How and When to Enroll
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Understanding the Enrollment Process
Wondering how and when to enroll in classes? The enrollment process at UC Santa Cruz includes several important steps, from reviewing your enrollment appointment to selecting courses, registering, and making any necessary changes. This guide outlines what to do and when, so you can stay on track and make informed decisions as you build your schedule each quarter.
1. Check Enrollment Appointment
- Your enrollment appointment is the date and time when you can begin enrolling in courses.
- You can find your assigned appointment by logging into MyUCSC, going to the Student Center, and looking at the “Enrollment Dates” section on the right-hand side.
- Click the “Details” link to see information on appointment times and number of credits in which you may enroll.
- Enrollment timelines are listed on the Enrollment Appointment Schedule and/or the Academic and Administrative Calendar.
- UCSC uses a “two pass” enrollment system.
- Students who are frosh, sophomore, or junior class level will have two enrollment appointments; the first to enroll in up to 14 credits, the second to add up to 19 credits.
- Seniors, students in enrollment priority groups, and students enrolling for their first fall quarter at UCSC are able to enroll in 19 credits during their first pass.
2. Review Your Requirements
- Before enrolling, review your Degree Progress Report to understand what General Education (GE) requirements, major requirements, or other requirements you may need to satisfy.
- It’s a good idea to consult your college or major advisors if you’re unsure about which classes to take, or if you need guidance on your degree progress.
3. Browse Classes & Add to Your Shopping Cart
- The searchable Schedule of Classes is available beginning the first day of Enrollment Prep Week, as listed on the Academic and Administrative Calendar.
- Use the filters to help narrow your search:
- Term: Make sure to choose the correct quarter and year (e.g., Fall 2025, Winter 2026, Spring 2026).
- Status: Choose to view only classes with available seats or all classes.
- Subject / Department: Filter by the subject department you’re interested in (e.g., Anthropology, Chemistry, Philosophy).
- Course Number: If you know the course number, this filter allows you to search for a specific class (e.g., CSE 101), or you can search by range. Lower-division undergraduate courses are numbered 1-99, upper division numbered 100-199, and graduate courses labelled 200-299.
- General Education: search by specific general education (GE) or American History and Institutions (AH&I) requirement.
- Instruction Mode: Most UCSC courses are offered in person, but you can also search for online and hybrid course options.
- Check for any important course details like prerequisites or corequisites, other restrictions by major or class level, or important scheduling notes about the course.
- Add classes (and secondary sections, if required) to your shopping cart, so that you are ready when your enrollment appointment opens.
- Detailed process guide: How to Search for a Class. Also, look at Understanding the Class Schedule.
4. Enroll / Waitlist
- Before your enrollment appointment, make sure you validate your schedule, to check that you’ve met prerequisites, prevented time conflicts, and addressed other issues.
- Once your enrollment appointment arrives, go to MyUCSC and navigate to the Enroll tab to add your courses.
- You can Add courses, Drop them, Swap choices, or “Edit” to make changes to secondary sections or grade types. See Enrollment & Waitlist Troubleshooting for more information on making changes.
- Class waitlists open during the second pass enrollment appointment period; when a class is full, students are able to add to the waitlist.
- Primary (instructor-led) and secondary sections can both have waitlists, so choose open secondary sections whenever possible. If a class is open but you select a waitlisted secondary section, you will be waitlisted for the class.
- Once you have completed your enrollments, please check your Study List to make sure that all of your classes appear to be correct.
5. Review and Edit Classes
- View your full schedule
- You can make changes to your schedule directly in the MyUCSC portal, using the “Edit” function. See Enrollment & Waitlist Troubleshooting for more information on making changes.
6. Deadlines & Add/Drop Period
- Enrollment is subject to deadlines, which are outlined in the Academic and Administrative Calendar. Key dates for enrollment:
- 8th day of instruction: Permission numbers required for enrollment (usually provided by instructor or department, at their discretion).
- 15th day of instruction: Add/Drop/Swap deadline. Last day to drop or edit courses or grade types without additional notation. Students not registered for the Part-Time Program should be enrolled in at least 12 credits by this date.
- 30th day of instruction: Withdrawal deadline. Last day to request a W notation from a class or to withdraw from the quarter, except for emergency reasons.
- End of 9th week (Fall/Winter/Spring): Last day to change grade type, withdraw from a class with an “NP” grade, or add a class by permission.
- To retain a seat in your classes or remain on the waitlist for a class, you must attend the first class meeting. Instructors may administratively drop anyone from the roster or waitlist who does not attend.
7. Get Help if Needed
- Details and answers for common enrollment problems: Enrollment & Waitlist Troubleshooting
- College and majors advisors can also provide support and assistance. See Academic Advising.
- PLEASE NOTE: MyUCSC is not optimized for mobile devices and should primarily be accessed with a computer.