Frequently Asked Questions

Pre-registration is the process by which you submit your requests for Autumn Quarter classes, indicating preferred courses, times, and/or sections. Your official registration and Autumn Quarter schedule will be based on your requests submitted during pre-registration. Pre-Registration will take place Monday, August 17-Friday, August 21, 2026.

If you will not have internet access during pre-registration, let your academic adviser know during your summer meeting so you can discuss your course preferences thoroughly.

Pre-registration instructions will be available in mid-August via webinar and email. Pre-registration Overview webinar will take place on Thursday, August 13th from 12PM-1PM CDT.

If you will not have internet access during pre-registration week, let your adviser know during your summer meeting so you can discuss your course preferences thoroughly. 

You should contact your Academic Adviser as soon as possible to see if they can set up a meeting with you. Meeting times will be based on your Adviser's availability and may be limited leading up to pre-registration deadlines. It’s still preferable that you meet with your adviser, even if that meeting is late – but you will get more out of the meeting if you meet with your adviser by the deadline.

No, the algorithm that sorts out course enrollments doesn't consider timing so long as your requests are submitted between Monday, August 17 at 9:00 a.m. CDT and Friday, August 21 at 5:00 p.m. CDT. Requests submitted that Monday morning will be treated the same way as those submitted on that Friday afternoon.

No, there is no way to guarantee registration in all your course requests. It’s not realistic for everyone interested in a particular course to get a seat in a particular section due to enrollment limits, time conflicts with course enrollments, and other logistical necessities. It isn't likely you'll be enrolled in all of your top choices. There are strategies you can employ to increase your odds, including 1) making sure you check the prerequisites for courses to ensure you meet them, if applicable, 2) requesting alternative sections and back-up course options, 3) requesting courses held at a variety of days/times, and 4) being thoughtful about how you rank and prioritize your selections. 

No, pre-registration for incoming students is restricted to courses commonly taken by new first-year and transfer students. This means it's primarily courses for general education requirements, but you'll also be able to request some other courses that are particularly well-suited for new students to begin their studies at UChicago. If you're a transfer student or in an unusual situation where a higher-level course not available to you during pre-registration makes sense for you in Autumn Quarter, plan to request some back-up course options and talk to your Adviser about next steps.

Labs and tutorials will be assigned automatically around your other course enrollments. There is no way to indicate your preferences for days or times.

Your schedule will be available to you in the my.UChicago portal on Monday, September 7.

All students will gain access to the add/drop system the week of September 7th. Incoming transfer students will be able to start making changes to their schedule on Tuesday, September 8th. All other incoming students will have access on Thursday, September 10th.

If you begin attending  four courses and decide after a week or so that it'd be better for you to take three, that's fine. All students have until Friday, October 16 (Friday of 3rd week) to drop a class without it appearing on your transcript. We strongly recommend you confer with your Academic Adviser to ensure that you don't unintentionally drop something that will cause problems for you later on.

Students will not be able to drop their Humanities courses themselves during add/drop. The ability to change Humanities sections/sequences will be limited. Further guidance on how to pursue a change to your Humanities sequence will be provided prior to the start of the add/drop period.

In some cases, if your top choices were full, you may have been registered in one of your lower ranked choices. Since all students must have a Humanities course, if all of the sections you requested were full, then it is likely you were registered in a section that you did not bid on but that had open seats available. In addition, if you did not bid on the appropriate course for your placement results, this may have been automatically corrected.

Your UCID number is an 8-digit identification number that will likely start with "12." You can find it on the top of the email you received from Dean Hale in early May. Your CNet ID is your UChicago email handle (before the '@' symbol) as well as the username you use to log in to various campus resources online.

Placement exams: Take the Math, Chemistry, Computer Science, and language placement tests (for any languages you have experience with) as soon as possible. The math placement exam is mandatory for all incoming students, and it is strongly advised you take any additional placements in subject areas that you are interested in furthering your studies. 

Students that complete the exams after the June 20 deadline will have their scores added to My.Uchicago on a set schedule.

• If completed by Friday, July 17, results will be posted on Monday, August 10
• If completed by Friday, August 7, results will be posted on Monday, August 31
• If completed by Friday, August 28, results will be posted on Monday, September 21
• If completed by Friday, September 18, results will be posted on Monday, October 12

AP/IB scores: Request your AP and/or IB scores be sent to UChicago as soon as possible. Results from these examinations can impact placements and influence the way you pre-register for Autumn Quarter classes. For additional guidance regarding examination credit, please reference the College Catalog. 

