Cross-Registration for Non-HLS Students

• Cross Registration Petitions are reviewed on specific dates. Fall 2024 cross-registering petitions will be reviewed by HLS beginning on September 11th. Please review the Cross Registration Calendar for more information.
• Harvard students interested in cross-registering into the Law School must submit petitions through my.Harvard. MIT students should review MIT procedures for cross registering for Harvard courses. Tufts students must petition through the Cross-Registration System.
• HLS does not permit electronic Audit or Listener requests through my.Harvard or the Cross-Registration system or electronic requests of any kind. Any petitioner wishing to audit a course for no-credit must follow instructions and submit a signed Request to Audit Form.
• All petitioners must be in compliance with the HLS Cross-Registration Calendar.
• Technical my.Harvard cross-registration help can be found in the Knowledge Center.

APPROVED vs. ENROLLED: 

• Petition approval from the faculty member does not guarantee enrollment by the HLS Registrar’s Office. Petitioners must receive confirmation of enrollment into the class by the HLS Registrar’s Office to complete the cross-registration.
• If your status is “Pending Host Registrar,” it is by design as it means petitioners will be notified if they are accepted to enroll into a class 1 to 3 business days after the HLS add/drop deadline. If enrolled, students will be granted access to the course canvas site. You can check your petition status by select the (i) icon next to the petition.
• Cross-Registration enrollment is determined by a course’s maximum enrollment capacity and remaining availability after the HLS add/drop deadline in the petitioned class.

General Process: 

• After submitting your petition, contacting faculty for notification or approval is not required. The faculty is notified by the system and the decision on the petition will happen within my.Harvard. Once a faculty decision is made, a system email will be sent concerning the result of the petition.
• When the Registrar’s Office starts the cross-registration enrollment process after the HLS add/drop deadline, enrollment will be offered to those that have approved petitions to courses with space to accommodate cross-registrants.
• If approved for enrollment by the HLS Registrar’s Office, a system email will send a notification. To accept your offer and be officially enrolled, students must select “enroll” into the course in my.Harvard. Students will not gain official access to the course Canvas page until enrollment is accepted. Instructions on how enroll in my.Harvard can be found in the Knowledge Center.

• Most HLS courses presuppose that you have a basic understanding of legal vocabulary and the legal system. Discuss your qualifications for the course/seminar in detail and in advance with the instructor.
• You must be from a Home School in which HLS has a formal cross-registration relationship with.
• You must be and remain a registered, full-time student at your Home School for the duration of your cross-registration.
• You must remain in good standing at your Home School and at HLS for the duration of your cross-registration.
• You may not make arrangements outside the HLS Registrar’s Office with an HLS instructor to receive a grade or credit for any academic work.
• There is NO cross-registration into the first-year basic courses: Civil Procedure, Contracts, Criminal Law, Legislation and Regulation, 1L International or Comparative, Problem Solving Workshop, Property, Torts, and Legal Research and Writing.
• All academic work must be completed in the term in which cross-registration is taken and by HLS semester deadlines.
• Cross-registrants are allowed to take a maximum of 6 credits at HLS in an academic year, audits included.
• The availability of enrollment in waitlisted courses is determined by the HLS Registrar’s Office.
• You may not take a course/seminar that is substantively the same as one taken previously at HLS.

• For cross-registrants who expect to graduate in the term during which they are cross-registered at HLS: if the date by which your Registrar requires your final grades to clear you for graduation precedes the “HLS Grades Due” date for the semester, you should not cross-register at HLS in that semester for credits required for your degree.
• At the time you cross-register, check with the HLS Registrar’s staff to determine what date HLS grades are due.

• Sections that are listed as “Reading Groups” typically have a 12 enrollment capacity and tend to be difficult for cross-registrants to enroll into due to the limited capacity. “Seminars” typically have a 22 enrollment capacity and “Courses” can have enrollment capacities from 30 to 125.
• As final enrollment into an HLS course is not guaranteed and is often given notice to students after their Home School’s add/drop deadline, it is recommended that petitioners do not plan their Home School schedule around enrollment into HLS as a cross-registrant. All schools have policies and procedures in place to accommodate late cross-registration enrollment after their add/drop deadline. Please contact your Home Registrar’s Office for their official policies.
• The majority of courses in the HLS catalog is available for cross-registrants to submit petitions. Some courses will have seats set aside specifically for cross-registered students and will be indicated so in the course descriptions.
• There is NO cross-registration into the first-year basic courses: Civil Procedure, Contracts, Criminal Law, Legislation and Regulation, 1L International or Comparative, Problem Solving Workshop, Property, Torts, and Legal Research and Writing. There are no exceptions.
• HLS will not allow enrollment into courses with time-conflicts or schedule overlap. Cross-registrants must choose their more preferred course if such a case occurs. There are no exceptions.
• At the start of the term, cross-registrants may attend any class in which they petition, provided the professor permits the attendance and there is physical space to do so. If the classroom is physically full, petitioners may be asked to vacate their seat for enrolled students. Sitting on stairways, the floor, or pulling in seating from another room is not permitted.
• If you are a Tufts student, you will have access to enter the HLS library, but you will not be able to borrow a book. To borrow a book, you will need to pay an additional fee. Please connect with your home school library for more information.

• Pending petitions can be cancelled or withdrawn any time in during the petitioning period in reference to the specific term in the HLS Cross-Registration Calendar. The student may cancel petitions in my.Harvard or the appropriate registration portal.
• To withdraw from enrollment after formal enrollment notification from the HLS Registrar, please follow the steps below.

• Students who wish to drop a course after the cross-registration petition is accepted and the student is enrolled by the HLS Registrar must do so by the earlier add/drop deadline and must contact their Home School Registrar and complete the add/drop procedures as designated by their Registrar’s Office.
• Once the student completes the withdrawal with their Home School, their Registrar’s Office will notify the HLS Registrar’s Office at which time, the student will be officially withdrawn from HLS and the student’s access to the course canvas site will be removed.
• Students who do not drop a cross-registered course following the procedures of their Home School will be considered enrolled in the course and will receive a grade for it.

• Please review the HLS Exam Schedule before you cross-register.
• ALL EXAMINATIONS MUST BE TAKEN AS SPECIFIED IN THE HLS EXAM SCHEDULE.
• No adjustments will be made, and HLS does not give make-up examinations.
• Papers are not accepted in lieu of exams unless the instructor offers the option in advance to the entire class.
• Cross-registrants will not have access to the HLS exam questions archive. If you are enrolled in a course at HLS, please contact your course TA for copies of the previous exams.

• Report of grades is obtained from your Home Registrar’s Office.
• The HLS grading system is H, P, LP and F. Designated courses are graded CR/F(Credit/Fail). Except in courses so designated, Credit/Fail is not an option and cannot be arranged separately with the professor. The grade CR may also apply in special circumstances with approval of the HLS Administrative Board.
• A student who withdraws from a course or seminar after the add/drop deadline but before the last day of class in the course or seminar will receive a WD (Withdrew after Deadline). A student who withdraws after the last day of the course or seminar will receive an “F.”