Advising and Academic Services
During the pre-semester registration period, there is an 18-credit restriction. All SAS-NB students will be able to register for up to 20.5 credits during the Add/Drop period which begins on the first day of the new semester. We encourage you to register for a minimum of 12 credits for full-time status, even if you plan to make adjustments to your schedule during.
Incoming students will register on either APA Day (Academic Planning and Advising) or STAR Day (Students in Transition Advising and Registration Day). For current students, registration occurs during the designated period before the semester begins, based on the number of degree credits earned, excluding current courses in progress. During this period, there's an 18-credit restriction. The Add/Drop Period commences at the start of the semester, during which students can register for up to 20.5 credits.
If you want to add a class now, we will need written permission (email from a Rutgers email account) from the instructor approving late registration. If the class is full, we'll also need a special permission number (SPN). Once you have the permission, connect with us through Live Chat and we can help you add the class.
Log onto the Schedule of Classes Select the Core Course tab on the left Use the dropdown menu to choose the core requirement you need to meet. This will bring up a list of all courses being offered this term that meet this requirement. UNCHECK the Closed box, so you only look at open classes. Some course sections are restricted to specific majors or populations. Please check to be sure the section you want is not restricted.
There is a New Brunswick-wide mandate requiring 40 minutes of travel time between classes on different campuses, with no overrides, regardless of the mode of transportation or instructor approval. Please note that 30-minutes of travel time is permitted between College Ave & Downtown New Brunswick and also between Busch & Livingston.
Unfortunately, SAS Advising does not handle Special Permission Numbers (SPNs) for courses. First, check the Schedule of Classes to be sure the department hasn't noted that SPNs are not available for that course!
SPNs - when available - are handled by the respective academic department either by dedicated websites for SPN requests, or by contacting the Undergraduate Office for that department.
Here are the departments with dedicated SPN systems:
Chemistry - https://secure.sas.rutgers.edu/apps/special_permission/chemistry
Computer Science - https://secure.sas.rutgers.edu/apps/special_permission/cs
Genetics - https://secure.sas.rutgers.edu/apps/special_permission/genetics
Kinesiology & Health - https://secure.sas.rutgers.edu/apps/special_permission/kines
Linguistics - https://secure.sas.rutgers.edu/apps/special_permission/ling
Mathematics - https://secure.sas.rutgers.edu/apps/special_permission/math
Physics - https://secure.sas.rutgers.edu/apps/special_permission/physics
Statistics - https://secure.sas.rutgers.edu/apps/special_permission/statistics
Department undergraduate office contact information can be found at https://search.rutgers.edu
Retroactive course or semester withdrawal is not a mechanism for managing poor academic performance. If you withdrew from the course in a timely manner and received a “W” this is not included in your term GPA.
If you find yourself in difficulty – personal, financial, medical, or emotional – and need to take a break you may consider a Leave of Absence. You can request this by completing a Leave of Absence form https://scarlethub.rutgers.edu/registrar/registration/withdrawal-from-all-courses/. Advisors can talk with you about this option. Failure to attend class is not equivalent to a Leave of Absence, and students will not receive an adjustment of charges or grades (see studentabc.rutgers.edu/withdrawals). Students whose cumulative GPA is below a 2.00 may be required to attend Rutgers Summer Session prior to returning for a Fall or Spring semester.
A request for credit override exception to 21 credits is considered only when a student is in their final semester and taking exactly 21 credits will allow a student to meet their minimum graduation requirements. Requests are reviewed on an individual basis, including evaluation of course composition, a full transcript review, and consideration of past performance.
No! Students in their final semester are permitted to register for only what is required to complete their degree. Please check with One Stop to review any financial aid implications of being less than full time.
Review policy here.
Students who have completed 90 or more credits may take up to two courses (8 credits maximum, one course per semester) on a Pass/No Credit basis. Applications open the week of add/drop each semester. Click here for further information about the Senior Pass/No Credit Request. Submission Deadline:
You are not able to drop below 12 credits on webreg. Please log into LiveChat or email from your Rutgers email with the specific course(s) and index number(s) you wish to drop.
If you miss the drop deadline, you will be billed for the credits, even if you withdraw from the course(s).
