Office of the University Registrar

Registration Policies

Course Load Requirements

The minimum full-time load for undergraduate students is 12 credits.* The minimum full-time load for a six-week summer term is 6 credits and for the twelve-week summer term is 12 credits. Postbaccalaureate students are considered undergraduates.

* - Students with disabilities who are registered with the Disability Resources Center (001 Reid Hall) are eligible for full-time status and all the benefits thereof at or below 12 credit hours.

The minimum load for full-time undergraduate student benefits from the Veterans Administration is 12 credits for fall and spring, eight credits for Summer C and four credits for the six-week Summer A and B terms. The minimum load for full-time undergraduate student benefits from the Social Security Administration is 12 credits per semester; a full-time load for graduate students is nine hours. Inquiries related to Social Security benefits should be directed to the student’s local Social Security Office. The Office of the University Registrar will complete enrollment certificates issued by the Social Security Administration for students eligible to receive educational benefits, as long as the student is a full-time undergraduate. Refer to Financial Aid for enrollment requirements for students receiving financial aid and for students with disabilities.

University regulations allow a maximum load of 18 credits. Some colleges have differing maximum loads; refer to the college sections for specific information.

Students with college approval may register for less than the minimum or more than the maximum load. After late registration, no student can drop below the minimum load without successfully petitioning his or her college dean.

Simultaneous enrollment in correspondence courses or extension work at another college or university is counted when computing the maximum course load but not the minimum course load.

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Nondegree Registration

Nondegree enrollment is restricted to participants in special programs, off-campus programs, university-affiliated exchange programs, those participants with nondegree educational objectives at the university, and high school/college dual-credit enrollment. (Special regulations govern high school/college dual enrollment for academically advanced students in Florida high schools.)

Undergraduate students who have been denied admission to UF for any term are not eligible for nondegree registration. Students who have previously attended UF in a degree-seeking status who did not subsequently earn a bachelor’s degree are not eligible for nondegree registration.

Nondegree enrollment is subject to the availability of faculty, space and facilities. No application for admission is required.

Nondegree enrollment is generally limited to the summer terms.

UF Students Attending Other Schools - Normally, UF students are not permitted to register at another institution for a course or its equivalent that is offered at UF.

Visiting Students Attending UF - Undergraduate students in good standing at another accredited collegiate institution can enroll full time at UF as nondegree transient students to complete work to transfer back to the parent institution. The university does not allow transient students during the regular academic year (fall and spring semesters).

UF will not evaluate work previously completed, and it is the student’s responsibility to secure approvals required by the parent institution. Certification to Social Security and Veterans Administration programs also is the responsibility of the student, who must request each institution to furnish records.

Nondegree students are subject to the following restrictions:

  • Nondegree students must meet state of Florida immunization requirements.
  • Course enrollment requires the approval of the college at the beginning of each term. The college of enrollment has the authority to terminate a nondegree enrollment before registration for any term. Generally, nondegree registration is for one term only.
  • Registration is not permitted until the last three days of the drop/add period and must be completed by the end of drop/add; failure to register by that deadline will result in a late registration fee.
  • The same grading system is applicable to degree and nondegree students. Nondegree credit is not applicable to a UF degree except by subsequent admission to degree status and successful petition for application of such credit. Authorization to enroll as a nondegree student in no way implies future approval for admission as a degree-seeking student.
  • Nondegree enrollment status will be denied to any student under suspension/dismissal from a postsecondary institution or not in good standing at any institution previously enrolled, including UF, even if the student has subsequently attended another institution. Nondegree students are subject to other regulations and restrictions imposed by the college or department in which they wish to enroll.
  • Nondegree students taking courses at the university will be required to register for and to attend classes under the university calendar. Nondegree students must pay appropriate UF fees based on course level, number of credits and residency status.

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Auditing Courses

Auditing a course is approved on a space-available basis. In addition to paying tuition and fees, the student must obtain approvals of the instructor and dean of the college offering the course. Immunizations also are required. Audited courses are not reflected on the academic transcript. Students auditing a course to complete course requirements should refer to Grades and Grading Policies.

Transfer Credit Policy

In general, students may transfer 60 credit hours from community colleges as part of the hours needed for their UF degrees, regardless of when these hours are earned, subject to university and college degree requirements.

Associate of Arts (A.A.) degree recipients from Florida public community colleges who continue enrollment at the school that awarded the A.A. may be granted additional transfer credit for one or more courses that satisfy their UF degree requirements.

Junior-/senior-level (courses numbered 3000-4000) course requirements for the major must be completed at UF or, with permission of the student’s UF college, at another baccalaureate degree-granting institution. At least 25 percent of semester credit hours must be earned through instruction at the University of Florida.

Accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools states, "an adequate number of hours with appropriate prerequisites must be required in courses above the elementary level." The University of Florida interprets this, based on commonly accepted good practice, to mean 30 credits in 3000-/4000-level courses.

Courses completed with grades of D or higher at other regionally accredited degree-granting institutions and institutions fully accredited by a regional or national accrediting agency recognized by the United States Department of Education that participate in the statewide course numbering system and that reasonably parallel the curriculum at this university will be accepted for transfer credit as hours earned. It is the prerogative of the student’s college to determine how transfer credit satisfies the specific degree’s course requirements.

Students are required to submit final official transcripts from all institutions attended before or during their enrollment at UF. Failure to declare attendance at another institution can invalidate admission to UF and any credits or degrees earned.