Registration

Currently enrolled students register in April for the fall semester and in November for the spring semester. Student registration is prioritized based on a student's matriculation term and their hours completed and in academic history. Students matriculating in the fall complete their registration during Orientation Week before classes begin in August. Students matriculating mid-year register during Mid-Year Orientation before classes begin in January. Students are strongly encouraged to meet with their divisional or major advisor to discuss their courses for the upcoming semester.

New students may not register or attend classes until they return a properly completed Health Data Form and meet immunization and TB screening requirements. Additionally, all first-time undergraduate students, including transfers, must meet the meningococcal meningitis vaccine requirement to live on campus. Immunizations required for admission are diphtheria/tetanus, measles, mumps, rubella, and meningococcal meningitis, with immunizations against hepatitis B and chicken pox recommended. The Mantoux tuberculin skin test is also required. A late fee of $30 is charged for failure to submit a fully completed health data form by the required date.

Each year, the Office of the Registrar publishes specific registration deadlines for the semesters of that year in the Academic Calendar. Deadline due dates for student account balances for each term are published here in the General Announcements under the appropriate sections and on the Bursar's Office website. Any student not registered as of the last day to add classes or any student who is in arrears or becomes in arrears after the last day to add classes will be withdrawn from the university. Withdrawn students will not be allowed to receive credit for the withdrawn semester.

Appeals to this policy must be addressed to the dean of undergraduates. If readmitted, students must petition the Committee on Examinations and Standing to add classes late and must pay a late registration fee of $125. Additionally, students who are readmitted after being withdrawn for nonpayment will be assessed a $375 readmission fee.

Drop/Add

During the first two weeks of classes, students may add or drop courses without penalty. After the second week of the semester, the following conditions apply for adds and drops. Undergraduate students:

• May not add courses after the second week of classes, except in extenuating circumstances and with the approval of the Committee on Examinations and Standing (a $100 fee per course will be assessed).
• May drop courses through the seventh week of classes without penalty.
• May not drop courses after the end of the seventh week of classes except in extenuating circumstances and with the approval of the Committee on Examinations and Standing (a $100 fee per course will be assessed). Students who receive approval to drop a course after the designated drop deadline will receive a grade of “W” for that course.

Newly matriculated undergraduate students, both new first-time and transfer students in their first full-term semester at Rice (Fall or Spring), are permitted to drop courses up to the last day of classes without a late fee. These same students, in their second semester at Rice, if that semester is a full-term Spring semester, are permitted to drop courses through the tenth week of classes.

Students matriculating in a Fall semester that desire to register in the summer immediately preceding their semester of matriculation, are permitted to register for one summer course, of up to four credit hours. During that Summer semester, these students are permitted to drop the registered course up to the last day of classes as posted in the Academic Calendar.

Students are allowed to change FWIS sections during the first two weeks of classes each semester, but they cannot drop one FWIS section without simultaneously adding another. After week two, FWIS courses cannot be dropped. In extraordinary circumstances, students may submit a petition to the Committee on Examinations and Standing who may approve a drop on an exception basis.

There are a small number of courses for which an approved drop-back provision exists. Under certain conditions, for the course pairings on that approved list, a student can drop from the advanced course into the identified lower course until the seventh week of class. More information on this, including the list of courses, may be found on the Office of the Registrar website, on the Drop-Back Provision page.

For courses with start and end dates not coinciding with Rice’s typical semester calendar, otherwise known as “part of term” courses, the Office of the Registrar will consult with the instructor and:

• Set the add deadline approximately one-seventh of the way into the course.
• Set the drop deadline approximately one-half of the way into the course.
• Post these special deadlines on the Office of the Registrar’s website, under Academic Calendars.

Students may not drop courses where the Honor Council has ruled a loss of credit.

Note: Weeks are defined as academic instruction; thus, midterm recess is not included in this calculation.

Course Load

During the fall and spring semesters, students at Rice normally enroll for 15 to 18 semester credit hours each semester. For most students, this allows completion of graduation requirements in 8 semesters. In some instances a student may feel the need to petition for a registration overload. Petitioning for a registration overload should be a last resort and only for students with truly extenuating circumstances that would necessitate a course overload.

Registration Overloads

• Students must secure permission in writing from either the Office of the Academic Advising or their appropriate major advisor(s) to register for more than 18 credit hours in any semester. Information on the registration overload petition process can be found on the Office of Academic Advising website. 
• Music students and architecture students are not held to this semester credit hour limit due to their unique curricula; the credit hour limit for these students is 20 credit hours per semester.
• No student may receive credit for more than 18 semester credit hours in a semester, including courses taken concurrently at another college or university, without prior written approval. See Other Special Circumstances Requiring Permission below.

Reduced Course Loads

If students have any questions about concurrent enrollment requests, please email aadv@rice.edu.

