VI. Registration Schedule and Course Change Deadlines

• Registration Overview
• Check-in Dates
• Course Registration Periods
• Non-Clinical Course Add/Drop Deadlines
• Non-Clinical Course Withdrawal Deadlines
• Clinical Course Add/Drop Deadlines
• Clinical Course Withdrawal Deadlines
• Clinical Course Wait Lists

A. Registration Overview

Students are responsible for knowing and meeting all Law School check-in, registration, and course change deadlines as set forth below.  All students must check in to the Law School at the start of the academic year.  Students will not be allowed to check in late, unless they obtain permission from the Dean of Students, for J.D. students, or the Graduate Program, for LL.M. and S.J.D. students.

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B. Check-in Dates

•  LL.M. and first-year S.J.D. in-person check-in: Beginning August 19, 2009 and must be completed by August 27, 2009
• First-year J.D. in-person check-in: August 28, 2009
• Second- and third-year J.D. online check-in: Beginning August 17, 2009 and must be completed by September 2, 2009
• Second- and third-year J.D. and continuing S.J.D. students in-person check-in: September 2, 2009

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C. Course Registration Periods

1) First-year J.D.: Students are assigned, according to their section, to the required 1L courses. First-year J.D. students register for the required spring course in international or comparative law and for the spring upper-level elective credits in the fall. 

2) Second- and third-year J.D.: Students register for all fall term, year-long, multi-section, and clinical courses in the prior spring, and usually register for winter and spring electives in November. 

3) LL.M.: Students are expected to register for all courses over the summer. 

4) All students: Students who fail to register during the appointed periods must wait until the beginning of the relevant add/drop period to complete course selection procedures and to add, drop, and wait-list courses. 

Specific course registration periods are established each year by the Registrar.

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D. Non-Clinical Course Add/Drop Deadlines

• Fall term, Fall/Winter and year-long offerings: September 1-9, 2009
• Winter term and Winter/Spring offerings: January 4-5, 2010
• Spring term offerings, including 1L Spring elective: January 25-29, 2010

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E. Non-Clinical Course Withdrawal Deadlines

A student withdrawing from a course, seminar, or reading group after the completion of the add/drop period for the term will be considered to have withdrawn after the deadline, and the course, seminar, or reading group will be listed on his/her transcript with a “Withdrew after Deadline” (WD) notation. Exceptions to this policy are available only for a compelling reason such as illness or unforeseen circumstances. Students should contact the Dean of Students (dos@law.harvard.edu) and the Registrar (registrar@law.harvard.edu) to request an exception to this policy.

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F. Clinical Course Add/Drop Deadlines

Registration for courses with clinical components (see Section III.B) is overseen by the Office of Clinical and Pro Bono Programs. The add/drop period for clinical work ends several days earlier than the add/drop period for all other Law School courses, which are handled through the Registrar’s Office. Adding, dropping, and waitlisting of clinical courses can be done through MyPlan. A change in the number of clinical credits is handled directly by the Office of Clinical and Pro Bono Programs. All clinical course changes must be completed by:

• Fall clinicals,(also Spring clinicals tied to Fall courses): September 4, 2009
• Winter clinicals (also Spring clinicals tied to Winter courses): December 4, 2009
• Spring clinicals: January 15, 2010

Some clinical courses have earlier add/drop deadlines. Please see the Office of Clinical and Pro Bono Programs website at http://www.law.harvard.edu/academics/clinical/ for updates on clinical courses with early registration deadlines.

It is very important to note that dropping a clinical course means that the student will be dropped from both the classroom and clinical components of the course. If the student’s classroom and clinical work occur in different semesters, he or she must drop by the add/drop dead-line of the first component. Both the classroom and clinical components must be completed in order for the student to receive credit.

If a student wishes to enroll in only the classroom component after dropping the clinical course, the student may do so through MyPlan or the Registrar’s Office following the appropriate procedures and depending on the availability of class section openings.

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G. Clinical Course Withdrawal Deadlines

A student who drops any component of the clinical course after the above-mentioned add/drop[ deadline will have the course listed on his/her transcript with a “Withdrew after Deadline” (WD) notation. Exceptions to this policy will not be permitted, except for a compelling reason such as ill-ness or unforeseen circumstances. Students must contact the Office of Clinical and Pro Bono Programs to request an exception to this policy.

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H. Clinical Course Wait Lists

Once the maximum enrollment for a clinical course has been reached, enrollment is closed and a waitlist is formed. Admittance into a waitlisted clinical course is strictly in order of the waitlist. Students who are offered a place in a clinical course from the waitlist will be notified by email and must formally accept to be officially admitted into the course with the clinical component.

For more information on clinical courses and registration deadlines, please contact the Office of Clinical and Pro Bono Programs at 617-495-5202 or clinical@law.harvard.edu.

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