Registration Procedures and Information

The Registrar's Office has information for students regarding registration for:

Registration Requirements

In addition to requirements set by individual graduate programs, the following registration rules apply to graduate students at Rice University. Exceptions to these rules are only granted in extenuating circumstances, and you should start with your program administrator if you believe that you should be eligible for an exception.

• Students must maintain continuous program involvement and enrollment unless granted an official leave of absence. Failure to register before the registration deadline will result in a de facto withdrawal.
• Students must maintain their required course-load. Semester course load for full-time students on Rice's three-semester academic calendar is nine credit hours or more as required by specific graduate programs for the fall, spring and summer semesters. Semester course load for full-time students on Rice’s four-term academic calendar (e.g. the online MBA, MBA@Rice) is six credit hours or more, as required by specific graduate programs. An exception may only be granted in extenuating circumstances.
• All students are required to register in the semester of their defense. An exception is automatically granted if the defense takes place during the first week of classes and the student was registered during the previous semester.
• Registration for all courses must be complete before the end of the second week of the semester. An exception may be granted only in extenuating circumstances.
• The last day to drop courses is the end of the seventh week of classes.
• The last day to select to audit a course is the end of the second week of the semester.
• Tuition waivers are not available for students registering for non-research summer courses. If you have a question about a particular course, please email the Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies.
• Graduate students may not take a course pass/fail within their graduate degree requirements.

Additional registration requirements may be found in the General Announcements.