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Registering for Courses

Registering in Courses

The course list that you provided in your exchange application is not the same thing as registration. You must register yourself in the courses that you wish to take. Follow the steps below to get started!

  1. Review Acceptance Package

    Your acceptance email contains a reminder of your UCID (student identification number) as well as links to important instructions needed for course registration. Course registrations open for the full academic year at the same time - we recommend students begin registering for Fall and/or Winter semester courses as early as possible.

  2. Things to Remember

    As an exchange student, you are required to take minimum 3 courses and maximum 5 courses per semester.

  1. Plan Your Courses

    Your Student Centre is where you will search for courses and build your schedule. You can add courses to your “shopping cart” to help keep track of them. This will make it easier for you to register later, as you can “check out” and register for your entire course shopping cart at once.

  2. Things to Remember

    Course numbers indicate the year of study a course is intended for.
                            200 = students in 1st/2nd year
                            300 = students in 2nd/3rd year
                            400 = students in 3rd/4th year
                            500 = students in 4th year
                            600+ = graduate level, not open to undergraduate students
                        The letter code indicates the subject.
                        The section code indicates course type, such as LEC (lecture), TUT (tutorial), or LAB (lab). Make sure you select all required types! For example, many science courses require you to have both a lecture and a lab time.

  3. Final Check

    Ask yourself:
                        1. Are your courses held in the semester that you will be attending UCalgary? (Be aware of full-year courses: if a course is listed with "A" and "B", that means it is taught over two semesters, and it is required to attend both semesters.)
                        2. Are your courses held at UCalgary's Main Campus or Foothills Campus? (UCalgary has campuses in other cities and even other countries, which are not available for exchange students.)

Carefully read the course information in your Student Centre before attempting to register. If a course has no mandatory requirements, you will be able to register online immediately. Otherwise, see below for the possible types of restrictions and what to do in each case.

  1. Exchange Student Restrictions

    There are some courses that exchange students are not allowed to take. Please review the Restrictions page carefully, as you will not be able to register in these courses.

  2. Regular Restrictions

    Courses marked by a purple star icon in your Student Centre course search have a seat restriction, meaning that some or all of the seats in the course are reserved for a specific student group. Please read the course description thoroughly to determine whether you meet the criteria. If you believe you are eligible to pass the restriction, you will have to make a course request.

  3. Prerequisites

    Prerequisites are courses that students must have completed in order to take a more advanced course. This is because advanced courses require specific background knowledge and skills in order to successfully complete the course material. Please read the course description thoroughly to determine whether your past studies will match the prerequisite. If you believe you are eligible to pass the restriction, you will have to make a course request.

  4. Closed Courses

    Courses marked by a blue square icon in your Student Centre course search are full and closed for registration. If any students currently registered in the course decide to drop out, registration may re-open.  Courses marked by an orange triangle are full and have a waitlist available. When you try to register for this course, you will have an option to join the waitlist. A notice will be sent to your UCalgary email if space becomes available for you to register in the course.

If you wish to take any courses with restrictions or prerequisites, you must seek approval from the academic department leading the course. Without department approval, you will not be allowed to register in the course. It is your responsibility to contact departments regarding your course requests.

You will be sent detailed instructions for how to make a course request upon being admitted as a UCalgary exchange student.

  1. Finish Registering

    Once you have successfully registered, the courses will appear in your Student Centre schedule. You can change this by adding or dropping courses until the “add/drop” deadline – click here for the current deadline dates. If you have difficulty registering, we recommend that you refer to this registration guide. You may also contact our exchange office, but please note that we can only give advice; we cannot approve your Course Requests or register you in courses.

  2. Things to Remember

    It’s possible that by the time you can register, some courses may already be full, or you may not be given approval for your Course Request, or there may be a time conflict with another course you wish to take. This is why it’s important to be flexible in your course selection! It is your responsibility to follow all of the above steps and connect with the necessary academic departments when arranging courses.

  3. Wait List

    If the course you want to add is full, you may add yourself to the wait list by checking the "Wait List" box.

    What is the wait list purge?

    Each semester on the night before the drop deadline around 11:59pm, all students are dropped from wait lists and wait lists are closed permanently for the semester. Therefore, during the last day to add and the last day to drop you will need to keep checking back to see if a seat opens up in your desired course. Additionally, if you are enrolling in a course after the first day of classes, ensure develop a plan to catch up on missed content.

  1. Desire2Learn

    Through your Student Centre, you can access the Desire2Learn (D2L) system. When the semester begins, the professors for each of your registered courses will open a course page in D2L. You can use the D2L page to view and download outlines, lecture material, homework, etc.

  2. Textbooks

    Many courses also use textbooks. On the UCalgary Bookstore website, you can look up your courses and see what books are required. You can buy your books from the Bookstore (online or in-person), or you may be able to find used books for a cheaper price at Bound and Copied. It is possible to sell your books back to the bookstore when you finish your exchange semester.
    Instead of buying, you can also rent your textbooks - click here for more information about book rentals.


Did You Know?

Academic terminology varies around the world! What we call a “course” at UCalgary, you might know as a “module”, a “unit”, or even a “subject”.  You’re welcome to contact us if you have any confusion about this and we will do our best to clarify.


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UCalgary Course Experience

On average, 1 hour in class = 2 hours that UCalgary students spend on coursework. This is due to the volume of assignments, quizzes, and projects.

Exchange students are required to take 3-5 courses per semester, but we generally recommend 4 courses max, so that you can balance academics with enjoying your life in Alberta. Many exchange students in the past have found it best to take fewer courses here than they might normally at their home universities.

View Course Restrictions

Semester Dates

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Answers to Frequently Asked Questions

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Incoming Exchange Team
UCalgary International - Study Abroad
iexch@ucalgary.ca

Office Hours: Mondays, Tuesdays & Thursdays, 11:00am - 3:00pm MST
Office Location: MT 501