Registration

Enrollment Policies

On this page:

Student information

As part of registration, you must provide your legal name, gender, date of birth, e-mail address, and current postal mailing address.

All critical school announcements, such as class cancellations, and most faculty communications are sent via e-mail. You must maintain an active e-mail address throughout your enrollment in distance education courses. To protect the privacy and security of your student records, you must provide an e-mail address that is unique and not shared with any other person within the Division of Continuing Education student database. Duplicate e-mail addresses will be inactivated. Within 2 days of registering, you are eligible to create a unique Harvard e-mail account if you do not already have a private e-mail address.

You are responsible for maintaining accurate contact information (postal address, e-mail address, telephone numbers) with the Extension School. If we receive notice that your e-mail address has been rejected by the e-mail host, we will inactivate that e-mail address in our system. Similarly, we will inactivate a postal mailing address if mail to that address is returned as not deliverable.

You may view and change your contact information through online services. You may also view your biographical information via online services, but to report a legal name change, a birth date or Social Security number correction, or changes to other biographical information, you must submit a biographical change form with documentation to the Registrar’s Office.

You are responsible for the accuracy of biographical information that you submit online and on all paper forms and applications. Submission of fraudulent information is subject to review by the Administrative Board and may be grounds for disciplinary action.

Course prerequisites

Prerequisites are listed in course descriptions. Placement tests and proof of English proficiency are required for a number of courses. If you register without having course prerequisites you may be withdrawn.

In some courses, instructors give in-class assignments at the first meeting to confirm that students have met course prerequisites and are proficient in English language. Based on the results of these assignments, students also may be required to withdraw or move into courses that are more appropriate for their skill level and prior education.  

For courses that require writing samples, you must be registered or waitlisted for your materials to be reviewed. For distance education courses, you are responsible for ensuring that you have the necessary computer systems, software (including all software needed to complete course assignments), and Internet access to view the course videos.

Enrollment status

One credit is equivalent to 1 semester hour. Full-time enrollment is 14 credits per term or enrollment in a graduate thesis or internship course. Half-time enrollment is 8 credits. Courses for which you have withdrawal (WD), required-to-withdraw (RQ), and administrative withdrawal (WA) grades are excluded from these definitions. Certifications of current enrollment status, including loan deferment certifications, are based on these calculations. If you are enrolled full time, you must comply with Massachusetts immunization regulations.

Maximum credit enrollment. You may enroll in no more than 16 credits per term unless you are an Extension School candidate in a degree, certificate, diploma, or health careers program and you receive your program advisor’s approval. If you do not have this approval and you register for more credits than the maximum, you must drop your overload course(s) by the registration deadline, or you will be dropped from those courses by the registrar.

In January session, you may enroll in no more than 4 credits.

Time conflicts. You may not be enrolled in courses that meet at the same or overlapping times unless at least 1 of the courses is also offered online. If you register for courses with time conflicts, you must drop 1 or more of the conflicting courses by the late registration deadline, or you will be dropped from those courses by the registrar.

Registration confirmation

You may print a copy of your registration schedule from online services. You are also sent a registration confirmation via e-mail if you register online. Your registration confirmation constitutes proof of registration, and you should have it with you when you are on the Harvard campus. In compliance with security regulations, you may be asked to present your confirmation with a photo ID for admission to certain classrooms in the Science Center, Longwood Medical area, and other buildings on the Harvard campus.

Harvard University photo ID cards are only issued to students who have been admitted to Extension degree and diploma programs.

Immunizations

In compliance with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and Harvard University immunization regulations, if you enroll full time (14 credits) or while on a visa, you must submit proof of immunization against certain communicable diseases. Have a certificate of immunization form completed by your healthcare provider, and submit it to the Registrar’s Office by August 28 for fall and January 22 for spring. The form requires certification of the following immunizations:

Documentation of a positive blood test for immunity to measles, mumps, rubella, and hepatitis B is acceptable in lieu of immunizations. For immunizations requiring more than 1 vaccine (measles, rubella, mumps, hepatitis B), you must submit proof that you have begun the series and have had as many of the vaccines as possible within the specified time frame.