Except where noted, all information applies to both undergraduate and graduate students. Additional information concerning registration and academic policies applying only to graduate students is presented in the Graduate Division section of the Catalogue.
The Schedule of Classes contains current class offerings including time, room, instructor, capacity, number of enrolled students, number of students on the waitlist, Web links, status (open, waitlisted, full), and more. Access the Schedule of Classes on the University Registrar’s website. The Schedule of Classes is available just prior to the beginning of each quarter’s registration period (six weeks before the end of the current quarter).
The University Registrar’s website also includes registration and related information such as quarterly academic calendars, final examination schedules, and the Academic Honesty policy. The University Registrar’s website is the most timely source of information on new or changed policies, procedures, tuition and fees that could not be included in the Catalogue because of the latter’s annual publication schedule.
To receive academic credit for regular courses and other supervised instruction or research, a student must be officially registered prior to undertaking such activities. The registration process consists of two steps: payment of tuition and fees and enrollment in classes.
A Quarterly Academic Calendar of dates for enrollment and payment of tuition and fees is available on the University Registrar’s website.
The general procedures for registration are:
Using WebReg, students may add and drop classes, inquire about open sections, change their grading option or unit value for a variable unit course, put themselves on an official waiting list, and list their confirmed class schedule. Immediate feedback on the availability of a class and a student’s eligibility to enroll is provided. This includes course restrictions that may be placed or removed at any time throughout the enrollment periods by the department offering the course. Complete information about WebReg is available on the University Registrar’s website.
Students must enroll in classes before the end of the second week of instruction. Students enrolled in zero (0) units at the close of business at the end of the second week of instruction are assessed a $50 late enrollment charge.
Tuition and fees are assessed quarterly and appear on ZOT Account Online. Students who do not pay all required tuition and fees online or to the Central Cashier by the published fee payment deadline are subject to a $50 late payment charge.
The student is subject to both late charges if tuition and fees are not paid online or to the Central Cashier and the student does not enroll in classes by the registration deadlines, published in the Quarterly Academic Calendar on the University Registrar’s website.
Students who have not paid tuition and fees and/or have not enrolled in classes by 4 p.m. at the end of the third week of instruction will lose their student status. Visit the University Registrar’s website for more information on the loss of student status.
To avoid the expense and inconvenience of late registration, students are urged to enroll and pay tuition and fees well before the published registration deadlines. Students with financial need should make advance arrangements with the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships, or another source, to have funds available when tuition and fees are due.
Late registration (payment of tuition and fees and/or enrollment in classes) is permitted only in exceptional circumstances with the authorization of the student’s dean. A student who is allowed to apply late and, as a result, must pay tuition and fees and enroll late, is required to pay both late charges.
Once instruction begins, a student may add or drop classes, change the unit value of a variable unit course, or change the grading option via WebReg.
Generally, an undergraduate student may not enroll in more than 20 units or fewer than 12 units of course work during a given quarter without the permission of the student’s academic dean or, for undecided/undeclared students, the Dean of the Division of Undergraduate Education. However, during initial enrollment, undergraduate enrollment will be limited to 18 units. The maximum returns to 20 units during Open Enrollment. Changes to Pass/Not Pass grading must not cause the student to exceed the limitations to Pass/Not Pass enrollment. See the Pass/Not Pass section.
Graduate students may not enroll in more than 16 or fewer than eight units of graduate or upper-division credit without prior approval of the departmental graduate advisor.
Students may add courses through the end of the second week of instruction via WebReg. After the second week of instruction, an Enrollment Exception request is required.
Students may drop courses through the end of the second week of instruction via WebReg. After the second week of instruction through the end of the sixth week of instruction, an Enrollment Exception request is required.
Beginning the seventh week of instruction through the end of instruction, withdrawing from a course will result in the student receiving a W grade. W grades carry no grade points and are not calculated in the UC GPA.
Students may change the grading option and/or unit value of a course through the end of the second week of instruction via WebReg. After the second week of instruction through the end of the sixth week of instruction, an Enrollment Exception request is required.
An Enrollment Exception request requires the authorization of the dean or equivalent of the school or academic unit offering the course and the dean or equivalent of the student’s major. The authorization of the instructor may also be required when adding a course or changing the unit value of a variable unit course. Detailed information on Enrollment Exception requests is available on the University Registrar’s website.
Individual courses may occasionally have unique deadlines due to course impaction or instructional needs. Students should refer to the Schedule of Classes for information on specific courses.
Students are responsible for their enrollments. They must officially drop or withdraw from classes they have ceased attending. Students cannot simply discontinue attendance in a class. Adds, withdrawals, and changes to class enrollment are not permitted after the last day of instruction.
