Cross-Registration

One of the greatest privileges of being a Harvard student is the ability to enhance your academic experience by taking classes at other Harvard schools as well as MIT.

Cross-registration dates for individual host schools will be posted on the my.harvard course search homepage once available.  Students cannot cross-register for a given term until HSDM registration period for that term has begun.

Petitioning for a cross-registered course

Host schools often have different add/drop deadlines from HSDM; petitions are due by the earliest deadline. Petitions submitted after the earliest add/drop deadline will NOT be considered. Before you proceed, please review both the host school and the home school (HSDM) policies regarding cross-registration.

DMD students

Complete an add/drop form (to be emailed to Registrar Services) AND follow the petitioning instructions below.

AGE degree students

Review our AGE degree electives page for information on basic science courses (and other course credit types) AND follow petitioning Instructions below.

Petitioning instructions

  1. Log into my.harvard through the Student, Teaching + Advising Portal.
  2. Select "course search" and use the search box to look for courses. 
  3. Add courses to your Crimson Cart. (If the "Add to Crimson Cart" button is disabled, either you are not eligible to cross-register into the course or your school has not opened your Crimson Cart yet.)
  4. Select course options (if applicable). Depending on the course, options such as units, grading, waitlist, or sections may be available.  If you are allowed to select your grading basis you should do so here.
  5. Validate courses: Select the course(s) you want to validate and click the "Validate" button.
  6. Submit petition: Using the checkbox, select the course(s) for which you wish to submit a petition.  You will only be able to submit a petition when the Host School’s cross-registration period is open.  After you click "Submit Petition," your petition will move into a pending status.  (If you see an exclamation mark icon (!) in your Crimson Cart, you may click on it to get more information on cross-registering for this course.)
  7. View petition status: To check on the status of your petition, navigate to the Crimson Cart under the Student Home tab to view permission status. Your petition may require approval from multiple offices at both the home and host schools, including your AGE program director and HSDM registrar services.  The ability to cross-register into a course is subject to the course's cross-registration policies as well as course capacity. It may take several days or weeks to be approved.
  8. Complete enrollment: if the permission status changes to green, you have been fully approved and may enroll yourself into the course. Press the "Enroll/Validate/Delete" button on your Crimson Cart.  Then, using the checkbox, select the course(s) you want to enroll in and click the "Enroll" button. 

Cross-registration into HSPH and MIT

Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (HSPH)

  • Approved petitions often result in waitlist placement after clicking "Enroll."
  • HSPH will finalize enrollment at the end of their add/drop period if space allows.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

  • After approval by your program director and registrar services, the MIT instructor must approve the petition.
  • You must manually enroll after full approval.
  • To drop an MIT course, you must drop it on my.harvard and with MIT.

Additional Considerations

  • Attendance: Attend classes from the start date, even if enrollment isn't finalized.
  • Course level: AGE students must enroll in graduate-level courses relevant to their program.
  • Graduation impact: Avoid registering for courses in your last semester that may not be completed or graded before graduation to prevent graduation delays.
  • Half-semester courses: Petition by the earliest deadline for fall 2 or spring 2 courses.
  • Dropping courses: If dropping after the add/drop/change deadline, email registrar services by the second meeting or the host school's deadline, whichever is earlier.