Graduate School

Cross-Registration at RISD and Harvard

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Cross-Registration at RISD and Harvard

There are agreements in place between Brown and the Harvard University Faculty of Arts & Sciences and Brown and the Rhode Island School of Design to allow cross-registration of graduate students in courses without paying tuition to the host institution.

A Brown graduate student is required to use the appropriate form in UFunds to obtain authorization from the DGS of their graduate program and a dean from the Graduate School. The Brown graduate student would then receive instructions to electronically enroll at Harvard FAS or manually at RISD. Neither Harvard nor RISD is required to offer courses in online or hybrid formats by virtue of these agreements. Students should confirm that they can participate in the course in accordance with its listed format.

Steps for Cross Registering at Harvard

Brown students go to the “Graduate School Administrative Forms” page in UFunds and fill out the “Harvard and RISD Cross-Registration” form. The student will get the approval of a department representative (usually the DGS) to take the course. If approval is given, the student will designate the department representative as a recommender for the form in UFunds and the department representative will complete the online recommendation. The student will secure approval from the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs at the Graduate School to take the course. If approval is given, the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs will approve the form in UFunds. After both the departmental and Graduate School representatives have approved the form in UFunds, the Graduate School will send the completed application to the student and the Registrar’s office at which point the student will be given instructions on how to register online at Harvard.

Harvard Registration Process

  • Step 1: Create an account allowing you to enroll through my.harvard. The New User Registration form needs to be re-submitted each term regardless of previous FAS course enrollments.   
  • Step 2: Cross-register for courses directly in my.harvard. 

Students participating in this program are not required to obtain a Harvard ID card to attend courses sponsored by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

Steps for Cross Registering at RISD

Brown students go to the “Graduate School Administrative Forms” page in UFunds and fill out the “Harvard and RISD Cross-Registration” form. The student will get the approval of their program’s DGS to take the course. If approval is given, the student will designate the DGS a recommender for the form in UFunds and the department representative will complete the online recommendation. This notifies the Registrar’s office that the student may proceed, at which point the student will be instructed to register online at RISD.

RISD Registration Process

  1. The student will take the RISD cross-registration form to the first day of class at RISD. If the instructor is willing to allow them into the course, the instructor will sign the form. 
  2. The student will take the form to the RISD Registrar’s Office for their approval. If they approve, an office representative will sign the form. Because cross-registered students are registered at both RISD and Brown, the student should expect to complete further paperwork for RISD’s registration purposes. 
  3. Once the student has all of the necessary approvals, the student will bring the form back to the Brown Registrar’s Office. A Registrar’s Office staff member will sign the form and will register the student for the course.