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Cross-Registration

Cross-Registration Policies and Processes

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 will be posted on the my.harvard Course Search homepage once available.

 

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 submitted to Registrar Services) AND follow 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.  Ability to cross-register into a course is subject to the course's cross-registration policies as well as course capacity.  Thus, 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/Harvard Chan School: Cross-registrants with fully approved petitions are usually put on a waitlist upon clicking the "Enroll" button.  If space allows and you have no enrollment holds or conflicts, HSPH will enroll you at the end of their add/drop period.  

Cross-registration into MIT: After your my.harvard petition is approved by your Program Director and Registrar Services, the MIT instructor/representative will need to approve your my.harvard petition.  After your petition is fully approved, you will need to enroll yourself into the course.  To drop an MIT course, you must drop the course on my.harvard AND with the MIT Registrar's Office.

 

Additional Information

  • Students should expect to attend the classes as soon as the course starts, even if they have not yet been officially enrolled.

  • Courses for which you cross-register must be at graduate level and relevant to your program.

  • Although you may be approved for a course on the portal, it may take up to 2 weeks for the course to show up on your record.

  • Do not assume you have been enrolled until it is listed on your course list in my.Harvard or in Canvas.

  • Please make sure to review your portal list of courses and compare it with your my.Harvard or Canvas list to ensure it is accurate.

  • If you need to drop a course that started after our Add/Drop/Change Deadline, email Registrar Services with a special request to drop by the second meeting of the course.

  • Some schools have half semesters. If you wish to register for Fall 2 or Spring 2 courses, you will need to petition by our add/drop deadline.
  • Once the course is over, grades may take up to 3 weeks to reach us from the host school. Please keep this in mind in your last semester before graduation.