Undergraduate and Law students who pay tuition and fees for a regular academic term and then decide to withdraw from the University must submit a Withdrawal application via Student Access to the University Registrar’s Office. Medical students should submit the paper Withdrawal form to the Student Affairs Office in the School of Medicine. Withdrawals serve two purposes: (1) a refund of tuition and fees, if applicable (see the Tuition and Fee Refund section); and (2) automatic drops from classes.
The effective date of withdrawal is used in determining the percentage of tuition and fees to be refunded. This date is normally the date that the student submits the form to the appropriate dean for approval.
A W grade, indicating “withdrawal,” will be recorded for each course in which enrollment is withdrawn, if the student’s effective date of withdrawal is after the end of the sixth week of classes. (See W grade in the Grading System section.)
A graduate student in good academic standing who wishes to withdraw and intends to return within one year should submit both the Withdrawal form and an application for a Leave of Absence. Further information appears in the Graduate Division section.
New undergraduate students are encouraged to seek advice from their admissions or academic counselor to understand the consequences of withdrawal and their eligibility to return.
If an undergraduate student plans to leave the University after completing all academic work for the latest quarter of enrollment and has not paid tuition and fees for the next quarter, a formal notice of withdrawal is not necessary.
A student’s status may lapse for the following reasons: Failure to pay required tuition and fees by the prescribed deadline; failure to respond to official notices; failure to settle financial obligations when due or to make satisfactory arrangements with Campus Billing Services; failure to complete the admission health requirements; or failure to comply with admission conditions.
Each student who becomes subject to lapse of status is given advance notice and ample time to deal with the situation. However, if the student fails to respond to initial notices, action will be taken without further notice. A “hold” will be placed on all of the student’s records and the student will be entitled to no further services of the University except assistance toward clearing the hold. A student must satisfy the conditions which caused the lapse of status before the hold can be cleared.
Various programs exist that enable currently registered UCI students in good standing to take courses at other UC campuses, as well as at California State University and California Community College campuses. More information is available on the University Registrar’s website and from the academic advising offices.
If a UCI student wishes to enroll in a UCI Division of Continuing Education course concurrently with enrollment in regular courses, the entire program of study must be approved in advance by the dean of the student’s school (the Dean of the Division of Undergraduate Education, for undecided/undeclared students; the Dean of the Graduate Division, for graduate students). Fee information is available from the UCI Division of Continuing Education Registration Office.
Each School or program has its own standards for change of major. Once a student selects a major, or decides to change majors, the student should visit the academic advising office for their prospective major to obtain current information about prerequisites, program planning, and policies and procedures. For most majors, students may request a change of major by submitting an online application through StudentAccess. Further information and a list of excluded majors is available on the University Registrar’s website.
All Schools with exceptional requirements have major-change criteria approved by the Academic Senate and published on the UCI Change of Major Criteria website. Students changing majors may meet the approved major-change criteria of the unit they wish to enter that are in place at the time of their change of major or those in effect up to one year before.
The University Registrar’s Office maintains a permanent record of academic work completed by each student. Support documents for the academic record are kept for one year.
Students are strongly advised to carefully check their academic record quarterly. (Student copies of the academic record are available from the University Registrar’s Office shortly after the close of each quarter.) Discrepancies in the academic record should be reported to the University Registrar immediately. After one year, it is assumed that the student accepts the accuracy of their academic record, and supporting source documents are destroyed.
Student academic records may not be changed after one year or, in some cases, in less than one year if Academic Senate regulations specify a shorter time limit. For example, the notation “NR,” which means that no grade has been reported, must be removed within one quarter of subsequent enrollment or it will automatically be converted to the grade “F” (Fail), “NP” (Not Pass), or “U” (Unsatisfactory), whichever is appropriate. Similarly, an “I” grade (Incomplete) will convert to either an “F” (Fail), “NP” (Not Pass), or “U” (Unsatisfactory), whichever is appropriate, after remaining on the student’s record for 12 months. Both policies are defined under Senate Regulation IR A345.
The official transcript of a student’s academic record will be released only upon receipt of a signed request from the student authorizing the release.
Requests for transcripts by anyone other than the student whose transcript is being sought can be honored only (1) if the request is accompanied by a written authorization signed by the student whose transcript is sought; and (2) upon approval of the University Registrar.
For students subject to the one-time document fee, there is no additional cost for official transcripts. This includes current students, alumni, and former students. For students in self-supporting graduate programs, who are not subject to the one-time document fee, there is a $17 fee for each official transcript. For transcript orders placed online by all students, a $2.25 service charge is assessed by Parchment for each unique order. See the instructions on the University Registrar’s website.