Course Numbering System

Courses numbered 100-499 are considered undergraduate-level, with the 100-299 sequence classified as lower-level (freshman/sophomore) and the 300-499 sequence classified as upper-level (junior/senior). Courses numbered 500-and-above are considered to be at the post-baccalaureate or graduate-level. Undergraduate and graduate students may, with departmental approval, take certain courses outside their designated level.

Full-Time and Part-Time Status

Undergraduate students must be registered for a minimum of 12 semester credit hours to be considered full-time status. Graduate students on Rice's three semester Academic Calendar must be registered for a minimum of 9 semester credit hours to be considered full-time status. Graduate students on Rice's four term (quadmester) Academic Calendar must be registered for a minimum of 6 semester credit hours to be considered full-time status.

Undergraduate students registered for less than 12 semester credit hours are considered part-time status in the fall and/or spring semesters. Graduate students on Rice's three semester Academic Calendar registered for less than 9 semester credit hours are considered part-time status. Graduate students on Rice's four term (quadmester) Academic Calendar registered for less than 6 semester credit hours are considered part-time status. Undergraduate students living on-campus are expected to be enrolled in at least 6 semester credit hours. Undergraduate students living on-campus and considering part-time status should consult their College Magister and the Office of Academic Advising for additional information.

Holds

Registration, official transcripts, degree verification, and other administrative processes may be impacted by a hold on a student account. Students may consult the website of the Office of the Registrar to discover why a hold exists and how to resolve the issue. As a business practice, the Office of the Registrar does not remove holds governed by another office or department.

Repeated Courses

Students may repeat courses previously taken; however the record of all attempts and the corresponding earned grades remain on the transcript. Additionally the grades for all attempts are included in both the term and overall grade point average calculations. If students repeat courses previously passed, credit is awarded only for the course with the highest grade. For example, a student took HIST 117 and received a grade of B. The student then repeated HIST 117 and received a grade of A. Both grades—the B and the A—appear on the transcript and are included in the student's GPA; however, the student only receives three credits toward the degree. On the transcript, a repeated course is indicated by one of the following values:

I – Included in GPA and earned hours
A – Included in GPA, but excluded from earned hours
E – Excluded from both GPA and earned hours

Each course attempt will be included in a student's academic history. Under no circumstances will repeated course attempts be removed from a student's academic history or official transcript, nor will a student be retroactively dropped from a course that they completed.

Some Rice University courses may be repeated for credit. They are specifically noted in the Course Offerings each semester. If a course may be repeated for credit, each grade appears on the permanent record and is included in the student's grade point average.

If students repeat courses for which they have received either advanced placement or transfer credit, the credit will be removed from the transfer or advanced placement credit. Nor can credit be received twice for students transferring in courses that repeat courses previously completed at Rice. Likewise, students will not receive transfer credit for courses previously completed at Rice with a passing grade, with the exception of courses designated as repeatable for credit. In extraordinary extenuating circumstances, an exception to the repeat transfer credit rule can be granted by the dean of undergraduates (for undergraduates).

Students may not receive credit twice for cross-listed, equivalent, or graduate/undergraduate equivalency courses taken at the same time. If the course is not repeatable, students may not receive credit for cross-listed, equivalent, or graduate/undergraduate equivalency courses taken in different semesters.

Change in Registration

The Academic Calendar lists deadlines for dropping or adding a course or section. This schedule is binding for all students. Adding or dropping a course, including transferring from one section to another or changing credit status in a course, must be accomplished online or through the completion of the appropriate forms and submission to the Office of the Registrar. Changing a course to/from audit status must be done by the deadlines as posted in the Academic Calendar for the applicable semester. If a student feels they have exceptional circumstances, they can request exceptions to these deadlines by petitioning the Committee on Examinations and Standing. 

Registration During Summer Sessions

Registration for the Summer Sessions begins in December of each year. Currently enrolled Rice students should register for summer courses online via ESTHER as per normal registration processes and procedures. Rice students should be aware that the registration and payment deadlines do differ, depending on the summer session, and should familiarize themselves with the Academic Calendar. Summer courses that do not generate enrollments sufficient to cover their costs may be canceled prior to the first day of class.  

Pass/Fail During Summer Sessions

Via ESTHER, currently enrolled Rice students can designate a summer course as a Pass/Fail during the summer sessions, or they may convert a summer Pass/Fail grade to the originally submitted letter grade. Students should adhere to the applicable Pass/Fail deadlines, as stated in the Academic Calendar.  

Auditing Courses During Summer Sessions

As noted in Auditing Courses, currently enrolled Rice students may audit one or more summer courses at Rice at the cost of the auditor fee for Rice alumni (see the Tuition, Fees, and Expenses page of the Bursar's Office website).