Placement tests are available on a platform called Canvas. Once you have claimed your CNet ID, you'll receive a notice a few days later that your placement tests are available. When in Canvas, you will see three enrollments for placement exams:

1. Math and Chemistry
2. Languages
3. Computer Science  

The tests should be completed by June 20. If you miss the June 20 deadline, complete the placement test as soon as possible, but be aware that you may not have a placement set in time for your pre-registration window.

Placement tests are not designed to be competitive tools, but rather opportunities for students to assess themselves honestly. It may be helpful to review basic concepts or vocabulary prior to taking a test. Cramming or other intense practice before you take a placement test may result in a placement that is inappropriately high. Note that these tests measure skill in problem solving as well as general knowledge in subjects. It is more important to understand broad, central concepts than to memorize details. Refer to the instructions on each Canvas page for further information.

Each test will provide information regarding the use of texts, notes, AI tools, dictionaries, calculators, etc. Students are expected to submit responses that are their own and that reflect their ability in a given subject. Using additional, unapproved materials is prohibited and likely to result in an inappropriate placement which will place you at risk of being overwhelmed and unsuccessful in the course. Similarly, not doing your best with the approved resources could also result in an inappropriate placement, one that leaves you disengaged and less prepared for higher level coursework you may wish to take later on. Doing your best with the approved resources for each exam will yield the best results.

Students who need accommodations should contact the Student Disability Services (SDS) office as early as possible and well in advance of the deadline for completing the tests. SDS may be contacted by telephone at 773-702-6000 or by email at disabilities@uchicago.edu. Visit https://disabilities.uchicago.edu for more information.

Most of them are. Generally speaking, assume that once you start a test, you need to finish it in that one sitting. Be sure you plan to take the tests when you have an uninterrupted block of time and a stable internet connection!

Online placement tests must be taken prior to matriculation. Because most online placement tests impact your ability to enroll in coursework for Autumn Quarter, they should be completed by June 20 so that placements can be available in my.uchicago.edu prior to the start of the pre-registration period. Results of placement exams completed on time by June 20 will be visible in your my.UChicago portal by Monday, July 20.

Online placement tests do not award credit for past course work, nor may they be used to meet graduation requirements. They are designed only to identify the most appropriate course for you to take. Accreditation exams, which are available in select subjects toward the end of the summer, do have the potential to award credit.

If you encounter an issue with your placement exams in Canvas, reach out to the College Academic and Student Services Office at casso@uchicago.edu. Be sure you include your full name, eight-digit UCID number, and a description of the issue you are encountering.

Results of placement exams completed on time by June 20 will be visible in your my.UChicago portal by Monday, July 20.

Ordinarily, each department is confident in the insight your placement results provide about your background knowledge and the appropriate course in which you should begin. You should first pre-register for the appropriate course (or one of the appropriate courses) detailed in your placement results. They (and we) encourage you to try the course into which you place, even if you're apprehensive. If it becomes clear early in the quarter that it's not a good fit, you can speak to the department about adjusting your placement. Students with a strong math background who think they should be taking coursework beyond Calculus should see the next question.

Based on your initial placement exam results, you may be invited to take subsequent higher level examinations, which (as you might guess from the name) can place you into higher-level coursework. Be sure to complete all Canvas modules and subsequent exams in the subjects in which you are interested to get the most accurate placements possible. If you are a transfer student, you will also be able to consult with your Academic Adviser regarding how to interpret your placement results in light of your official transfer credit evaluation. 

You will be considered for a Physics placement automatically as a result of your Math placement and AP/IB scores, if relevant. It does not obligate you to take Physics. Placement is needed to enroll in the PHYS 130’s and 140’s sequences, while only prerequisites are needed to enroll in the PHYS 120’s sequence.

Assuming it's a language we do offer at UChicago (and odds are that it is - we offer a lot of languages), you'll need to talk to the appropriate language contact over the summer or when you arrive on campus. See here for a list of contacts.

