Cross-Registration for Non-HLS Students

• Registration
• Eligibility
• Petitions
• Limits
• Catalog, Course Schedule, Exam Schedule, and Calendar
• Dropping a Course
• Examinations
• Notice to degree candidates
• Grades

Registration

Completion of cross-registration through the HLS Registrar's Office is required. A student will not be officially enrolled in a course unless a cross-registration petition is filled out, with all signatures, and properly filed by the student with the HLS Registrar's Office. A petition cannot be filed later in the year and operate retroactively. Cross-registered students are subject to all HLS deadlines and regulations, unless those of your own school are more strict.

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Eligibility

Most HLS courses presuppose that you have a basic understanding of legal vocabulary and the legal system. Discuss your qualifications for the course/seminar in detail and in advance with the instructor. You must be and remain a registered, full-time student at your home school for the duration of your cross-registration. You must remain in good standing at your home school and at HLS for the duration of your cross-registration. You may not make arrangements outside the HLS Registrar's Office with an HLS instructor to receive a grade or credit for any academic work.

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Petitions

Petitions to cross-register must be filed in person at the HLS Registrar's Office, with all required signatures, by HLS deadlines. Use the petition found online at the Harvard University Cross-Registration website or another form specified by your school.

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Limits

All academic work must be completed in the term in which cross-registration is taken and by HLS semester deadlines. Cross-registrants are allowed to take a maximum of 6 credits at HLS in an academic year, audits included. There is NO cross-registration into the first-year basic courses of Civil Procedure, Contracts, Criminal Law, Legislation and Regulation, Property,Torts, or Legal Research and Writing. The availability of seats in waitlisted courses is determined by the HLS Registrar's Office. (Waitlisted courses are designated in the HLS Course Schedule) You may not take a course/seminar that is substantively the same as one taken previously at HLS.

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Catalog, Course Schedule, Exam Schedule, and Calendar

The latest HLS Course Descriptions, Course Schedule, Exam Schedule, and Academic Calendar are posted on the HLS Registrar's Home Page.

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Dropping A Course

File a drop form at your own Registrar's Office. In addition to the deadlines of your school, check HLS drop deadlines in course descriptions and in the calendar above; the earliest deadline prevails. You should also check to see if the course you hold is oversubscribed; oversubscribed courses are marked "waitlisted" in the HLS Course Schedule. The drop deadline for oversubscribed courses is Noon on the business day after the first class meeting, whether or not you attend the first class. Students in an over-subscribed course after this deadline cannot drop the course without a WD (see Grades below).Many courses have early drop deadlines. Check HLS Handbook for rules on deadlines for course changes.

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Examinations

Please review the  HLS Exam Schedule before you cross-register. ALL EXAMINATIONS MUST BE TAKEN AS SPECIFIED IN THE HLS EXAM SCHEDULE. No adjustments will be made, and HLS does not give make-up examinations. Papers are not accepted in lieu of exams unless the professor offers the option in advance to the entire class.

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Notice To Degree Candidates

A caution to cross-registrants who expect to graduate in the term during which they are cross-registered at HLS. If the date by which your Registrar requires your final grades to clear you for graduation precedes the "HLS Grades Due" date for the semester, you should not cross-register at HLS in that semester for credits required for your degree. At the time you cross-register, check with the HLS Registrar's staff to determine what date HLS grades are due.

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Grades

Report of grades is obtained from your home Registrar's Office. The HLS grading system is H, P, LP and F. Designated courses are graded CR/F(Credit/Fail). Except in courses so designated, Credit/Fail is not an option and cannot be arranged separately with the professor. The grade CR may also apply in special circumstances with approval of the HLS Administrative Board. The notation WD (Withdrew after Deadline) is applied when a student withdraws from a course or seminar after the DROP deadline* but before the exam is given.

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