Course Registration

What courses are available to you?

As students of the Sanford and Nicholas Schools almost all courses at Sanford and Nicholas are available to you.  There are some exceptions based on the requirements for other degree programs at the school – MPP and MIDP at Sanford and MEM and MF at Nicholas.  All of these programs have their own core courses that must be reserved for students of that degree program, however if space is available, you may be able to enroll. The other limitations to course selections are the instruction mode and pre-requisites.  See more information in the sections below.

For more information related to registration, review the Nicholas School Advising Guide Resource Folder

Registration Process

Shopping cart opens at 8AM Monday, October 21 (EST)/ 8PM Monday, October 21 (CST). This is when courses first become available for viewing in the DukeHub.  Shopping cart does not mean enrolling in courses, but rather allows you to “shop” for courses and try out different schedules.

Validate your Shopping Cart Be sure to validate your Shopping Cart in DukeHub before November 1 at 7:00am (EST). The validation process will help you catch errors in your Shopping Cart, such as required permission numbers or prerequisites. If your schedule passes the validation test, there should not be an issue when you attempt to enroll in classes.

Tip: For courses that require instructor consent, email the professor this week, not after the registration window opens on November 1.  When you e-mail the course instructor, provide a 1-2 sentence explanation for why you think you should take this course, and request a permission number (see explanation below about permission numbers).  

The graduate student registration window begins 7AM Wednesday, October 30 (EST)/ 7PM Wednesday, October 30 (CST) and ends Monday November 12. You are not automatically enrolled in the courses in your Shopping Cart. You must enroll in the courses you want during this window by moving them from the shopping cart to the registration record and clicking “enroll.”
The drop/add period begins Tuesday November 13and ends Wednesday, January 22, 2025. During this time, you may continue to change your course schedule, and may still receive instructor permission to join a course, or move off a waitlist into a course.  At the end of drop/add period, you may not make any more changes to your schedule, no exceptions.  If you drop a class after January 22, 2025, you will receive a “W” for “Withdraw” on your transcript.

Registration Steps

  1. In Simple Class Search, the term should read “2025 Spring Term.”
  2. Click on the Subject dropdown to list available subjects.
  3. Click on a Subject and hit the Search button to see available courses in that subject.
  4. Click on the View Sections button to view scheduled sections. Review the Class Details by selecting the expand icon.
  5. Click on the three dots (Additional Actions) and select “Add to Cart” if you like the course. A confirmation message will appear at the top of the Simple Class Search page letting you know the course was successfully added.
The shopping cart helps you plan your registration activities prior to the opening of your registration window. Schedule Builder is a tool that allows students to identify course options, create multiple schedules, and import selected schedules back to the shopping cart. Once your window opens, if you are satisfied with the courses in your shopping cart, and they are still available, you can simply move those courses from your shopping cart into your actual registration record. Filling your Shopping Cart
  • Access the shopping cart on the Enrollment tab in your DukeHub account.
  • Add classes to the shopping cart via "Schedule Builder", "Simple Class Search", "Advanced Class Search", or "Planner".
  • Set the default term to the upcoming registration term.
  • Placing a course in your shopping cart does not impact the enrollment total for the course. Only actual registration will fill an actual seat in the class.
  • If you are registering for a variable unit/credit course, add the course to your shopping cart. The system will automatically default to the lowest unit for the course. If you need to change this, click on "Change Units" in the "Variable Credits" column in your shopping cart. This will take you to the Enrollment Preferences page where you can select the appropriate class units.
  • To create a proposed schedule in your shopping cart, check the box next to the courses in which you would like to enroll. Next, click on the "Validate" button. This will check the courses for time conflicts, permission, prerequisites, and term credit limits.