You can, but that doesn’t mean you should or have to. College isn’t high school; taking honors courses isn’t necessary to demonstrate what you know or how well you know it. At UChicago, honors sequences are designed as rigorous introductions to a subject for those interested in advanced study in the subject, and they are often particularly well suited for those interested in research. 

In general, we encourage you to pursue the highest courses for which you have the prerequisites, but you're not obligated to take an honors course if invited to do so. You may or may not decide that it makes sense for you based on your goals and how valuable an additional time investment in that subject would be for you. If you do decide to add an honors class to your schedule, you might consider adjusting your course load to ensure you have sufficient time to devote to the honors course.

Assuming you're invited to more than one, it's possible. However, we do recommend you be cautious about doing so, since each of those will be a significant time commitment. If you're interested in doing this, we generally recommend doing only three total classes in Autumn, if at all possible. We encourage you to talk through the pros and cons of this plan with your Adviser over the summer.

There are always students who take the first quarter of an honors sequence and decide that it's not the right fit for them, which is totally fine. It's often feasible to opt into the standard variant of the sequence come Winter Quarter, but we'd recommend confirming with your Adviser during your Autumn Quarter meeting.

A concise guide to the Core can be found in the Degree Requirements section of this site. Additional details and information about courses that satisfy each requirement can be found in the College Catalog under “The Core.”

All students will complete the following:

• Two Humanities
• One Arts
• Two Civilization Studies
• Three Social Sciences
• Two Biological Sciences
• Two Physical Sciences
• One Mathematical Sciences

This totals 1300 units. The two remaining courses, or 200 units, have some flexibility, depending on your interests and plans:

One additional course must be in Mathematics, Physical Sciences, or Biological Sciences. This will most commonly be in mathematics since most students will complete two quarters of calculus for the math Core requirement.

One additional course must be in the Humanities, Arts, or Civilization Studies. This will vary according to your academic plans. Some students will obtain this credit through a Civilization Studies (CIV) Core study abroad program, which provides a total of 300 units for the Core. Others will prefer to complete the CIV requirement on campus and may only take the 2 required CIV courses and opt to take an additional Arts or HUMA course to complete the Core requirement.

All majors have a specified set of requirements needed to complete the major, and some of those requirements extend into the general education portion of the curriculum. Many – but not all – of these majors are in the Biological and Physical sciences. It’s extremely important that you familiarize yourself with the College Catalog, as this is where every major’s requirements are listed in detail, and failure to take the right courses even during your first year can mean certain majors are no longer doable. If a major does specify how you need to complete any general education requirements, it will be included on their program page in the Catalog under "Summary of Requirements." 

Note: if a requirement says e.g. "PHYS 13100 or above," it means PHYS 13100 and PHYS 14100 are acceptable, but lower numbers (PHYS 12100) are not. If it says e.g. "CHEM 11100 or equivalent," any General Chemistry I course (CHEM 10100, 11100, or 12100) is fine.

No. The Core is an integral part of the UChicago education, and courses satisfying those requirements are specifically designed for that purpose. All students are responsible for satisfying all eight Core area requirements, plus the language competency requirement, before they can be awarded a degree from the College.

Your Academic Adviser is a great place to start! You'll receive information on how to contact your Academic Adviser by mid-July, but Advising staff will be available for quick, general questions starting May 1 at (773) 702-8615 or via email at collegeadvising@uchicago.edu.

No, you cannot move between sequences. The sequence structure allows courses to build on each other quarter-to-quarter and creates a cohort among students in the class. As such, the requirements must be completed with courses from a single sequence, and those courses must be taken in consecutive quarters. 

It's also worth keeping in mind that many sequences change substantially from quarter to quarter, so even if it doesn't initially seem like a good fit, you may find it more to your liking as you continue. It's possible you might be able to switch to a new sequence before you start the sequence, but that's not always feasible. Consult your Academic Adviser prior to the start of Autumn Quarter if you are seeking to find if any change is possible.

Sequences are generally meant to build from course to course, so you are expected to take them in a particular order. You shouldn't plan, for example, to take the first quarter of a HUMA sequence and pick the rest up next year. Some Civ sequences are an exception to this. In cases where the faculty have decided that it's fine for you to take the courses in any order, it will say so in the sequence description in the College Catalog.

If you're starting a brand new language, yes, you'll need to complete the full beginning level. If you have prior experience in a language other than English, however, the requirement can be fulfilled in several different ways. They are described in the Language Competency section of this site, and you can find fuller details in the College Catalog.