Unofficial transcripts are available, free of charge, at the University Registrar’s Office, to students who present photo identification. Currently enrolled students can view their unofficial transcript in StudentAccess at the University Registrar’s website.
The University Registrar’s Office provides verifications of student status. Verifications may be needed for reference checks, bank loans, applications for good-student-driver insurance rates, sibling verifications, health insurance and Social Security payments.
For students subject to the one-time document fee, there is no additional cost for verifications. This includes current students, alumni, and former students. For students in self-supporting graduate programs, who are not subject to the one-time document fee, there is a $17 fee for each verification. For verification orders placed online by all students, a $2.75 service charge is assessed by Parchment for each unique order. See the instructions on the University Registrar’s website.
For verification purposes, enrollment in 12 units or more in regular sessions is considered full-time status; enrollment in 6.0–11.9 units is considered half-time status; enrollment in 5.9 units or less is considered less than half-time status. Enrollment in six units between all three summer sessions will be considered full-time
Students are strongly urged to consider the readmission policy in formulating plans for leaving or returning to UCI. Every effort will be made to readmit UCI students who were in good academic standing at the time they ceased attending and who have filed readmission applications by the deadline.
Former UCI students seeking readmission must contact the academic advising office of the School or program which offers their intended major to initiate a readmission application. A nonrefundable $70 Application Fee will be applied to the student’s ZOTBill.
Readmission is subject to dean’s approval and campus deadlines (Aug. 1 for fall quarter, Nov. 1 for winter quarter, and Feb. 1 for spring quarter).
New undergraduate students (first term) who enroll in classes, pay fees, but submit a withdrawal form after the 3rd week of the quarter are eligible to apply for readmission when ready to return to UCI. New students are not eligible for readmission if they submit a withdrawal form before the 3rd week of the quarter; these students will need to reapply for admission. New students who never pay fees or enroll in classes must also reapply for admission and are ineligible for readmission as described above.
If a student has been academically disqualified from the University or has left the University while on academic notice or is subject to disqualification, or has lost their student status, the student must apply for readmission.
Transcripts for courses taken at other institutions must be submitted to both the Office of Admissions and the academic advising office of the School or program which offers the intended major of the student applying for readmission.
A graduate student who withdraws and has not been granted a leave of absence approved by the Dean of the Graduate Division is considered to have lapsed student status (i.e., no longer has student status). A student whose status has lapsed must re-apply to a graduate program and can resume graduate study only if readmitted; readmission is not guaranteed. The online Application for Graduate Study, including the nonrefundable application fee, must be submitted by the published deadline for graduate admission applications. Refer to the statement on readmission which appears in the Graduate Division section for additional information.
UCI Commencement ceremonies are held in December and June each academic year for the graduating class. The full schedule of Commencement events is available on the Commencement website.
In order to receive a degree, an undergraduate student must submit an online Application for Graduation via the StudentAccess link on the University Registrar’s website no later than the published deadline. Graduate students must submit their advancement to Graduate Division. Specific deadline dates for filing the application and advancement are established quarterly so that candidates’ academic records can be reviewed to verify that all graduation requirements have been met. Students should contact their academic advising office for deadline and degree audit information.
Undergraduate students planning to graduate after a period of absence from the university must graduate in absentia. To graduate in absentia, the student must apply to graduate via the StudentAccess link on the University Registrar’s website. Upon degree certification, which takes place six weeks after the end of the quarter, a Graduation in Absentia filing will be submitted on behalf of the student. The student will not be subject to tuition and fees. The student will be required to pay the readmission fee only if the period of absence was for more than one certifying term.
Students completing a Ph.D., D.N.P or M.F.A. are eligible to participate in the Graduate Hooding Ceremony. Students are required to meet all filing deadlines and satisfy degree requirements in order to participate in the ceremony. Registration for eligible students opens in late March or early April; specific dates are listed on the Commencement website.
Diplomas will be mailed automatically to students with addresses within the United States four months after graduation. Students with international mailing addresses and students who graduated in the Fall 2023 term or earlier can request their diplomas by completing the Diploma Request Form.
Diplomas are sent via USPS certified mail to domestic addresses, or USPS registered mail to addresses outside the United States. Both services require a return receipt signature.
All debts, with the exception of long-term financial aid loans, and/or financial holds must be cleared with Campus Billing Services. Before leaving campus, graduating students should return all library materials, pay library fines, etc. Also, Financial Aid recipients are required to complete an exit interview before leaving campus.
University of California Irvine Official Seal
