Key Academic Processes

To submit add/drop petitions you should:

  1. Pick up a form from the House Office or the Registrar's Office
  2. Complete the form with a Number 2 pencil
  3. Get the signature of the course instructor (if you are adding a course)
  4. Get your Concentration Adviser's signature
  5. Bring the form back to the House Office for the Resident Dean to review and sign.

 

To submit pass/fail petitions you should:

  1. Pick up a form from the House Office or the Registrar's Office
  2. Complete the form using a ball point pen
  3. Get the signature of the course instructor (if changing the course from letter-graded to pass-fail status)
  4. Get your Concentration Adviser's signature
  5. Bring the form back to the House Office for the Resident Dean to review and sign.

 

Cross-Registration

The College allows you to enroll in courses at other Schools within the University and at MIT. To submit a Cross-Registration petition to the FAS Registrar:

  1. Get a form from the House Office or the Registrar's Office
  2. Complete the form entirely and sign it using a ball point pen.
  3. Get the course instructor at the other school to sign the form
  4. Get the signature of the other school's Registrar (some schools use a stamp)
  5. Bring it to the House Office for the Resident Dean to review and sign

 

Change of Concentration

  1. To change concentrations, you will need to first meet with an adviser in the department you wish to switch into, so that you can be sure that you can fulfill all of the requirements in your remaining time at the College.
  2. Once you have had that conversation with the new department, use the Plan of Study tool on the Registrar's website and update it to reflect your change, following the same steps you took when you declared your concentration initially.
  3. Print out your new Plan of Study and get the required signatures before bringing to the House Office for the Resident Dean to review and sign.

 

Cross-Register into all Harvard Schools except HKS
Into all Harvard Schools except the Harvard Kennedy School
Steps (steps 1 and 2 may be done in either order): 

  1. Student enters placeholder on study card, there is a “cross registration” button on the study card tool that they can use to add this placeholder.
  2. Student completes a petition on “the portal”: www.coursecatalog.harvard.edu. There are full instructions on that website under the “Cross-Registration” tab.
  3. Petition is electronically delivered to the Resident Dean for approval. Note: The RD may forward the email to an ARD and that ARD will be allowed to approve the petition on behalf of the RD.
  4. If approved by RD/ARD, petition is electronically delivered to the Instructor for approval.
  5. If approved by Instructor, petition is electronically delivered to the Host School
  6. If approved by the Host School, the student is registered into the Host School’s student information system.
  7. Host School notates student as “enrolled” in portal.
  8. FAS Registrar’s Office replaces the placeholder with the actual registration in our system.

 

Cross-Register into HKS

Steps (steps 1 and 2 may be done in either order):

Student enters placeholder on study card; there is a “cross registration” button on the study card tool that they can use to add this placeholder.

  1. Student completes an electronic petition on the HKS website.
  2. Student completes the paper form Undergraduate Cross-Registration Petition – Harvard Kennedy School.
  3. Student obtains the Resident Dean’s signature.
  4. Student obtains the Instructor’s signature.
  5. Student takes the form to the HKS Registrar’s Office at 124 Mt. Auburn St., Suite 165.
  6. Student LEAVES the form at the HKS Registrar’s Office.
  7. If the student is admitted into the the course the HKS Registrar will sign the form and return it to the FAS Registrar’s office.
  8. FAS Registrar’s Office replaces the placeholder with the actual registration in our system.

 

Cross-Register into MIT

Steps (steps 1 and 2 may be done in either order): 

  1. Student enters placeholder on study card, there is a “cross registration” button on the study card tool that they can use to add this placeholder.
  2. Student completes the paper form Undergraduate Cross-Registration Petition Form, available from the Resident Dean, the Freshman Dean’s Office or the FAS Registrar’s Office 
  3. Student obtains the Resident Dean’s signature.
  4. Student obtains the Instructor’s signature.
  5. Student brings two copies to the MIT Registrar’s Office at 77 Mass Ave for a signature.
  6. Student leaves one copy at MIT and returns the other copy to the FAS Registrar’s Office, 20 Garden St.
  7. FAS Registrar’s Office replaces the placeholder with the actual registration in our system.