Typically enrollment in math is essential for success in chemistry. If you plan to take chemistry, you should take the math in which you’ve placed. This may not apply if your math placement has you starting with a high-level mathematics course beyond calculus.

You can find basic information about AP credit in the College Catalog. 

You will also discuss this when you meet with your academic adviser this summer.

There’s a very wide variety of faculty across the College who teach in Core courses. Some of them are tenured faculty whose names you might  recognize. Some are doctoral students. Harper-Schmidt Fellows are postdocs from around the country; it’s one of the most sought-after postdoctoral teaching fellowships. What they all have in common is a dedication to the goals and values of the Core, regardless of their experience. While having a full professor in your first quarter might be a neat experience, they often only teach for a single quarter. Advanced graduate students and Harper Fellows may teach a sequence for an entire year. Getting to know an instructor for that long can be very enriching and rewarding – and can also lead to a heck of a recommendation for internships or other programs.

Start engaging with the College Catalog early on. It is a central resource for all academic program requirement questions. Each department has a page under "Programs of Study" which includes a description of the requirements and a "Summary of Requirements" for quick reference. 

In addition to outlining the requirements for the major, the Summary of Requirements will also tell you if the major expects you to take particular courses to satisfy any of the Core requirements. The Catalog will also provide information on courses planned for the year. 

Contact information for the Departmental Chair, the department's Director of Undergraduate Studies, and/or other important departmental administrators can be found on each page in the catalog that describes a particular major. These department representatives are excellent resources for answering discipline specific questions and deeper understandings of major curriculum.

This video explains how to navigate the College Catalog.

No need to panic. Being undecided is totally fine. Spend your first year working on Core requirements. Think about what kinds of courses and material you most enjoy. Share your ideas with your College Adviser. Attend academic lectures and events offered around campus. Attend the College major open houses that occur throughout the year, and Major Exploration Day in the spring. The curriculum is designed to give you plenty of time to think and experiment.

The key thing is to not cut yourself off from programs you might be interested in, which means that if there's any possibility that you might want to pursue an academic program that requires Calculus, for example, you should take it, or if you're entertaining a pre-health option, you should take General Chemistry along with your Calculus. That way, you give yourself the option of pursuing the program with the more restrictive requirements, and if you end up in a major that doesn't have specific expectations for the core, you can still use those credits to make progress toward completion of your core requirements. Not sure how to figure out if a major specifies how you are to complete Core? See the previous question.

With some exceptions, many majors do not begin until the end of first year or even second year. Remember, though, that a number of majors specify how you are to complete certain Core requirements as preparation for study in that field. So while you may not be taking courses in the major at first, you will be taking courses as preparation for the major.

Students typically take most (if not all) Core courses in their first few quarters, but there are some classes that are particularly well suited for first years. That includes ECON 10000 Principles of Microeconomics, LING 20001 Intro to Linguistics, MUSI 15100 Harmony and Voice Leading I, and other courses meant to begin initial exploration of an area of study.

Starting on July 6, you will be able to view Autumn Quarter class times and locations in the My Classes portal in your My.UChicago.edu account. 

If you're talking about big picture scheduling (i.e. "I placed into GRMN 10300 and am not sure if it's offered in Autumn,") then you can find that in the College Catalog by navigating to the corresponding program page and searching the course listings at the bottom of the page. Each course will list what quarter the department anticipates offering that course. 

Nearly all courses in the College carry 100 units of credit. Units are the standard measurement of credit at UChicago (as opposed to semester hours, for instance). A quarterly schedule consisting of 300 or 400 units of credit is the equivalent of 3 or 4 courses and considered full-time enrollment for that quarter. A total of 4200 units of credit is the minimum number of units needed to graduate, and at least 3800 of your total credits must be earned via course enrollment, as opposed to things like AP credit.

Three or four courses (300-400 units of credit) is considered full-time. If you don't come in with any AP credit, you'll need four courses in at least six of your twelve quarters to reach the 4200 units of credit needed to graduate. Many  first year students take three courses in Autumn quarter, but the choice is up to you. 

