You have the option to add and drop courses within a certain period of time at the beginning of each semester. The deadlines for these actions are listed on the Academic Calendar.

You should regularly consult this calendar, as well as the Tepper and Heinz calendars whose add/drop deadlines are different.

A student who wants to audit a course is required to register for the course, obtain permission from the instructor and ask the instructor to sign the Course Audit Approval Form.

Then the student must submit the form to the INI Academic and Student Services Team for approval from the student's Academic Advisor and the Director of the INI. If approved, the INI Academic and Student Services Team will send the form to The HUB for processing. 

Download the Course Audit Approval Form (PDF)

Visit the Schedule of Courses (SOCS)

For more information, refer to the department webpages.

The purpose of the INI Independent Study course is to allow students to expand and enhance their educational experience and professional preparation beyond the scope of existing courses, projects and experiences at Carnegie Mellon University.

Students wishing to pursue an independent study must submit a petition and a comprehensive project proposal (signed by their independent study advisor) to the INI Academic and Student Services Team by the first week of the semester or mini term.

Download Independent Study Proposal Template 

For details on how to submit a petition, see the Petition Procedure section below.

You may take a maximum of 48 units per semester.

Students generally take 36-48 units per semester. If you would like to take more than the maximum units, you must submit a petition to the INI Academic and Student Services Team, who will then forward it to the advisor committee for review.

INI students, whether U.S. or international, must register for a minimum of 36 units each semester, except for the summer (specific criteria must be met).

Mini courses are offered for half of a semester and are typically six units each. The first mini course in a semester starts on the first day of classes and ends at mid-semester. The second mini course starts at mid-semester and ends on the last day of classes. Mini semesters are listed as fall/mini 1 and 2, spring/mini 3 and 4, and summer/mini 5 and 6.

You can check the "MINI" column in the Schedule of Classes to determine if a course is a mini course. Another indication of a mini course is a number appearing in the section. For example, section "A1" indicates a mini course that is offered in the first half of the fall semester.

The INI discourages students from enrolling in courses that have overlapping content to the extent that students will not receive credit toward degree requirements for redundant courses.

Refer to the Overlapping Course List (PDF) to ensure you do not take courses with redundant content.

A student who wants to take a course as pass/fail is required to register for the course and submit the Pass/Fail Approval Form to the INI Academic and Student Services Team for approval from the student's Academic Advisor and the Director of the INI.

If approved, the INI Academic and Student Services Team will send the form to The HUB for processing. 

INI students are required to submit an INI Petition Form for:

• Program transfers
• Proposal submission extensions
• Graduation extensions
• Increase in units
• Course substitutions
• Independent Study - Download the Template
• Any other changes that are outside of the policies stated in the Student Handbook

When preparing a petition, students should ensure that they include specific and valid reasons for submitting the petition. In addition, if the student's petition is about a class, they must include the course syllabus.

1. The INI student completes a petition form and submits it to the INI Academic and Student Services Team.
2. Academic and Student Services Team presents the petition to the INI Academic Advisor Committee at the next weekly meeting.
3. The INI Academic Advisor Committee approve or deny the petition, with the advice of the Director if necessary.
4. Academic and Student Services Team informs the student of the outcome via email, typically within a week.
5. If the student wants to appeal the petition outcome, they can appeal to the INI Director by submitting a new petition addressed to the INI Director. We recommend appealing within 7 days.
6. Academic and Student Services Team saves the finalized petition in the student's file.

Download the INI Petition Form (PDF)

This term refers to confirming your position on waitlists.

Towards the end of the registration period, students receive notification from the Office of the Registrar to tag up. If a student does not tag up, they are dropped from the waitlist.

Only up to 36 units of undergraduate courses (300-499) can be considered toward degree requirements (between core and restricted elective courses).

Typically, INI students are waitlisted for courses due to either the popularity of the subject matter or so departments can ensure that the students who need the courses to graduate have priority. This is common in all departments (including the INI) during the registration period, and it does not mean that you will not be enrolled in the course.

If you are waitlisted, it is best to attend the class until you are formally registered in it; this will give you a better chance of getting in since you will not have missed any coursework. 

Please contact the INI Academic and Student Services Team for help with managing your registration status.