Once you officially change your graduation date, you will be able to register for the next semester: http://mygraddate.sas.rutgers.edu
You are expected to graduate once your degree requirements are complete; graduation date adjustments beyond what is needed to complete your degree will be denied.
August candidates who have registered and paid for all remaining degree requirements in summer session are invited to participate or “walk” in University Commencement and SAS Convocation.
You are permitted reduce your enrollment by dropping or withdrawing from one or more classes, as long as you do so by the posted deadlines and remain registered in at least 12 credits to meet the SAS requirement of full-time enrollment. The calendar date when you remove a course from your active registration determines whether you will be dropping or withdrawing from the course. If you drop a course, you are no longer a student in the class and the class is no longer visible on your University transcript. If you withdraw, you are no longer a student in the class but the course remains visible on your transcript with a notation of “W” applied by the Registrar’s Office. No degree credits or academic grades can be earned in dropped or withdrawn courses. For information about whether dropping or withdrawing will reduce your term bill, see the information about Tuition and Credit Load.
The W is one of the most misunderstood registration adjustments at Rutgers. A W is neither a grade nor punitive. It is a Registrar’s notation indicating that you made a reasoned decision to adjust your registration after the Add/Drop period. It is an adjustment permitted by the University and does not suggest anything to future employers or graduate schools.
Each semester, many students make the decision to withdraw from a class in order to focus on courses that are more important to their academic plans, to reduce a too-heavy credit load, to respond to sudden family or health issues, to comply with credit restrictions connected to their Academic Standing, or to remove a class in which success is remote. If you are in doubt about whether to withdraw, talk with an SAS Advisor by scheduling a advising appointment.
When might you consider avoiding the W? If you receive Financial Aid, too many notations of W may make you ineligible to receive future aid if your completion rate drops below Standards of Academic Progress. In addition, if you withdraw frequently or find yourself withdrawing from the same course more than once, this suggests poor academic planning or a faulty assessment of your own academic abilities. If you are following an Academic Plan for Financial Aid now, talk to your Academic Advisor before withdrawing or dropping. If you are not following an Academic Plan but have concerns, talk to an SAS Advisor by scheduling an appointment.
Students should take anywhere from 14-16 credits each semester. Courses can range from 1-4.5 credit hours, so you may see a different number of classes on your schedule than you expected. There are a few reasons a preferred course is not on your schedule: a time conflict with another requested course, it was closed at the time of your registration, or you are not eligible to take the course. If you would like to add a different course and you meet the placement/prerequisite requirements due to a second attempt on the math placement test, you can adjust your schedule as soon as you can see your updated placements on Degree Navigator. Otherwise, you can adjust your schedule at any point this summer through the end of the add/drop period. First-year students should remain in 14-16 total credits for their first semester. Learning about the available course options for this semester is a great way to familiarize yourself with the Schedule of Classes, which is the university's full list of courses offered in a particular term.
A 17 credit course load is likely too demanding for your first semester. Aim to take 14-16 credits in your first semester at Rutgers. You can decide which course(s) to keep and which to drop during the add/drop period using WebReg. If you have questions about your credit totals, reach out to an advisor on Live Chat (link can be found in your post APA email).
Your academic and career interests, along with your course requests guide the hand-schedule creation process. Your selections may not have been available due to time conflicts, placement requirements, prerequisites, or other reasons. In response, a First-Year Dean used their knowledge of the Arts & Sciences curriculum alongside the information you provided about your academic interests to ensure that you remain on track to meet degree requirements with the most appropriate courses. Remember, all classes you complete at Rutgers are a part of your degree--whether they are for your major, minor, SAS Core Curriculum, or elective credits.
Note: If you are a member of a Living Learning Community or other special population of students, you may have been registered for a required course that you did not request, such as the RU-1st seminar or a Topics course. You must keep this course.
In some cases this may be an issue of course availability, but in other cases it is because of a placement or prerequisite issue. Please see the First-Year canvas page for information on the prerequisite placement and/or co-requisite course requirements for these courses. NOTE: If you took the Math placement test only once, you still have time to complete the customized prep and learning modules and take the test a second time. Most students improve their placement on the second attempt, so you may become eligible for one of these courses by improving your Math placement result. Take the test a second time as soon as you are able. Placement tests will close around the start of the semester, so do not delay taking any necessary tests.