No, 300 units (3 courses) is the minimum number possible, and 400 units (4 courses) is the maximum allowed. If you need to make some adjustments to your schedule during the first week, you might temporarily drop below three, and that's fine. You need to be sure you're enrolled in at least three by the end of week three. You cannot, however, temporarily go over four courses, even if you're just trying to adjust your schedule. 

Courses numbered 1XXXX are ordinarily general education or introductory courses. Courses numbered 2XXXX are intermediate, advanced, or upper-level courses that are open only to undergraduates. Courses numbered 3XXXX and above are graduate courses that are available only to undergraduate students who obtain the consent of the instructor. Higher-numbered courses within each of these categories do not necessarily indicate increasing levels of difficulty. 

This is called cross-listing, and when the numbers are in the 10000 and 20000 ranges, it generally indicates that the content of the course is relevant to students in multiple disciplines. In all but a few cases, these are just different labels for the exact same course. For instance, the Public Policy class called Environmental Law (PBPL 23100) is listed in the Catalog as having "Equivalent Course(s)" numbered LLSO 23100 and ENST 23100. In this case, Public Policy (PBPL), Environmental and Urban Studies (ENST), and Law, Letters, and Society (LLSO) have all assigned numbers to this one course, and it could reasonably count toward any of those majors.

1. Upper-level students will have already registered for courses for Autumn, which means seats in many courses may be taken. However, many of the classes first year students take (Humanities, Calculus, General Chemistry, etc.) will have minimal seats taken, since it's less common for students to take them in subsequent years.

Sometimes, however, the class in question may not have much - if any - space available. It's possible that a few seats might open up during the add/drop period (during the first week of classes) or can be accessed with instructor consent. You can discuss this with your adviser in greater detail during Orientation Week. However, you shouldn't plan for either of these methods in your first quarter. This means that if you have your eye on ARTV 10100, and it only shows that there are 3 seats left, you should have some back-up options in place. You may not get that class this term, and that's fine - you'll have your chance at it in future quarters.

You can find a link to them on the Class Search site in the my.uchicago.edu portal. You can also search by course or department here.

The College requires a minimum of 4200 units of credit to receive a bachelor's degree. Of total credits earned, at least 3800 must be earned by course enrollments (i.e. taking an actual course, including transfer credit). Example: If you come in with 600 units of AP credit, that's great and it'll give you a head start toward the 4200 credits needed to graduate, but you will still need to take at least 38 courses.

College courses taken prior to starting at UChicago, including courses taught at the University of Chicago, are not eligible for College credit. Students that are transferring to UChicago can refer to the Catalog for information about credit evaluations.

The College offers a number of resources for international students to aid in the adjustment to life abroad. The Office of International Affairs can help with all logistical aspects, including visas and Optional Practical Training. For students for whom English is an additional language, the English Language Institute offers short courses to bolster speaking and writing skills, and the Core Tutors and Core Writing Tutors are an excellent source of help as well. You may also want to consider International Pre-Orientation before the start of Autumn Quarter. This is a chance to meet fellow international students and begin to discover Hyde Park and the city of Chicago.

The Center for College Student Success (CCSS) empowers First-Generation and Lower-Income (FLI) students in the College, providing resources and tools that promote student success, and programming and community events that build positive self-identity and a sense of belonging.

Absolutely. Academic coaching is an individualized service for undergraduate students that supports the College’s mission of a transformative education by inviting students to reflect on their own learning process and build new skills for academic success along the way.

Additionally, both Humanities and Social Sciences courses have dedicated writing assistance. 

The College offers Core Tutors, for drop-in academic support in a variety of subjects, and Core Writing Tutors for appointment-based consultations with a writing tutor. ESL/EAL writing tutors are also available. 

Your instructors will also hold office hours where you can ask questions and receive help. It’s never too soon to start interacting with your instructors. 

There is a process you must go through in order to officially set up accommodations through the Student Disability Services (SDS). The one caveat to this process is that accommodations will not be immediate. It will take time to set up any accommodations, so you should engage with the process as soon as you determine the need for accommodations from SDS.

Yes! You will be assigned to your Academic Adviser on July 13. You will be required to meet with your Academic Adviser (either via phone or video conference) between Monday, July 20 and Friday, August 14. If you have questions before you get your adviser assignment, you can contact the College Academic Advising Office.

See here for information regarding confidential resources on the University of Chicago campus.

Yes, you can find a broader list of student resources by looking here.