Enrollment Assistance
The Registrar's Office manages the Enrollment process, so please read through their website and check it regularly for updates (includes appointment timelines and answers to frequently asked questions about the enrollment process).
Waitlists are available after all students, continuing and new, have had the opportunity to enroll in classes, and are assigned by class level (after first pass enrollment). Students may add up to 14 waitlist credits during second pass enrollment appointments. Enrollment appointments can be viewed by going to your Student Center in MyUCSC and clicking on Enrollment Dates.
For instruction on how to enroll in a waitlist, review the Office of the Registrar's FAQ for Students: Waitlist.
For those that passed a required course but did not receive the required grade: note that you will be required to take an alternative version of the course. While the enrollment system will allow you to waitlist in a course you have already completed, it will not actually allow you to enroll. This is a "known issue" in the system.
Holds on Enrollment
A hold may be placed on your enrollment for various reasons, including failure to provide documentation for required vaccines, past-due balances, failure to declare a major by your declaration deadline (2nd quarter for transfer students; 6th quarter for students who entered UCSC as frosh), or other past-due "To-Do" list items. A hold will create an error message when trying to enroll, so it is important to check for holds now so you do not have any delay in enrolling in courses.
The Psychology Department does not place holds. If you have questions regarding the hold on your account, contact the department that placed the hold. You can see who placed the hold by clicking on “Details” under the hold section of your Student Center. Log on to MyUCSC and go to "My Student Center:, then select "Search for Classes" to get to the Class Search. Holds are displayed on the right. Select “Details” to find information regarding the hold and how to get it released.
Prerequisites- Enrollment Error Message
Many of our courses have prerequisites that have to be completed before courses can be taken. If you get an enrollment error message stating that a prerequisite has not been met, review the prerequisites, co-requisites and other restrictions for the class in the Class Search and confirm that your student record reflects satisfaction of all requisites. If after reviewing the course description and your academic history, if you feel you have met the prerequisite, contact the Office of the Registrar and address the error message.
Please note, some upper division PSYC courses are restricted to declared majors. If a course is only available to declared majors, it will be noted as a prerequisite. Students still "Proposed" in Cognitive Science or Psychology cannot enroll in courses which are restricted to majors. (Not sure if you are eligible to declare yet? Check the Declaring Cognitive Science or Declaring Psychology pages for details on their declaration requirements.)
Prerequisite- Completed Outside of UCSC
If you have completed a prerequisite (have a final posted passing grade or "Pass") outside of UCSC and are unable to enroll in a Psychology course because your transfer credit has not yet posted to your UCSC record, send an unofficial transcript to psyadv@ucsc.edu. We will enter the course equivalency on your student portal to allow you to enroll in the course. Please allow 3 business days to process your request.
Unable to enroll in an open course with all the mandatory sections closed
Please contact psyadv@ucsc.edu for assistance with this. Be sure to include information about which course and which section(s) you are interested in taking in your email.
Permission Codes
Do not contact faculty or lecturers requesting permission codes. Declared juniors and seniors who were unable to enroll in any upper division courses are eligible to request permission codes from the department. After the first pass enrollment, the Psychology Department will send an email (from psyadv@ucsc.edu) with instructions on how to request a permission code(s). Please note, permission codes are not guaranteed.
When Do I Take PSYC 100?
Although PSYC 100 is the next course students take after declaring the Cognitive Science and/or Psychology major, students don’t typically take this course until sometime during their junior year. PSYC 100 requires statistics, pre-calculus, and the Entry Level Writing & Composition requirements (Writing 1 & 2) to be either completed or in progress in the previous quarter at UCSC in order to enroll.
PSYC 1 Gating
PSYC 1 is a gated course, which means seats are released during each day of enrollment. Check back each day to try to enroll in the class. If you are unable to get into the class, keep in mind that you can add to the waitlist during your second enrollment appointment.
**IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR ALL COURSES**
Per campus regulations, students must attend the first class meeting of the course in which they are enrolled to retain their seat. If you fail to attend, you may be administratively dropped from the course.
If you're not able to take courses that are fits to the major, consider what else you may want to study/learn while you're at UCSC.
Have you considered adding a minor? Depending on your interests for graduate or career paths, this could be very helpful in determining your trajectory. For example, many of our students often minor in Education, Legal Studies, or Linguistics. You may review UCSC minor options here.
Are you interested in learning a language (this can be a tremendous help, in particular if you're interested in working in an education or or a clinical setting)? Spanish fluency is often listed as a preferred or required skill for jobs. You can find language course information here.
Have you checked to see the course options your College is offering? These are great topical options with smaller group discussion that can add a lot to your experience at UCSC. Here is a list of the Colleges and links to their pages with course information:
