Quick Links:
- Course Registration
- Registration Requirements
- Quarterly Registration Timeline
- 2025-2026 Registration Dates
- Registration Changes
- Other Registration Actions
- Unregistered Students
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:
- Course offerings are published every quarter by the Registrar
- Instructions for adding, dropping, and swapping classes can be found on the Registrar’s website. Please be sure to speak to your department before making any schedule changes
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
PhD Students
PhD students should be registered for 300 units (including Reading & Research, Advanced Research, etc.) each quarter, including Summer Quarter.
Exceptions include: 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 Week: online course time schedules for the next academic quarter are published
- Seventh Week: MS in Applied Data Science students register for the upcoming quarter
- Eighth Week: PSD graduate students (except MS in Applied Data Science) register for next quarter’s classes
- Tenth Week: registration temporarily closed
2025-2026 Academic Year Registration Dates
|
Date |
Event |
| SUMMER QUARTER 2025 | |
|
June 16, 2025 |
Summer Quarter 2025 Begins Note: Waiting until this date to take your first registration action will result in a late registration fee. |
|
July 4, 2025 |
End of add/drop period for Summer 2025 Courses dropped after this date will result in a grade of "W" (withdrawn) |
| August 23, 2025 |
Summer Quarter 2025 Ends |
|
AUTUMN QUARTER 2025 |
|
|
August 25, 2025 |
Graduate Autumn 2025 Schedule of Classes published |
| September 22, 2025 |
Graduate student registration for Autumn Quarter opens Note: Applied Data Science students will complete registration the week of September 15 |
| October 3, 2025 | Online add period closes for MS students; contact your Student Affairs Administrator to add or drop classes after this date |
| October 17, 2025 |
End of add/drop period for Autumn 2025 Courses dropped after this date will result in a grade of "W" (withdrawn) and a 0% tuition refund Students who drop to 0 units should request a leave of absence |
| December 13, 2025 | Autumn Quarter 2025 Ends |
|
WINTER QUARTER 2026 |
|
|
November 3, 2025 |
Graduate Winter 2026 Schedule of Classes Published |
| November 17, 2025 |
Graduate student registration for Winter 2026 opens at 8:30 am Note: Applied Data Science students will complete registration the week of November 10 |
| November 30, 2025 | Graduate student registration for Winter 2026 temporarily closes |
| December 5, 2025 | Graduate student registration for Winter 2026 re-opens |
|
January 5, 2026 |
Winter Quarter 2026 Begins Note: Waiting until this date to take your first registration action will result in a late registration fee |
|
January 9, 2026 |
Online add period closes for MS students; contact your Student Affairs Administrator to add or drop classes after this date |
|
January 23, 2026 |
End of add/drop period for Winter 2026 Courses dropped after this date will result in a grade of "W" (withdrawn) and a 0% tuition refund Students who drop to 0 units should request a leave of absence |
| March 14, 2026 | Winter Quarter Ends |
| SPRING QUARTER 2026 | |
|
February 9, 2026 |
Graduate Spring 2026 Schedule of Classes Published |
| February 23, 2026 |
Graduate student registration for Spring 2026 opens at 8:30 am Note: Applied Data Science students will complete registration the week of February 16 |
| March 8, 2026 | Graduate student registration for Spring 2026 temporarily closes |
| March 13, 2026 | Graduate student registration for Spring 2026 re-opens |
| March 23, 2026 |
Spring Quarter 2026 Begins Note: Waiting until this date to take your first registration action will result in a late registration fee |
| March 27, 2026 | Online add period closes for MS students; contact your Student Affairs Administrator to add or drop classes after this date |
| April 10, 2026 |
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 Students who drop to 0 units should request a leave of absence |
| June 6, 2026 | Spring Quarter 2026 Ends |
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.
Students who enroll in a course that begins mid-quarter and wish to drop the course in “add/drop” must communicate their decision to drop the course to the appropriate administrator as soon as possible and no later than after the second course meeting. Requesting a drop of a mid-quarter class after this deadline (the next business day after the second course meeting) will result in a “W” grade in the course and tuition will be assessed.
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.
Students who do not wish to complete a course after the add/drop period ends (Friday of third week of a quarter) may request a withdrawal (“W”) from the course. Withdrawals will ordinarily be granted except in cases of academic dishonesty. A withdrawal may not be granted after completion of the course requirements (typically the last day of a quarter).
A grade of “W” appears on the student’s transcript. A “W” does not carry any point value and will not impact a student’s GPA. A grade of “W” does not confer credit and may thus impact progress towards degree.
Withdrawals will not result in any changes to a student’s tuition bill.
More information about the add/drop tuition refund policies is available on the Bursar's website.
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.
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.
Course Time Conflicts and Simultaneous Enrollment
Students who are interested in simultaneously enrolling in two courses that have a time conflict must submit a general petition to the Dean of Students Office. Simultaneous enrollment due to a time conflict is only granted in rare circumstances, and generally only for minimal or partial time overlap .
In the petition, the student should: (1) identify the two courses that have a time conflict (e.g. PHYS 12345/1 and PHYS 54321/1), (2) include written consent from the instructors of both courses that indicates that the instructor is aware of the time conflict and approves of the student missing a portion of their course meeting time, and (3) include written approval from their program leadership that the program will allow the student to enroll in two courses with a time conflict. These written approvals can take the form of email correspondence.
If a student is approved for simultaneous enrollment, it is the student’s responsibility to coordinate with their instructors to resolve any issues that result from the time conflict.
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.
MS students who do not register for classes by the end of the second week of a given quarter and who have not requested a leave of absence will be removed from active student status in that quarter. Removal from active student status will limit access to campus resources in the quarter in which the student is unregistered.
Additionally, a registration hold may be placed on a student’s account for the upcoming quarter. When a student is ready to resume studies, the hold can be removed by reaching out to the Dean of Students Office and the program/department. Students who remain unregistered for a second consecutive quarter may 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).