Enrollment Information (Undergraduate)

For purposes of enrollment and determining eligibility for certain student activities, a division of students by class is made by the Office of the Registrar at the end of each semester on the basis of the number of credits earned and according to the following schedule:

Credits Earned and Class

Less than 28- Freshman

28 to 55- Sophomore

56 to 87- Junior

88 and above- Senior

There is no time limit for the completion of the bachelor’s degree. For students who have been admitted to a major, progress toward the degree shall be evaluated on an individual basis after an assessment of the student’s academic record and degree requirements.

100-299 Undergraduate Courses

Courses with these numbers are for undergraduate students. They carry no graduate credit, although graduate students may be admitted to such courses in order to make up prerequisites or to gain a foundation for advanced courses.

For information about remedial-developmental-preparatory courses, consult the Undergraduate Education section of Academic Programs.

300-499 Advanced Undergraduate Courses

Courses with these numbers are for advanced undergraduate students. They constitute the advanced portion of an undergraduate program leading to the bachelor’s degree. A graduate student may carry 400-level courses for credit upon approval of the student’s major department or school. In exceptional cases, a graduate student may petition the dean of his or her college, in writing, for approval of a 300-level course for graduate credit.

All undergraduate programs of study require a minimum of 120 credits. Most programs are designed so that a student starting a program as a freshman may finish it in 8 semesters by satisfactorily completing an average of 15 credits a semester. In practice, students usually carry from 12 to 18 credits a semester depending on personal circumstances and the chosen program of study. Students with less than a 2.50 grade–point average (GPA) the preceding semester should not enroll for more than 15 or 16 credits except when required by the specific program. Only under unusual circumstances will a student be permitted to carry more than 20 credits.

A student with less than satisfactory academic performance may be required to take a reduced credit load as a condition of continued registration in the University

Students must carry at least 12 credits a semester in order to:

1. Participate in intercollegiate athletics.

2. Qualify for the Dean’s List for the semester.

3. Qualify for most scholarships, awards, and financial aids.

Most of these are limited to undergraduate students carrying at least 12 credits a semester excluding credits for any course carried as a visitor. Students should determine the specific requirements from the appropriate agency or contact the Office of Financial Aid.

4. Be certified in full-time status to loan agencies and other external entities.

Students participating in authorized forty hour/week internships or cooperative work programs are considered full time for all the purposes listed above.

Each student who wishes to enroll in an independent study course (MUS 290 or 490) must complete an “Application for Independent Study,” available from the Undergraduate Studies Office in 153 MB. The form must be signed by the instructor of the course and returned to the undergraduate office before the override will be entered. After the override is complete you must enroll online for the course.

Click here for Student-Instructor Forms

Students are expected to complete the courses in which they register. If a change is necessary, it may be made only with the appropriate approvals as explained below.

Students may add courses using the enrollment system through the first 1/14th of the term of instruction (the 5th day of classes in the Fall and Spring semesters). Students may drop courses using the enrollment system through the middle of the semester.

An undergraduate student who received a grade of 2.0 or above, CR, or P in a course may not repeat the course on a credit basis. An undergraduate student may repeat no more than 20 credits in courses in which grades below 2.0 were received.

Whenever a course is repeated on a credit basis, the last grade and credits earned completely replace the previous grade in the satisfaction of requirements and computation of grade-point averages. All entries remain a part of the student’s permanent academic record.

Any course repeated for credit must be taken on the same grading system under which the course was taken the first time, except where standard requirements to the contrary must be satisfied in order to meet graduation requirements.

Credit by Examination may not be used to repeat a course in which a grade below 2.0 was received.

Choice of the CR-NC grading system must be communicated by the student to the Office of the Registrar within the first 1/14th of the term of instruction (the 5th day of classes in the Fall and Spring semesters) and may not be changed after that date.

Normally, no course may be added after the designated period for adding courses. Any add after this period must be processed beginning with the department offering the course. Final approval rests with the associate dean of the student’s college.

A student may drop (withdraw from) a course during this period only to correct errors in enrollment or because of events of catastrophic impact, such as serious personal illness. To initiate a late drop, the student must obtain approval from the office of the associate dean of his or her college or the Undergraduate University Division.

If the student is passing the course, or there is no basis for assignment of a grade, at the time of the drop, a W grade will be assigned. If failing, a 0.0 (or N in a P-N graded course) will be assigned. The course will remain on the student’s academic record.

If the adding or dropping of courses changes the total number of credits in which the student is enrolled, an adjustment of fees is made according to the policies for assessment of fees and refund of fees shown in the section on Refund Policies.

Within the College of Music

Students must fulfill appropriate audition/application requirements for all music degrees they wish to pursue. Once admitted, please complete:

College of Music Major/Minor Change Request Form

Students that have not been admitted to the College of Music should refer to:

College of Music Admissions

Outside the College of Music

University Advising Major Changes

Students must check their enrollment often to be sure they are enrolled in the courses they think they are enrolled in. Each semester, after classes have ended, a number of students request that a course be added to their transcript because they were not enrolled in it, but thought they were. They attended all sessions of the course, completed all assignments, and took all exams and quizzes. They are very surprised to find out they were never enrolled in that particular course.

Student Information Center (SIS)

Michigan State University’s Student Information System (SIS) serves the entire academic community and supports administrative processes critical to the matriculation and graduation of Spartans every year. SIS functions support students throughout their academic journey, from financial aid offers and accessing MSU’s Schedule of Courses to managing enrollment, grade submission and degree conferral. It is administered by four lead units (Admissions, Office of the Controller, Office of Financial Aid and Office of the Registrar) with support from MSU IT. SIS is the system of record for information about students and the administrative data supporting learning and teaching at MSU.

The MSU Student Information System is comprised of Oracle’s PeopleSoft Campus Solutions and Oracle’s Student Financial Planning platforms. Students and staff can access SIS at student.msu.edu.

To explore resources and learn more about MSU’s SIS go to SIS Help & Support. Questions related to SIS can be forwarded to sis@msu.edu