Special Situations

• Students Expecting to Graduate in February
• Changing the Undergraduate Major
• Cross-registering at Harvard, MassArt, SMFA, and Wellesley
• Declaring an Undergraduate Minor
• Exploratory Option for Sophomores
• Incomplete Work
• Junior-Senior P/D/F Option
• Listener Status (Auditing)
• Repeating a Subject
• Pursuing a Second Bachelor's Degree
• Study Abroad/Domestic Study Away
• Transfer Credit
• Advanced Standing Examinations

At the beginning of the term in which a student expects to graduate, he or she must submit an online degree application.

Submit an application if there is any chance you will finish your degree; there is no fine for later removing yourself from the degree candidate list.

Applications for students expecting to graduate in February are due by Friday, September 5($40 late fee).

See the graduating students site for a complete checklist and calendar of deadlines.

A student who plans to change his or her undergraduate major must complete a Change of Major Form available at the Student Services Center, 11-120, or Registrar's Office, 5-119.

The student should meet with the academic administrator in the new department before submitting the form. He or she should also check with the Registrar's Office, 5-119, for information on how the change will affect the GIR degree audit.

A change of major requested during a specific term will take effect during that term if a completed Change of Major Form is submitted to the Registrar's Office before the end of the eighth week.

After the end of the eighth week, the change will take effect at the beginning of next term unless the change is within the same department, which will take effect immediately; for example, Course 3 to 3B.

More information about changing majors can be found in U-Info.

MIT students do not include cross-registered subjects on their pre-registration, but they should make themselves aware of deadlines and procedures for cross-registering at the different schools. It is advisable to begin exploring cross-registration early.

You must meet the earlier of MIT's or the other school's cross-registration or add/drop/change deadlines and must abide by the rules of both MIT and the school into which you are cross-registering.

You must be full-time at MIT in order to cross-register. An undergraduate student is considered full-time if registered for 36 or more MIT units; a graduate student is considered full-time if charged full tuition.

Special Students are considered full-time if paying full tuition during a term. If at any point during the term tuition falls below full, any cross-registered subjects will have to be dropped.

MIT's fall term cross-registration deadline is Friday, October 3 (Add Date).

Harvard

Each school at Harvard has its own Registrar's Office and its own academic calendar. Be sure to check the class schedule and cross-registration deadlines for the particular school you are interested in.

The cross-registration program does not include classes at the Harvard Extension School or Harvard Summer School. Additionally, undergraduates may not cross-register at the Business School.

No more than one-half of your total units for a term may be taken at Harvard.

Undergraduates: Cross-registration forms are available at the HASS Education Office, 14N-408 hass-www@mit.edu, 617-253-4441. See more about guidelines and procedures.

Graduate Students: Cross-registration forms are available from the Student Services Center, 11-120. See more about guidelines and procedures .

MassArt and SMFA

Undergraduate students only may register for a subject at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design or the School of the Museum of Fine Arts. Only one subject per term may be taken from either school. All subjects will be graded P/D/F and cannot be used to fulfill Institute, departmental, or minor requirements. Cross-registration forms are available from the Student Services Center, 11-120. See more about procedures and subject offerings.
 

Wellesley

Classes at Wellesley College begin Tuesday, September 2.

MIT students should list each one-unit Wellesley subject on their Registration Forms or Add/Drop/Change Forms for 12 MIT units (with some exceptions for lab subjects).

Students must also complete Wellesley registration at the Wellesley Registrar's Office, Room 334, Green Hall, open Mon-Fri 8:30 am-4:30 pm. To register at Wellesley, students will need the yellow copy of their signed MIT Registration Form or signed MIT Add/Drop/Change Form listing the Wellesley subject(s). See more about guidelines and procedures.

• HASS Minors
• Management Minors

Guidelines for a Minor in Science, Engineering, or Architecture

• Minor Fields
• Minor Programs consist of five to seven subjects, though generally six. These subjects may count as well toward General Institute Requirements and Departmental Program Requirements.
• Subjects taken under the Junior-Senior P/D/F grading option cannot be used for a Minor Program.
• At the discretion of the Minor Advisor, transfer credit may be used to fulfill a portion of the Minor Program. MIT subjects (including those taken through cross-registration) must comprise at least half of the Minor Program.
• You may not take a Minor in the area of your major. Composite degrees in which the degree title expresses two different fields do not allow Minors in either field (e.g. S.B. in Mathematics with Computer Science, S.B. in Humanities and Science).
• You may not earn more than a total of two minors.
• Minors can be awarded only at the same time you receive the S.B. degree, and must be associated with a specific degree.
• The Minor Program should be designated by the end of your sophomore year but no later than Add Date one full term before the term in which you expect to receive the S.B. degree.
• To apply for a minor, download a Minor Application Form.
• Meet with the Minor Advisor in your chosen field to plan your program of study and complete the application. Bring a copy of your unofficial transcript (available free of charge from the Student Services Center, 11-120) to the meeting.
• You must file the Minor Completion Form by the end of the third week of the term in which you plan to receive the S.B. degree - even if you are taking subjects in your final term to complete the Minor. $40 late fee. You risk not being awarded the Minor if the form is submitted late.

