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This article discusses some CIS-specific tips for Advance and Regular Registration. For an overview of registering for courses at Penn, see this helpful page from the College.

Before Advance Registration

Before we talk about what courses you should take and how to navigate the registration process, in order to register for courses you will need to get your advisor hold on Path@Penn released. Before the end of Advance Registration, you will need to talk with a member of the CIS Academic Advising staff (or your faculty advisor about your academic plans, and they can then release your hold. Without this, you will be unable to participate in Advance Registration. Note that your CU limit typically cannot increase beyond 5.5 CUs for Advance Registration.

Courses with waitlists

Several courses use Path@Penn Permission Requests to manage enrollment. See our waitlist article for more information.

During Advance Registration

The courses you can advance register for differ based on whether you are solely an undergraduate student (CSCI, ASCS, NETS, DMD or CMPE degrees), or are both an undergraduate and an Accelerated Master’s student (CIS/MSE, MCIT, CGGT, DATS, SCMP degrees).

Undergraduates

Undergraduates can register for courses numbered 4990 and below. Undergraduates cannot register for graduate-level courses (5000 and above) during Advance Registration.

However, if a course is cross-listed at both the undergraduate and graduate level (e.g., CIS 4210formerly CIS 421/5210formerly CIS 521), you can and should use the undergraduate section (e.g., CIS 4210formerly CIS 421) during Advance Registration. If you get into the undergraduate section but want to be in the graduate section instead, email the CIS Advising staff and we can switch you to the graduate section once the semester begins.

Accelerated Master’s students

If Path@Penn lists your graduate degree at the time that Advance Registration begins, then you can advance register for graduate-level courses.

Otherwise, even if you are in the process of applying for a graduate degree, you cannot advance register for graduate classes. Instead, follow the advice for undergraduate students, above.

During regular registration

Undergraduates

As an undergraduate student, you can directly register via Path@Penn for undergraduate courses that don’t use a waitlist.

Undergraduate students always require permission to register for a graduate class. To register for a graduate class as an undergraduate, join the waitlist for the class.

Accelerated Master’s students

If Path@Penn lists your graduate degree at the time regular registration begins, then you can register directly via Path@Penn for graduate courses that don’t use a waitlist.

Wharton half-credit courses

Wharton offers a selection of 0.5cu courses each semester. Unlike half-credit courses in SEAS which meet for ~1.5 hours/week for the entire semester, Wharton half-credit courses meet for 3 hours/week but only for the first (or second) half of the semester. Registering for Wharton half-credit courses that meet for the first half of the semester is done just like regular full-semester courses.

However, registering for a Wharton half-credit course that runs the latter half of the semester cannot be done via Path@Penn. Instead, please email the SEAS Registrar who can help with registration.

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