Course Registration

When does registration open?

Spring 2026
Schedule of Classes published Monday, October 13
Registration opens Monday, October 20
Please complete your Spring 2026 registration by Friday, October 31

Add/Drop Deadline Calendar:  https://www.purdue.edu/registrar/calendars

Video: How to find your time ticket 

Registrar's website for instructions

To register for standard courses:

• Go to your myPurdue page and click on the Registration tab located along the top in myPurdue. 
• Under Register for classes, click on Use Scheduling Assistant. A new window will open. 
• Enter in your PIN number (which you call find in MyPurdue under Registration)
• Click “new course”, enter the course number, and select your class.
• Enter the courses in which you wish to register. All of your planned classes will appear in your Course Requests list of the Scheduling Assistant. 
• After your courses are entered, click on Build Schedule in the bottom right corner

Basic Registration Guidelines for Graduate Students:

Only courses taken for a grade will appear on a Plan of Study (P/NP and Audit are excluded).
All courses taken for a grade will appear on one Plan of Study (either MA or PhD, not both).

During the Fall and Spring semesters, the Political Science Department requires 9 credit hours for full-time graduate students.  Who must be a full-time student?  If you are funded quarter-time or higher for research, teaching, a graduate professional assistantship or a Purdue fellowship, then you are required to register for courses or research full-time.

Summer enrollment is generally not required, except for students who TA/RA and they must enroll in at least 3 credit hours.  Students can take a summer course without working if they TA'd in the Spring semester immediately prior and will TA in the Fall semester immediately after.

International Students have additional registration requirements regarding course credits, last-semester credits, distance classes, auditing, residency, CPT, OPT, and hours worked. Please refer to the ISS website for more information, and see the Graduate Coordinator for assistance.

Grade Mode - Some courses allow you to audit a course or change to pass/no pass, but there are several issues to keep in mind. 

• All courses on your Plan of Study must be taken for a letter grade.

• If you elect to change the grade mode to pass/no pass, you’ll need to receive a ‘C-‘ or higher to receive a ‘P’. 

• Auditing a course requires instructor permission.

• International Students:  A course taken as ‘audit’ does not count toward the registered credit requirement.  

• Also, when changing grade-mode, per Grad School policy, you can only retake a course in the same grade mode as originally taken (ex:  If you take a course as pass/no pass, you can only retake it as pass/no pass; you cannot retake it for a letter grade.)  We recommend you consider dropping a course if needed, instead of taking a course as pass/no pass, as you could then retake the course in a future semester for a grade.

Please see the Registrar's website for instructions on changing the grade mode of a course. 

Off-Campus Research
All domestic & international PhD students who have NOT completed their Preliminary Oral Exam and POS coursework and are conducting research off-campus for greater than 22 days must complete the electronic G.S. Form 19 and submit it to the grad school. If you are also in an RA position, a Change of Duty Station request will be generated in the business office and forwarded to you for signature.  

PhD students who have already completed prelims and coursework, are not funded by Purdue, and will be conducting research off campus need to file a Research in Absentia form: G.S. Form 12.  They must also register for at least 3 research credits (POL699) that semester and each semester going forward.

Please talk to the Political Science Graduate Coordinator about completing GS Forms 12 and 19. 

 POL590 and POL699 Registration

Individual Study POL590:  To register for Directed Reading/Independent Study (POL590), follow the instructions on the YouTube clips below.  You will also work with your advisor to complete the “Agreement on Deliverables” form, and forward it to the Graduate Coordinator.

 - How to register for a Variable Title Course https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TL_P6UQuWdg
 - Confirm Creation of VT request  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJSZoI_fDio

Research POL699:  After you've completed your Plan of Study coursework, you are required to enroll in POL699 thesis research every semester you are registered (except if registering as CAND 992 in your final semester). To register for research credits , complete the “Agreement on Deliverables” form and forward it to the Graduate Coordinator. You can also perform your own registration.  Note that if you do not correctly register for POL699 research in a semester you will need to complete GS-Form 41 and a $200 fee may be charged.

To register yourself for research, use the scheduling assistant within myPurdue. This is a 2-step process, so make sure to do both steps!

Here is a video that will show you how to register for the appropriate number of research credits.

Step 1: You first have to register for research using the scheduling assistant; please make sure to add a note stating which professor 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’).  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 credit. 

CRNs for POL699 are published each semester.  Contact the Graduate Coordinator for assistance.

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, unless on an assistantship.)  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.

If you do not complete the 2nd step, your research registration will remain at 1 credit for the semester.  This can impact your funding and your progress toward your degree.  ALWAYS check your schedule, to make sure registration has posted as expected.

Please register for research as early as possible. If you register before the end of the first week of classes, while registration is in the ‘open’ phase, and research posts to your schedule, you can manually adjust the credits to the correct number. If you wait, additional approvals will be required which can lead to late fees. 

CHECK YOUR SCHEDULE!  Make sure it accurately reflects your research advisor, number of credits, etc. It’s important to catch any errors and get them fixed no later than the first week of classes!