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Registering for Classes and Research Hours

Please note: this page is a general reminder, and does not supercede or replace the emails sent from the department each semester. When in doubt, follow the emails (or ask!).

Be aware that if you mark “candidate” when you register for courses/research hours, your name will be put on the graduation list.  Moreover, once your name is on the list, it does not matter if you then ask to be taken off the list before the Graduate School deadline to declare candidacy: that semester WILL still count under the new graduation list policy. 

A late graduation fee of $200 will be charged to students who are on the graduation list for more than two consecutive semesters but do not graduate.

To register for classes:

  1. Talk with your advisor (major professor). We strongly suggest referring to your Plan of Study Rationale Worksheet during this conversation. You can locate the Rationale in the appendices of the Grad Manual.
  2. Obtain the CRNs of the classes you will be taking from the Schedule of Classes (via My Purdue). If you need to register for research hours, see below.
  3. Log in to MyPurdue and take care of any holds (see below for some standard holds, and what to do about them).
  4. Use the Unitime Scheduling Assistant to register for courses. Consult the Unitime Manual if you need help.

To register for research hours:

This is a 2-step process, so make sure to do both steps!

Step 1: You first have to register for research using the scheduling assistant; please make sure to add a note as to who the professor is that you will be working with, and the number of credits you plan to register for in step #2 (this can be as simple as ‘Prof Name/# research credits’, as the professor will need to approve before the advisor can approve.  Do not select one of the ‘automatic’ reasons in the system as to why you’re requesting to register for research. Once your research registration posts to your schedule, you’ll see that it registered you for 1 to 18 credits.

Step 2: You’ll then need to go back into the system and modify the number of credits to the correct number you need to register.  (Make sure that between your research credits and coursework credits, you don’t exceed the maximum for the semester, and that if funded, you are registered full time, which is 8 credits in spring or fall semesters.)  Check your schedule to confirm that you are registered for the research, with the correct number of credits, with the correct professor, once everything posts. It is your responsibility to make sure your registration posted as expected. Not checking this and fixing any issue at the beginning of the semester, is not an extenuating circumstance where an appeal will be considered by the registrar’s office later, if there is a problem,  
If you do not complete the 2nd step, your research registration will be dropped by the registrar’s office, and you will have to re-submit the request.  If this is caught after the deadline, late fees will apply. ALWAYS check your schedule, to make sure registration has posted as expected!
When you register for research will depend on how you complete the 2nd step.  If you register before the end of the first week of classes and research posts to your schedule, you can manually adjust the credits to the correct number.   If you wait until approvals are needed in the scheduling assistant, you’ll first have to submit research registration in the scheduling assistant, and then submit a change to the number of credits request in the scheduling assistant.  Both will need to route for the various approvals, so this can take longer before it will post, and can potentially lead to the late fees, if not processed COMPLETELY before the deadlines. So, we highly recommend you register for research as early as possible.
Here are guides to these two important steps:

To register for variable title courses (589/590)

Variable Title courses are now processed through the online workflow via myPurdue.

How to request a Variable Title course: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TL_P6UQuWdg

How to confirm the creation of a Variable Title course: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJSZoI_fDio

The following information is REQUIRED.  If any of this information is missing, you will be asked to return to your advisor/department for the missing information:

  • Subject (ENGL)
  • Course number (589 directed writing; 590 directed reading)
  • Course title (see below)
  • Credit hours
  • Instructor name

ALL COURSE TITLES MUST BE 30 CHARACTERS OR LESS, INCLUDING SPACES.

Course title will appear on the student's official academic transcript and should provide a brief general description of the subject matter covered.  Do not use the course subject and course number as the course title (ex. ENGL 100).

If no title is given, a default title will be assigned. 

If you have any additional questions, please contact 765-494-5700.


Some standard holds, and what to do about them:

These holds will prevent you from registering, so please take a few minutes to complete these two very important tasks. 

Action needed – Acknowledge Your Financial Obligations:

Review and update your annual agreement by visiting the Bills & Payments page via My Purdue and click the link “Acknowledge Your Financial Obligations” found within the Student Account section.  Doing so will automatically release the hold on your account.  Lack of compliance will result in your inability to register for classes, including the ability to drop or add courses.

Action needed – Emergency Contact:

Add or validate an existing emergency contact by visiting the Academics page via My Purdue and click the link “Emergency Contacts” found within the Personal Information section.  Doing so will automatically release the hold on your account. Lack of compliance will result in your inability to register for classes, including the ability to drop or add courses. If an emergency contact exists, you must click the Verify/Submit Changes button at the bottom of the page even if there are no changes made. This will trigger the automatic release of the hold.   

Need more detailed instructions? No problem.