HAVING CLASSES IN YOUR SHOPPING CART OR PLANNER DOES NOT MEAN YOU ARE REGISTERED FOR THEM. YOU MUST ACTUALLY ENROLL WHEN YOUR WINDOW OPENS

To register from the Shopping Cart, navigate to Shopping Cart in the Enrollment menu of DukeHub.
  1. Select the Check box next to the class(es) to enroll in for the term.
  2. Select the Validate button to confirm eligibility to enroll in the class(es). Adjust selections as needed.
  3. Select the Enroll button to register.
  4. Review the Enrollment Results box confirm the status of the transaction

Credits & Courses

During the Duke semester, you will enroll in the Master’s Project course and three (3) electives adding up to a total of 12-14 credits. You may only enroll in three (3) elective courses, not four (4). Most courses are three (3) credits, but courses with a lab section may be four (4) credits.  We do not recommend enrolling in more than one lab course due to the heavy workload, but it is allowed.  You may not enroll in one (1) credit courses unless you have overloaded courses in a previous semester.  If overloading or underloading on credits applies to you this semester, see the section below for more information.
You are required to take the 3 credit course 898 Master’s Project iMEP II.  You will be manually enrolled in this course, so do not worry about finding it in the DukeHub.  This course will be scheduled after course advising to reduce time conflicts with elective courses the cohort is interested in.  The Program Coordinator will notify you of the day and time as soon as possible
500 level courses and above are graduate courses. Anything below 500 is considered undergraduate level. Courses numbered below the 500 level may not be applied toward the required credits needed for the iMEP graduate degree. Graduate students must be classified as full-time students based on their graduate-level course enrollment, therefore courses numbered below 500 will not be available to you.
The DukeHub automatically checks if you have the required prerequisite courses for a course you are trying to enroll in.  If you have not taken the specific prerequisite course, the system will not allow you to enroll. Tip: If you believe you have the required skills and/or you have taken a very similar course to the prerequisite in the past, email the course instructor to ask for permission to take the course. Explain your background in the required skills in 1-2 sentences. If they consent to let you in the course, the school registrar can manually register you.
For courses that require instructor consent, you must have a permission number to register for the course in the DukeHub.  If the instructor gives their consent for you to join the course, they will email you a permission number.  For more information about how permission numbers work, please go to this webpage: https://registrar.duke.edu/help-guides/permission-numbers  
To meet the 48 credit requirement for graduation, students will enroll in an average of 12 credits each semester. More than 15 credits a semester is considered a credit overload and requires the approval of the iMEP Director of Graduate Studies (DGS). Students who have overloaded on courses one semester, may receive approval from the DGS to underload in a later semester and take only nine (9) credits. The DGS will take into account a student’s overall performance in the program, GPA, and course workload in determining whether or not to authorize a credit overload or underload. Professor Jingbo Cui is the current DGS of the iMEP program.  Please email Professor Cui and Marcia Crippen if you are requesting an overload or underload.
Every course in the DukeHub will show the instruction mode.  You need to pay careful attention to this information when selecting your courses.  The following instruction modes are possible: In-person: Only in-person attendance is allowed. These courses will not be available to you, except by special instructor permission. If you feel an in-person course is essential to your course of study, please let the Program Coordinator know in you course advising meeting. Online Synchronous: You must be able to join remotely at the scheduled time. May apply to a lecture, discussion section, or lab section. Online Asynchronous: There is no scheduled meeting time, or the scheduled meeting time may be optional.  You will access course materials online at a time that works for you.  May apply to a lecture, discussion section, or lab section. Hybrid: Includes different modes of instruction.  There are different configurations of hybrid.  The lecture, discussion section, or lab may each be a different mode.  If one of the elements of a course is in-person without an online option, then this course may not work for you.  

Please read the Instruction Modes Guide on the Duke Office of the Registrar website carefully before choosing your classes

iMEP students have the opportunity to enroll in courses at Duke Law, Pratt Schol of Engineering, Fuqua School of Business, and other departments. Registration procedures for the different professional schools/departments at Duke vary by school or department. Courses at the Duke Law School and the Fuqua School of Business do NOT follow the university's academic calendar. Please pay special attention to this when signing up for courses at these two schools. You should plan to start classes EARLY (if necessary) and classes may continue AFTER your NSOE courses have concluded. For more information about registering for courses at the schools above, and to access the required forms, use the link below: https://nicholas.duke.edu/about/policies/professional-schools-cross-career-registration

Nicholas School Course Registration Handbook >