Registration Procedures
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.
For more information or help about registering for courses, please click here:
Please 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 to take Undergraduate Course” form found at https://registrar.ucmerced.edu/forms
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 kinds of courses:
- 295, Graduate Research
- 298, Directed Group Study
- 299, Directed Independent Study
The Indepdent Study form is now an electronic form found at: https://registrar.ucmerced.edu/forms .The form will be routed automatically to your instructor and Dean for approval. You will be automatically notified when your request is finalized and either approved or denied. Use this Add/Drop schedule to know the last day to add or drop. Review the Student Guide for step-by-step instruction on submitting an Independent Study form.
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.
NOTE: ALL Environmental Systems students MUST submit a course syllabus before a CRN request will be processed.
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. You may be requested to complete the General Petition and provide a course description/syllabus of the course for which you are requesting approval to count towards your graduate degree requirements.
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 (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 by clicking here:
For additional information and timelines regarding the program information, please click here:
Filing Fee Status
The Filing Fee is a 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 (Plans A and B) and presenting the Final Defense (Plan A). 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.
The Filing fee 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