Please also note that the General Biology and General Chemistry sequence are each comprised of two semesters of lecture and one semester of lab. The labs (General Biology 01:119:117 and Intro to Experimentation 01:160:171) can be taken with, or after, the second semester of lecture. They are not taken in the first semester.
Once you have a schedule, you can make adjustments using the WebReg system. You should have a balanced schedule of courses for major and minor exploration, SAS Core requirements, and general elective credits. You should not drop any courses related to your major or minor; you can change sections, but dropping required courses for your major could impact your degree progress. If you have specific questions about your unique situation or need assistance with scheduling adjustments, please refer back to your post APA email for more information. Once the add/drop period ends, we invite you to schedule an advising appointment to discuss your short and long-term academic goals with an Academic Advisor.
Add/Drop occurs during the first two weeks of the semester and is the last opportunity for students to make changes to their schedules without receiving a Withdrawal or "W" grade on their transcripts. Students use this period to review syllabi and preliminary coursework so that they can make an informed decision about whether or not they need to make a change to their schedules for the semester. The add/drop period begins on the first day of the semester but students do not have to wait until that date to adjust their schedules. See the full calendar for important details.
The University has compiled information about important resources for new students. Academic Success Tools and Resources, at the bottom of this page, includes a set of instructional videos you can watch to familiarize yourself with the various registration tools, including: WebReg, Schedule of Classes, Degree Navigator, and more. Please review all of the relevant modules presented previously in this Canvas course, which has been designed as a comprehensive tool in understanding the current SAS registration process & academic policies and requirements. You may also find it helpful to refer to this page, created for use during this summer's Academic Planning and Advising events at New Student Orientation.
The only way to get into a closed course is by obtaining a special permission number (SPN). Instructions on how to obtain an SPN for a class can often be found in the Schedule of Classes under ‘course notes’ for the section you are interested in. Please note that sometimes SPNs are not available for courses. If you do not see information on how to request an SPN in the course notes, check the department website or look up the department’s contact information on the Rutgers Search Engine: search.rutgers.edu. Links to an external site.
These "codes" are place-holders to remind students to complete their Rutgers placement tests. 355:005 indicates that the English placement test needs to be completed while 640:005 indicates that a student needs to complete the math placement test. Math and English placement tests are required for students to remain enrolled at SAS. All other 005 codes correspond to world languages. Visit the Testing & Placement site for more information about completing any missing placement tests. If you have AP or SAT scores that exempt you from English or math placement testing, please email for more information.
In order to graduate in four years, a student should average 15 credits each semester. As a new transfer student, aim to take four to five classes plus the one-credit Students in Transition Seminar.
Students can register for up to 18 credits before the start of the semester. During the Add/Drop period, this number increases to 20.5. However, we strongly recommend staying around 15 credits in your first semester at Rutgers.
The School of Arts and Sciences is a full-time institution. All students are required to enroll in at least 12 credits per semester to maintain full-time status, and are expected to enroll in 15 credits per semester in order to graduate in four years. Exceptions from this policy may be made for: Students with extenuating medical circumstances. Students in their final semester who need fewer than 12 credits to graduate. Students officially designated as Nontraditional. Students considered Independent by the Rutgers Office of Financial Aid. Please note, registering for fewer than 12 credits can affect visa status and eligibility for University services such as financial aid, health insurance, campus housing, scholarships, etc. A request for a reduced credit load must be made before the start of the semester.
All full-time SAS transfer students are required to take the Students in Transition Seminar. This course was designed specifically for new transfer students to help with the transition to Rutgers.
Yes. You cannot drop the course, but you can replace the section by simply adding another open section that meets at your preferred time.
No problem! As long as you maintain 12 or more credits, you can continue to make adjustments to your registration through the Add/Drop period of the upcoming semester.
Electives are simply courses that do not count towards one's major, minor, or core. For most students, major, minor, and core requirements account for about 75% or less of their degree. The remaining 30 or so credits can be used for classes of interest outside of one's major or minor. There is no list of electives, as these choices are different for every student depending on their programs of study.
