Register for courses and make changes online through MyRegistration at https://my.ucmerced.edu. Through the menu, you can register for courses, look up your course schedule, and reserve your textbooks. It is important to keep deadlines in mind. Add/Drop deadlines for each semester are available from the Office of the Registrar.
For more information or help about registering for courses, please see the Office of the Registrar Registering for Classes help page:
Consult with your Faculty Advisor and/or the Graduate Program Chair to discuss the courses you should enroll in for each semester. If you are a new student, you will receive information about course registration during orientation, however, you will still need to consult with your Faculty Advisor regarding the courses you should complete.
Taking Undergraduate Courses
For courses that are upper-division undergraduate courses (100-199), you will need to complete a “Graduate Taking an Undergraduate Course” form found at http://graduatedivision.ucmerced.edu/faculty-staff-resources/forms-publications
Note: Any course that is numbered 1-99 will count towards term registration unit requirements; however, these courses do not count towards degree requirements
Registering for Independent Study
Most graduate students will be involved in conducting research. To obtain credit, you must register for independent study, which includes the following types of courses:
- 295, Graduate Research
- 298, Directed Group Study
- 299, Directed Independent Study
The registrar has provided two ways to register for independent study:
- By paper approval - available with instructor signature until the end of the add period
- By email approval (preferred method, instructions listed below) - available prior to the first day of instruction
Reminder: All graduate students must be registered for 12 units before to fall and spring semesters in order for your funding (i.e TA, GSR, Fellowship) to be processed. Each student must remain registered in 12 units throughout the term in which university funding is received.
Email Approval (Preferred Method- ONLY AVAILABLE PRIOR TO THE FIRST DAY OF INSTRUCTION)
1. Email the SSHA.Grad team at ssha.grad@ucmerced.edu.
2. In the subject line, please title the email - CRN Request, term year (ex. CRN Request, Spring 2021)
3. In the body of the email, please include the following information:
- Course Number:
- # of Units:
- Instructor:
Courses Outside of Graduate Group
If you are planning to take courses that are outside of your graduate group, please consult with your faculty advisor and/or graduate group chair before to taking the course.
If you are requesting to take a course in another discipline (outside of your own program) and you receive a course registration error message with "major, minor, or concentration restriction", please email the appropriate school to request an 'course restriction override' along with the approval of your faculty advisor, and the instructor of record (email is sufficient) to:
Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts: ssha.grad@ucmerced.edu
Natural Sciences: snsgradstaff@ucmerced.edu
Engineering: soe-grstaff@ucmerced.edu
UC Intercampus Exchange Program
This program is for any graduate students in state-supported programs who seek opportunity for contact with scholars, fields of study, and facilities not available on her/his home campus. Intercampus exchange students may not be given the same privileges as students in the host campus's department. A graduate student registered at the UC Merced campus may become an intercampus exchange student for a full term at any of the other UC campuses with the approval of the graduate adviser, the director of the graduate group and the deans of Graduate Studies on both the home and host campuses. To be eligible, the graduate student must have attended UC Merced for a minimum of one term before participating in the intercampus exchange program. The application could be found on the Graduate Division website:
For additional information and timelines regarding the program information, please visit the Office of the Registrar, Special Programs:
Filing Fee Status
The cost for Filing Fee Status is one-half of the Student Services fee (formerly the University Registration fee), for doctoral students who have completed all requirements for their degrees except for filing their dissertation and presenting the Final Defense. It is also available to master’s students with no requirements remaining except for filing their thesis (Plan I) or taking the final comprehensive examination (Plan II). Filing Fee is available for the fall and spring semesters only.
Filing fee status is not a form of registration. If students wish to use university services that are supported by registration fees, they must pay those fees. Students on Filing fee status are not eligible to hold academic appointments because they are not registered. The Filing fee may be used only once during a student’s career.
Filing Fee Petition and Filing Fee FAQs: http://graduatedivision.ucmerced.edu/faculty-staff-resources/forms-publications
Educational Leave Program
The Educational Leave Program allows students to suspend academic work at UC Merced, leave the campus and later resume studies at UC Merced with a minimum of procedural difficulties. Any registered student on the UC Merced campus, undergraduate or graduate, is eligible to enroll in the Educational Leave Program, although restrictions may be imposed on the number of times a student can participate in the program.
Educational Leave Program Application and Information: http://graduatedivision.ucmerced.edu/faculty-staff-resources/forms-publications
Last Updated: August 2020
