VI. Registration Schedule and Course Change Deadlines

• Registration Overview
• Check-in Dates
• Course Registration Periods
• Non-Clinical Course Add/Drop Deadlines
• Non-Clinical Course Withdrawal Deadlines
• Clinical Course Add/Drop Deadlines
• Clinical Course Withdrawal Deadlines
•  Wait Lists for all Courses (including Clinicals)

A. Registration Overview

Students are responsible for knowing and meeting all Law School check-in, registration, and course change deadlines as set forth below.    

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B. Check-in Dates

•  LL.M. students in-person check-in: Beginning August 22, 2011 and must be completed by August 30, 2011
• New S.J.D. students  in-person check-in: Beginning August 22, 2011 and must be completed by September 9, 2011
• Continuing S.J.D. students check-in: Beginning August 22, 2011 and must be completed by September 16, 2011
• First-year J.D. students in-person check-in: August 26, 2011
• Second- and third-year J.D. students online check-in: Beginning August 15, 2011 and must be completed by August 31, 2011

All students must check in to the Law School at the start of the academic year. In-person check-in is required of first-year J.D. students, all LL.M. students, and first-year S.J.D. students. Second- and third-year J.D. students are encouraged to check in online, but may do so in person if necessary. All continuing S.J.D students who have received a financial aid award package must check in with the Graduate Program Office in person to get financial clearance prior to registration.  Students will not be allowed to check in late, unless they obtain permission from the Dean of Students, for J.D. students, or the Graduate Program, for LL.M. and S.J.D. students.

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C. Course Registration Periods

1) First-year J.D.: Students are assigned, according to their section, to the required 1L courses. First-year J.D. students register for the required spring course in international or comparative law and for the spring upper-level elective credits in the fall. 

2) Second- and third-year J.D.: Students register for all fall term electives, year-long, multi-section, and clinical courses in the prior spring, and usually register for winter and spring electives in November. 

3) LL.M.: Students register for all courses over the summer. 

4) All students: Students who fail to register during the appointed periods must wait until the beginning of the relevant add/drop period to complete course selection procedures and to add, drop, and wait-list courses. 

Specific course registration periods are established each year by the Registrar.

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D. Non-Clinical Course Add/Drop Deadlines

Table 3: Non-Clinical Course Add/Drop Deadlines

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E. Non-Clinical Course Withdrawal Deadlines

A student withdrawing from a course, seminar, or reading group after the last day of the add/drop period for the term will be considered to have withdrawn after the deadline, and the course, seminar, or reading group will be listed on his/her transcript with a “Withdrew after Deadline” (WD) notation. Withdrawal from a course, seminar, or reading group after the last day of classes in the course, seminar, or reading group will result in the student receiving an “F” in the course, seminar or reading group.

Exceptions to this policy are available only for a compelling reason such as illness or unforeseen circumstances. Students should contact the Dean of Students (dos@law.harvard.edu) and the Office of the Registrar (registrar@law.harvard.edu) to request an exception to this policy.

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F. Clinical Course Add/Drop Deadlines

Table 4: Clinical Course Add/Drop Deadlines

Registration for courses with clinical components (see Section III.B) is overseen by the Office of Clinical and Pro Bono Programs.  Adding, dropping, and waitlisting of clinical courses can be done online. A change in the number of clinical credits is handled directly by the Office of Clinical and Pro Bono Programs.  Note that the add/drop deadlines for clinical work are earlier than the add/drop deadlines for all other Law School courses, which are handled through the Registrar’s Office.

Some clinical courses have earlier add/drop deadlines. Please also see the Office of Clinical and Pro Bono Programs website at http://www.law.harvard.edu/academics/clinical/ for updates on clinical courses with early registration deadlines.

It is very important to note that dropping a clinical course means that the student will be dropped from both the classroom and clinical components of the course. If the student’s classroom and clinical work occur in different semesters, he or she must drop by the add/drop deadline of the first component. Both the classroom and clinical components must be completed in order for the student to receive credit.

If a student wishes to enroll in only the classroom component after dropping the clinical course, the student may do so online or at the Registrar’s Office following the appropriate procedures and depending on the availability of class section openings.

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G. Clinical Course Withdrawal Deadlines

A student who drops any component of a clinical course after the above-mentioned add/drop deadlines will have the course listed on his/her transcript with a “Withdrew after Deadline” (WD) notation. Exceptions to this policy will not be permitted, except for a compelling reason such as illness or unforeseen circumstances. Withdrawal from any component of a clinical course after the last day of classes in the course will result in the student receiving an “F” in the course. Students must contact the Office of Clinical and Pro Bono Programs to request an exception to this policy.

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H. Wait Lists for All Courses (including Clinicals)

Once the maximum enrollment for a course has been reached, enrollment is closed and a waitlist is formed. Admittance into a waitlisted course is strictly in order of the waitlist. Students who are offered a place in a course from the waitlist will be notified by email and must formally accept to be officially admitted into the course.

For more information on non-clinical courses and registration deadlines, please contact the Office of the Registrar (registrar@law.harvard.edu). For more information about clinical courses and registration deadlines, please contact the Office of Clinical and Pro Bono Programs (clinical@law.harvard.edu).

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