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Course Enrollment

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Students may enroll in 100/1000-level or 200/2000-level courses, which are letter-graded courses of instruction, or for 300/3000-level courses, which may be individual courses of reading and research, graduate seminars, or direction of the dissertation.  300/3000 level ​courses are graded satisfactory/unsatisfactory (SAT/UNSAT), but at the academic department's discretion, these courses may be marked as ungraded (NOG). Full-time students ordinarily are expected to enroll in 16 credits. 

  • Degree candidates may register for up to six courses (24 credits) in each term without paying additional tuition at the per-course rate.
  • Students are strongly encouraged to not enroll in courses that meet at the same time or overlapping times.
  • A graduate student may enroll in courses labeled “Primarily for Undergraduates” with instructor approval; normally, these courses will not count toward the minimum course requirements for a higher degree.
  • Students may enroll in language courses with the permission of the instructor on a SAT/UNS basis (see the Academic Calendar for deadline) after petitioning for a change of grading status through the Registrar's Office. Language courses taken on a SAT/UNS basis may not count toward the minimum course requirements for a higher degree.
  • Students may audit courses with the permission of the course instructors. When auditing a course, students will not formally register in my.harvard; they should work with the instructor and teaching support staff to be granted access to course materials and/or Canvas if relevant.
  • A petition to add/withdraw will need to be submitted to the Office of Academic Programs for processing if after the deadline outlined in the Academic Calendar
  • A student may not retake a course, except when the course is required for the degree program and the student's grade does not meet the minimum requirements as outlined by their program, and only if there is no acceptable alternative course available as determined by the program.

Students Departing Mid-Term

Students who plan to be away from campus for more than half of an academic term or year should apply to be a non-resident student (traveling scholar, leave of absence, studying at another Harvard school).

Forms

Petition to Add/Withdraw

Contact

Registrar's Office
Faculty of Arts and Sciences
Harvard University
Richard A. and Susan F. Smith Campus Center
1350 Massachusetts Avenue, Suite 450
Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138

Tel: 617-495-1543
Fax: 617-495-0815

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