Registration Requirements

GSAS students are required to register every term as a condition of remaining enrolled in their program, including when they are working on their dissertation. Registration entitles students to attend classes, receive financial aid, and use the libraries, laboratories, and other facilities of the university. Below you will find an overview of registration requirements, registration status options, and resources to assist you in planning your enrollment throughout your program.

All PhD students and the majority of Master's students in GSAS are required to be registered full-time for the duration of their program. Master's students seeking to be enrolled part-time must be approved to do so, either when admitted to their program or, subsequently, with the approval of their Director of Graduate Studies and the GSAS Dean's Office.

Full-time registration process 

To be registered full-time, students must enroll in a minimum of 3 course credits. Courses offered in the Graduate School are typically 1 course credit, though some courses may be .5 or 2 credits. Course credit weight is included in the course listings on Yale Course Search. 

PhD students who have completed their coursework requirement, or who do not need to enroll in 3 course credits in order to do so in a given semester, must enroll in the research course relevant to their degree progress. While individual departments and programs may have their own research course offerings, the following research courses confer 3 course credits:

PCAN 9999: Precandidacy Research

QUAL 9999: Preparing for Qualifying Exams

CAND 9999: Prep: Admission to Candidacy

DISR 9999: Dissertation Research in Residence

DISA 9999: Dissertation Research in Absentia (enrollment in this course is automatic upon approval of request for registration in absentia; only students approved for registration in absentia are eligible to be enrolled in this course)

Detailed information on how to enroll in course credits can be found on the Registrar's website here.

Registration deadlines

Deadlines governing registration and enrollment are listed on the GSAS Academic Calendar. GSAS students must register for the semester by no later than the last day of add/drop period. Students who do not register by that date will be charged a $50 late registration fee.

Registration in residence

Students who are studying on campus, attending classes, and using university facilities are considered to be registered in residence. All Master's students must register in residence each term unless they are approved for a leave of absence. All Ph.D. students must also register in residence, with the exception of those Ph.D. students who are approved for Registration in Absentia, Non-Cumulative Registration Status, Dissertation Completion Status, or a leave of absence (see below).

Students registered in residence are expected to attend to all academic obligations in person, on campus for the duration of the semester.

Additional Registration Options for PhD Students

PhD students whose program of study requires full-time dissertation research, full-time fieldwork, or full-time study at another academic institution or location outside the New Haven area as a necessary condition of completing the degree may request to register in absentia.

See here for information about how to request registration in absentia.

Next:

In certain areas of study, it may be necessary for a registered PhD student to acquire an academic or methodological skill, such as knowledge of a foreign language, that is essential for their degree progress, but is neither a degree requirement nor an inherent part of the dissertation itself. PhD students can request up to one year of noncumulative registration status in order to acquire this skill.

See here for information about noncumulative registration.

 

Next:

PhD candidates who are not eligible for full-time registration, or who choose to undertake full-time employment prior to dissertation submission, may request to enroll in Dissertation Completion Status. This less-than-half-time status enables advanced PhD candidates to maintain an active NetID in order to access electronic resources and their Yale email accounts while completing the dissertation.

See here for information about Dissertation Completion Status.

Pausing Enrollment: Leaves of Absence

Leaves of absence
Students who need to pause their program of study for an academic term or year have the option of requesting a leave of absence. Use the link above to find detailed information about taking a leave of absence from your graduate program.

Registration resources

Featured Resource

Registration Resources (University Registrar's Office)

https://registrar.yale.edu/registration/gsas-registration

A comprehensive guide to registration deadlines, processes, forms, and systems maintained by the University Registrar's Office. Students must register every term in which they are enrolled in the Graduate School. Registration for a given term takes place the semester prior, and so it's important to stay on top of your academic plan.

Yale Hub

https://yub.yale.edu/

Yale Hub is a self-service student portal for administrative, financial, and academic information. You can use it to register for courses, check grades, resolve registration holds, update your mailing address, change your preferred name, and more.

Academic Calendar

The Graduate School's academic calendar lists important dates and deadlines related to coursework, registration, financial processes, and milestone events such as graduation.

Yale Course Search

https://courses.yale.edu

Yale Course Search (YCS) is the university's online course catalogue. Here, you can find course descriptions, scheduling information, and syllabi for courses offered in the Graduate School.

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