Registration

Registration occurs via the Harvey Mudd College Portal. Students are responsible for enrolling in classes.

New Students

You will register for courses during a scheduled Orientation event. Representatives from the Registrar’s office will be on hand to assist you.

Continuing Students

Pre-registration typically occurs in November for Spring courses, and April for Fall courses. Pre-registration dates are available on the Academic Calendar. An email from the registrar’s office will be sent out with more information prior to pre-registration. The registrar’s office will automatically clear you to register prior to your registration date, but you will need approval from all of your advisor(s) before you can register for courses. Students who do not receive all applicable advisor(s) approvals, but who register for classes anyway, will be dropped from all of their courses if any one of their advisors notifies the registrar’s office that the student registered without their approval.

PERMs

If a course is closed or requires instructor permission, you may submit a request to enroll, called a “PERM.” Your request will go to the instructor(s), who have three options: to clear all restrictions and allow you add the course, to clear all restrictions only if there are seats left in the course, and to deny the PERM. You will receive an email notification of the instructor’s response; read it carefully to find out what type of permission you have. If the instructor cleared you to enroll only if seats are available, you will only be able to add the course if there are spots open. Some courses have limits on certain numbers of students from each school, or other categories such as major. If your category (i.e. “HMC students”), is full, and you have the “only if” permission, you will not be able to add even if there are open seats in other categories (i.e. PO students). Note: An approved PERM does not automatically add you to the course. You must still add the course yourself on the portal.

Independent Studies

Some courses, such as independent studies and senior thesis, may require you to turn a form into the Registrar’s office instead of adding the course on the portal. Be sure to read the notes on the portal carefully to see the requirements for adding a course. If the course is an independent study or says “form required,” do not submit a PERM. Instead, fill out the Independent Study/Directed Reading/Research Form (PDF) and submit it to registrar@hmc.edu or in person to the Registrar’s office. The instructor’s section should be completed on the form, but you may attach a PDF of an email with the information and approval if necessary.

Registration Tips

  • Requisites/Requirements: Check for prerequisites, corequisites, concurrent requisites, and other requirements.
    • Non-Harvey Mudd College classes may have a limited number of seats for Harvey Mudd students, even if the section still has open seats.
  • Time Conflict: Check for time conflicts between your selected classes.
    • Slight overlaps may be resolved with a Course Conflict Approval Form (PDF) available online or at the Registrar’s office.
    • All instructors for affected classes must sign the conflict approval form, even if the conflict is resolved by only one instructor.
    • You must submit the signed form through email to registrar@hmc.edu or in person to the Registrar’s office before you can add the second conflicting course via portal.
  • Overload: Get your overload approval (if needed) from Academic Affairs (located in Platt Campus Center) before your pre-registration appointment time.
  • Closed Classes: Monitor current enrollment status of desired classes on the portal for closed classes and request PERMS if necessary.

Registration appointments are assigned according to the following protocol:

  • For each registration period, seniority determines your registration day.
    • Seniors register on day 1, juniors on day 2, etc. Seniority is based on each student’s expected graduation year.
  • When students first enroll at HMC, we divide the entering class into quartiles called “priority groups.”
    • Priority groups are system-generated based on student ID numbers.
    • Your priority group determines the portion of the day during which you register and this priority group sticks with you for your entire career at HMC.
    • Priority groups rotate sequentially every registration cycle.
  • Specific registration appointments within a priority group are randomly generated for every registration cycle.
  • This registration appointment procedure should provide each student with two early registration times, 2 late registration times, and 4 in-between registration times.