Sophomores may designate any subject as Exploratory, including an Institute or departmental requirement or a cross-registered subject taken at another school.

Two deadlines have been established specifically for Exploratory subjects:

• Sophomores may designate subjects as Exploratory through Add Date (the deadline for adding a subject).


• Students may change Exploratory subjects from credit to Listener through Registration Day of their next semester at MIT.

The regular deadlines for adding and dropping subjects and for changing from Listener to credit remain in effect.

After the student has turned in the signed Registration Form, changes must be made by submitting Add/Drop/Change Forms by the deadlines below.

Undergraduate Students

If the grade of I has been received, the completion date for outstanding work normally should be before Add Date of the succeeding regular term (fall or spring). However, the instructor, in negotiation with the student, has the right to set an earlier or later date for pedagogical reasons or extenuating circumstances.

The instructor is required to submit an Instructor’s Report form for every Incomplete grade reported for an undergraduate. On the form the instructor provides the date by which the outstanding work is to be completed and a default final grade. The default final grade represents the grade the student would have earned, using appropriately low scores for the missing work.

If the subject has not been completed by Add Date of the succeeding regular term, the default final grade will be posted to the student's record unless a later deadline has been specifically agreed between the instructor and the student.

If the grade of I has been received, the outstanding work must be completed before the end of the fifth week of the succeeding term of the regular academic year. Graduate students may extend the five-week deadline with the explicit approval of the faculty member in charge.

To complete an Incomplete after the five-week deadline, graduate students must petition the Office of the Dean for Graduate Education (DGE). Petitions are available in the DGE Office, 3-138. A final grade will not be posted until an approved petition is received in the Registrar's Office.

The grade of I will remain on the transcript and will not be converted to any other grade, even if the work is never completed. Once the work has been completed, the internal grade report and external transcript will show the final grade next to the I grade (e.g., I/B).

For more information, contact the Registrar's Office, records@mit.edu, 5-119.
 

During their junior and senior years, undergraduate students may register for up to a total of two elective subjects in which they choose to receive a P/D/F rather than regular grades, where P means C- or better performance.

These subjects cannot be used to fulfill the General Institute Requirements or minor, writing, or departmental requirements. However, the subjects will count in the total of units completed beyond the General Institute Requirements. See your undergraduate degree audit on WebSIS.

They may be taken in the same term or in separate terms, including IAP.

A P grade is not used in computing term and cumulative GPAs but D and F grades are used.

The student must submit an Add/Drop Form before the end of the fifth week of the term (Add Date) if he or she decides to change the P/D/F designation for a subject. Changes may not be made in this designation after the fifth week of the term.

Note: registering for a subject designated as P/D/F in the Catalogue and online subject listing does not count as using one of the two P/D/F options.

Students may attend any subject without taking it for credit by registering as a Listener.

Students may register and receive full credit for the subject in a subsequent term.

Students who have been registered as a Listener in a subject may not take an advanced standing examination in that subject.

The tuition charge for subjects taken as a Listener is the same as if taken for credit.

Add Date is the deadline for changing a subject to credit status. Drop Date is the deadline for changing from credit to Listener status.

Listener registration does not appear on the student's external transcript.

A registered regular student who wishes to receive credit for work done at another college must:

• Submit a Request for Additional Credit Form, approved by the appropriate MIT Transfer Credit Examiner. The completed form should be submitted to the MIT Registrar's Office, 5-119.

• Arrange for an official transcript to be sent directly to the MIT Registrar's Office showing the work and final grade(s).

  If the transcript is in a language other than English, a translation must be provided to the MIT Registrar's Office. This can be done by a licensed translator or the student may translate it and have a faculty member in the MIT Foreign Languages and Literatures department sign it to certify it as a true translation.

The student should consult the Transfer Credit Examiner before registering at another college to ensure the subject is suitable for transfer credit and to check if a minimum grade is required.

The examiner may award credit for a particular MIT subject or, if there is no equivalent subject, may award elective credit.

A subject used to fulfill a requirement for a degree awarded at another institution will not be accepted for credit at MIT.

Transfer credit will appear on the student's academic record with a grade of S. This grade is not used in computing the student's term or cumulative rating (GPA) but the credit will count toward Institute requirements.