Clinical Registration and Add/Drop

Clinical registration is a process where students preference clinics for the following academic year. When taking a clinic, students must also take an associated course component.

Another way to register for clinicals is through Add/Drop.  Once initial clinical registration has occurred, online adding and dropping begins.  Students are able to add open clinicals, join the waitlist for closed clinicals, or drop clinicals for which they are currently enrolled.  

• See the clinical registration checklist for an overview of clinical registration policies. 
• Download the clinical skills matrix.

Clinical Registration Dates for 2013/2014

• Fall, Winter, and Spring clinics will be in Phase 1 Registration, along with Multi-Section courses.
  • By Permission Clinics are not in Phase 1 Registration: Harvard Legal Aid Bureau, Making Rights Real: The Ghana Project, Semester in Washington, Shareholder Rights Clinic, Sports Law Clinic, Supreme Court Litigation Clinic, Winter Term Emmett Environmental Law and Policy Clinic, and Harvard Negotiation and Mediation Clinic.
  • To do a second semester at your clinic, apply through the Continuing Clinical Program.  Once you have taken a clinic, you cannot sign up for it again through Helios.
• Opens: Wednesday, April 3 at 9:00 AM (EDT)
• Closes: Friday, April 5 at 12:00 PM (EDT)
• Results available on Tuesday, April 9 at 5:00 PM (EDT)
• Add/drop for Clinics and Multi-section courses opens once the Phase 1 registration results are posted
• Review the Registrar's Office webpage about Registration Information for a full list of registration dates and events

Clinical Add/Drop Deadlines

Fall 2013

• Wednesday, September 4, 2013
• Final day to add or drop Fall clinics
• Some clinics have earlier add/drop deadlines (for security clearance or pre-requisite reasons); check clinic descriptions for each clinic's deadline

Winter 2014

• Friday, December 6, 2013
• Final day to add or drop Winter clinics
• Some clinics have earlier add/drop deadlines (for security clearance or pre-requisite reasons); check clinic descriptions for each clinic's deadline

Spring 2014

• Friday, January 17, 2014
• Final day to add or drop Spring clinics
• Some clinics have earlier add/drop deadlines (for security clearance or pre-requisite reasons); check clinic descriptions for each clinic's deadline

Dropping after the applicable deadline will result in an "Withdrawal" (WD) on your academic transcript. You cannot drop a multi-semester (e.g. Fall-Winter) clinical course after the first semester's (Fall) drop deadline.

Changing Clinical Credits

Students can change their clinical credits on Helios until the clinic's add/drop deadline. Once the add/drop deadline has passed, students no longer have the ability to change their credits on their own.

Students can request credit changes for several weeks after the add/drop deadline (for winter term, the period within which you may change credits is one week into the semester) by contacting the Registrar’s office (registrar@law.harvard.edu) before the following dates:

• Fall 2013 – October 7
• Winter 2014 – January 13
• Spring 2014 – February 24

After the above dates, all clinical credit changes must be approved by the Office of Clinical and Pro Bono Programs. It is critical that a student’s hours match their credit allotment (for fall/spring, 1 credit = 5 hours per week; for winter, 1 credit = 20 hours per week). It is the responsibility of each student to keep track of their hours to ensure their hours worked matches the requisite number of hours per credit. Each clinic is also responsible for monitoring student hours and performance.

• Student must contact their direct supervisor to gain approval of the change
• The clinical supervisor should email Maggie Bay stating the proposed credit change and the supervisor’s approval of such change
• The Office of Clinical and Pro Bono Programs will then determine if the change is approved and confirm the change with the Registrar’s office