The Harvard/MIT Cross-Registration Program

Spring 2012 Guidelines

1. The program is available to full-time sophomores, juniors, and seniors. First-year students (including freshmen who declare Early Sophomore Standing) are not eligible for cross-registration.
   

2. The Harvard subject must be an academic subject offered by the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences or one of Harvard's professional schools.
   
   Note: Undergraduates may not cross-register at the Harvard Business School, Harvard Extension School or Harvard Summer school.

3. No more than two regular or one intensive Harvard subjects(s) may be taken per term. No more than half a student's registration (up to a maximum of 24 units) may be taken at Harvard for any one term.

4. A letter grade will be recorded on the MIT transcript except in the case of students who register as listeners or choose the Junior-Senior P/D/F option. Juniors and Seniors who wish to implement the P/D/F option may do so only if the course will count as General Unrestricted Elective credit.  The deadline is Harvard's cross-registration deadline.
   

5. Please note that the academic calendars for Harvard and MIT are not the same; Harvard classes begin before MIT classes, the spring breaks may not be the same, and the final exam schedules are different. Harvard calendars are available online.

Caveat! Harvard exam schedules are final. Harvard will not schedule early or late exams for the convenience of MIT students. There are no exceptions. If you cannot take the final as scheduled, do not register for the class.

The FAS course listings may be found online at the Harvard Registrars Office. A PDF of classroom meeting times and locations may also be found online here. 

MIT Credit for Harvard Classes

1. 12 MIT units of credit (one MIT subject) are normally given to a Harvard class meeting two to four hours/week; more intensive subjects receive more credit.

2. Previously approved subjects taken under the Harvard Cross-Registration program may automatically count as HASS. Check with the HASS Academic Administrator to find out if you need to submit an MIT petition requesting HASS credit.

Click here for the The Petition for Substitutions within the HASS Requirement. This form must be signed by the student and his/her major advisor before being brought to the Office of the HASS Requirement in 12-126.

3. Subjects taken under the Harvard Cross-Registration Program will never count toward the HASS-Distribution Requirement (old or revised), except for intermediate level language classes, which may be petitioned to count as the HASS-D Language Option.
   
   

How To Enroll

1. Obtain the cross-registration form from the HASS Academic Administrator, 4-240. Fill in complete information about the Harvard subject(s):
   Course Number
   Course Title
   4- or 5-digit Catalog Number which follows the title.
   Incomplete forms will not be accepted.
   

2. Obtain these three signatures in the following order:
   1) The Harvard instructor
   2) The MIT Faculty Advisor
   3) The HASS Academic Administrator, Liz Friedman (4-240) for the Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Science
   

3. Harvard requires your Cross-Registration Application to be filed by February 10, 2012. Please note: Harvard does not accept late cross-registration forms. 
   

4. Each student is then responsible for delivering the white copy of the application in person to the Harvard FAS Registrar's Office, 20 Garden Street, Cambridge*. Harvard requires you to fill out a short database information form at the time you file your cross-registration form; you will then be given a certification of enrollment which will entitle you to receive a temporary library card for Widener Library.
   

   *If you are taking a class at a school other than the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, you will deliver the form to their Registrar's Office. The cross-registration deadlines at other schools (Divinity School, Kennedy School, etc.) may be earlier.  Please check with the registrar's office of those schools.
   
   

5. A Harvard "full course" meets throughout the year. You must submit the cross-registration form at the beginning of both fall and spring terms. If a Harvard subject is designated "FULL COURSE-INDIVISIBLE," it means that you must complete a full year (2 semesters) in order to receive credit. If there is a possibility that you will not be able to take the second semester, you must obtain the instructor's permission in advance to get credit for one term. You will still have to do a petition at Harvard after the end of the fall term in order to "divide with credit." This is available from the Harvard Registrar's Office.
   

6. If you want to drop the Harvard subject, please file a completed MIT drop form at MIT's Registrar's office by your Harvard School's drop date - Harvard's FAS drop date is March 20, 2012.
   
   

Helpful Links

FAS Course Listings
Harvard Academic Calendars
Harvard Placement Exam Information
Harvard Classroom Meeting Locations
MIT Facilities,
MBTA (Bus #1, Subway Redline)
LMA M2 Cambridge Shuttle

Dates To Remember

 *Please note: Harvard no longer accepts late cross-registration forms.

Harvard Course Catalog Online

Click here to access the Harvard Course Catalogs to search for classes. 

Harvard Schools

 Most MIT students cross-register in the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) School. Students are welcome to cross-register at other Harvard Schools (except for the Business and Extension Schools), but the policies are often different. MIT does not keep track of all of Harvard's various policies; students should contact their Schools directly with any questions. The following Schools are eligible for cross-registration:

Faculty of Arts and Sciences

Graduate School of Design

Graduate School of Education

Harvard Divinity School

Harvard Law School

Note: The Harvard Law School uses it's own grading system, which does not translate to letter grades (except for an "H," which is the equivalent of an "A"). Grades lower than an A are considered Pass/Fail, and cannot be counted towards MIT requirements.

Harvard Medical School

Harvard School of Public Health

Kennedy School of Government

Want to cross-register somewhere other than Harvard?
For cross-registration information with other colleges and universities, visit the Registrar's Office Cross-Registration Information page.

*Graduate students should cross-register through the Student Services Center, 11-120, X8-8600.