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HSPH students may enroll in courses offered by one of the other Harvard faculties, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Tufts Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, and Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy -- the cross-registration consortium. Obtaining credit for cross-registered courses is permissible only for graduate-level courses appropriate to the student's HSPH degree program and if a similar course is not available at HSPH.

To cross-register for a course offered by one of the consortium schools, students must obtain a Cross-Registration Petition Form from the web site listed below, complete it, obtain the signatures of their advisor and the course instructor, and submit the form to the Registrar's Office of the school offering the course. Deadline dates for cross-registration and for the first day of classes vary from school to school (for example, MIT, the Harvard Business School, and the Law School begin fall classes at least one week earlier than HSPH). Students should avoid visiting the Registrar's Office of a consortium school on the first day of their registration. Students must also list cross-registration courses on their Registration Form.

Students may obtain cross registration information via a web-based system developed by the Provost Office and the Harvard Registrars. The site, http://crossreg.harvard.edu, is a synopsis of cross registration information and resources available to graduate students who wish to register for courses at different Harvard faculties.

Registering For A Cross-Registered Course
Students must register for a cross-registered course at both the HSPH Registrar's Office and the consortium school's Registrar's Office. Failure to complete the registration process at both schools will result in a student's not being officially enrolled in the course. To register for courses offered by one of the consortium schools, students must complete each of the following steps:

1. Students must list on their OASIS registration print-out the school code, course code and grading option.
2. Students must calculate the total number of cross-registered credits by referencing the Cross-Registration Conversion Table.
3. The students' advisor (or department designate) must initial each cross-registered course listed on the OASIS Registration Form print-out.
4. Students must submit the completed OASIS registration print-out on or before the HSPH add/drop/change deadline.
5. Students must also complete a HSPH Cross-Registration Petition for each school of cross-registration.
6. Students must submit the complete HSPH Cross-Registration Petition to the Registrar's Office at the host school by the earliest add/drop/change deadline.

Students cannot enter cross-registered courses via the on-line registration system (OASIS). The HSPH Registrar's Office will enter these courses upon receiving approval from the host school.

Cross-Registration Credit Requirements
For a cross-registered course to count toward a HSPH degree and to appear on the transcript, the course:

1. Must be a graduate-level course
2. Must be relevant to the student's degree program
3. Must be taken for pass/fail or ordinal credit
4. Must be approved by the student's advisor and department

Cross-Registration Credit Limits
HSPH degree candidates can cross-register for a maximum of 1/2 of their total credits per semester. For example, a full-time student who is planning to register for a total of 20 credits may not register for more than 10 cross-registered credits. Students who wish to take more than 1/2 of their total credits for the semester outside HSPH must file a General Petition Form (available at the HSPH Registrar's Office) for approval.

Cross-Registration Deadlines
Students cross-registering into consortium schools must meet the deadlines set by both HSPH and the host school. Therefore, a student who wishes to enroll in a cross-registered course must meet the earlier add/drop/change deadline. Please refer to the Cross-Registration Deadline Chart found in the registration packet or visit the Harvard Cross Registration web site, which contains links to cross-registration information for all consortium schools.

A student dropping a cross-registered course must do so by the earlier add/drop/change deadline and must submit a completed Add/Drop/Change Form to the HSPH Registrar's Office. Students who do not drop a cross-registered course via the Add/Drop/Change Form will be considered enrolled in the course and will receive a grade for it.

Dropping after the Cross-Registration Deadline
Students dropping a cross-registered course after the earlier add/drop/change deadline must complete the Late Withdrawal Petition and submit it to the HSPH Registrar's Office for review. If the petition is approved, the student will receive a grade of “WD” for the course. If the petition is not approved, the student will be expected to complete the course. Students are also subject to late fees which may be charged by the host school. HSPH students should continue to attend classes until notified by the Registrar’s Office of the outcome of the petition.

Cross-Registration Grades
Students who cross-register are bound by the rules and regulations of the respective faculties regarding grades, examination schedules, make-up examinations, and incomplete work. These regulations are often very different from those at HSPH.

The HSPH Registrar's Office receives the grades from the consortium school's Registrar's Office and they are included as part of the student's official academic record. These grades will not be translated into HSPH's grading system. For example, HBS has a Roman numeral grading system such as: "I," "II," and "III." These grades will appear on the student's official transcript as roman numerals. Although HBS grades will not calculate into the HSPH G.P.A., the credit taken counts for ordinal credit.

Degree candidates are urged to check the examination schedules of cross-registered courses to avoid possible problems of late grade reporting to the HSPH Registrar. Some schools give examinations at such a late date that HSPH degree candidates risk not receiving grades and credit for courses taken in time for them to be counted in the final degree audit for June Commencement.

Students should be aware that the Harvard Medical School will only allow students to take courses Pass/Fail.

Scheduling Cross-Registered Courses
Some schools pattern the length and activity of their classes much differently than that of the HSPH. For example, at the Harvard Business School (HBS), classes meet intensively for several hours at a time instead of meeting in several one- or two-hour sessions per week. This may interfere with students' abilities to attend classes at the HSPH. In addition, commuting time to all but the Medical School and the School of Dental Medicine may be as long as 45 minutes each way, so that a course may require a 1-1/2 hour commitment in addition to formal class meeting times. Students should discuss the desirability and feasibility of cross-registration with their advisor. Please note that students may not, under any circumstance, register for courses that overlap time periods.

Conversion Table for Cross-Registration Credits