summer registrations may differ. MS Students who plan to take courses during Summer Quarter must self-term activate.

Quarterly Registration Timeline for Graduate Students

  • Sixth Weekonline course time schedules for the next academic quarter are published
  • Seventh Week: MSCA (Analytics) students register for the upcoming quarter
  • Eighth Week: PSD graduate students (except MSCA) register for next quarter’s classes
  • Tenth Week: registration temporarily closed

Back to top

2022-23 Academic Year Registration Dates

Date

Event

AUTUMN QUARTER 2022

September 6, 2022

Autumn Schedule of Classes published for graduate students

September 19, 2022

Graduate student registration opens for new and continuing students 8:30 AM

September 27, 2022

Autumn Quarter 2022 begins

NB: Waiting until this date to take your first registration action will result in a late registration fee

September 30, 2022

Online add period closes for MS students; contact your Student Affairs Administrator to add or drop classes after this date. 

The add/drop period ends October 14

October 14, 2022

Final day of add/drop for all PSD graduate students

Course drop requests after this date will result in a "W" on the transcript and 0% tuition refund

October 31, 2022 Winter Schedule of Classes published
December 10, 2022 Autumn Quarter Ends

WINTER QUARTER 2023

November 14, 2022

Graduate Student Registration for Winter Quarter 2023 opens at 8:30 AM

January 3, 2023

Winter Quarter Begins

NB: Waiting until this date to take your first registration action will result in a late registration fee

January 6, 2023

Online add period closes for MS students; contact your Student Affairs Administrator to add or drop classes after this date

January 20, 2023

Final day of add/drop for all PSD graduate students

Course drop requests after this date will result in a "W" on the transcript and 0% tuition refund

February 6, 2023

Spring 2023 Schedule of Classes published

March 11, 2023 Winter Quarter Ends
SPRING QUARTER 2023

February 20, 2023

Graduate Student Registration Opens at 8:30 AM

March 20, 2023

Spring Quarter Begins

NB: Waiting until this date to take your first registration action will result in a late registration fee

March 28, 2023 Online add period closes for MS students; contact your Student Affairs Administrator to add or drop classes after this date
April 7, 2023

Final day of add/drop for all PSD graduate students

Course drop requests after this date will result in a "W" on the transcript and 0% tuition refund

Back to top

Registration Changes

Registration Week (in current quarter, for upcoming quarter)

All PSD graduate students who will continue their studies in an upcoming quarter should register during registration week (see registration dates above).

The Dean of Students Office will review registration results and follow up with unregistered students and/or their program/department in the week following registration.

Students who take their first registration action on the first day of the quarter may be assessed a late registration fee. Students can avoid this fee by taking registration action during registration week.

Add/Drop

Add/drop refers to the first three weeks of an academic quarter. Students may make changes to their registrations during the first three weeks of the quarter.

Due to the accelerated nature of the quarter system, students are strongly encouraged to finalize their registrations by the end of first week of the quarter whenever possible.

PhD students can add, drop, and swap registrations on their own through Friday of third week of the quarter.

MS students can add, drop, and swap registrations on their own through Friday of first week of the quarter. MS students can request additional registration changes after Friday of first week by contacting their department/program Student Affairs Administrator for assistance.

Individual programs and departments may have their own policies regarding timing of finalizing registrations. Students should familiarize themselves with their program/department’s expectations surrounding registration and reach out to their program/department if they have questions.

Registration and Your Student Account (MS Students Only)

  • MS tuition is assessed on a per-course basis. You can review the tuition costs on the Bursar’s website.
  • Adding and dropping courses will cause your student bill to fluctuate. You should generally allow 1-2 business days to see updated totals on your student bill after making registration changes.
  • Students can avoid late registration fees by taking registration action prior to the first day of the quarter. Fees are not assessed for changes made during add/drop.

Back to top

Other Registration Actions

  • Instructor consent: students registering for a course that requires instructor consent should contact their departmental administrator for assistance. Students should be prepared to present written consent from the instructor to join the course (e.g. an email)
  • Pass/Fail grading: students must discuss this option with their department/program prior to requesting this grading-basis change and carefully review the pass/fail policy.
  • Auditing courses: to formally audit a course, students must obtain permission from the instructor and discuss their plans with their department prior to requesting this grading-basis change.
    • Note: Courses taken for a formal audit appear on a student’s transcript with a grade of “R.” MS students are charged the regular tuition rate for formally auditing a course.

Back to top

Unregistered Students

PhD Students

PhD students have a continuous registration requirement for the duration of their degree program. In effect, this means that PhD students should be registered for at least 300 units each quarter.

PhD students who do not register will be contacted by their department/program and the Dean of Students Office. Students must register each quarter to receive their PhD funding as outlined in their offer of admission.

If a PhD student in regular student status remains unregistered at the end of first week of the quarter, they may be placed on an administrative leave of absence for that quarter.

MS Students

MS students should discuss their registration plans with their program/department each quarter for the upcoming quarter and follow any registration processes the program/department has in place.

Some programs may permit students to enroll in 0 units in certain quarters. It is the student’s responsibility to notify their program of their plans and engage in discussions about how this will impact their degree progress.

Students who do not register during registration week must complete a form indicating their plans for the upcoming quarter. This information will be shared with individual students’ programs.

MS students who are unregistered at the end of first week of the quarter and who have not discussed their registration plans with their program/department will have a registration hold placed on their accounts for the upcoming quarter. This registration hold is a student account restriction.

Students can have the registration hold removed by reaching out to the Dean of Students Office and their program to discuss their plans for continuing to make degree progress. If students do not contact their program or the Dean of Students Office by third week of the following quarter, they will be placed on an administrative leave of absence.

Administrative Leave and Withdrawal Policy

Graduate students who are restricted from registering must clear their restrictions by the end of the third week of the quarter or they will be put on an administrative leave of absence in that quarter. At the beginning of the next quarter, if the student has failed to clear all restrictions, the student will be administratively withdrawn from the University by their Dean of Students (unless the student is on a documented non-administrative leave of absence).

Back to top