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Registration:

Enrollment Policies

• English Proficiency
• International Students
• Massachusetts Immunization Regulations

One unit of credit is equivalent to one semester hour. Extension School students must be enrolled in at least 14 units of credit per term to qualify for full-time status. They must be enrolled in at least 8 units of credit per term to qualify for half-time status. Courses in which students are assigned Withdrawal (WD) and Required to withdraw (RQ) grades are excluded from the calculation of enrollment status. See Grades section for a description of grades. All certifications of current enrollment status, including loan deferment certifications, are based on these definitions. Full-time students must submit certificates of immunization (see below).

Students may not enroll in more than 16 units of credit per term, unless they are admitted candidates in an Extension School degree, certificate, or diploma program or in the health careers program, and they receive their program advisor's approval. Students who do not have this approval and do not reduce their credit enrollment to 16 units by the full-tuition refund withdrawal deadline will be withdrawn from their overload course(s) and issued a full-tuition refund for those course(s).

Students who register for two or more courses that meet at the same or overlapping times will be dropped from one of these courses and issued a full-tuition refund for that course.

The Extension School reserves the right to refuse to accept registration from a student who has been required to withdraw from another Harvard school or course.

English Proficiency

All courses, except those offered by the Harvard Institute for English Language (IEL) Programs, require proficiency in the English language. Students whose primary language is not English may demonstrate their proficiency in one of the following ways:

• Earning a score of 70 or higher on the Harvard University English Language Placement Test.
• Submitting to the Registrar's or Certificate of Special Studies in Administration and Management (CSS) Office an official score of at least 250 on the computer-based Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or 600 on the paper-based TOEFL. Scores must be sent directly from the Educational Testing Service.
• Submitting to the Registrar's or CSS Office an official transcript of four full years of study at a college or university where English was the sole means of instruction. Transcripts must be sent directly from the registrars at those schools.

Students who do not meet this English proficiency requirement by the registration deadline in each term and who register for CSS courses will be withdrawn from those courses by the Registrar. These students may call the CSS Office at 495-4005 if they have questions about this policy. The Extension School reserves the right to withdraw students from other courses if they do not meet the English proficiency requirement. Students who do not have the necessary proficiency will be advised to enroll in IEL courses that are appropriate for their levels of English language proficiency.

International Students

The Harvard Extension School issues I-20 Certificates for the F-1 student visa only to admitted candidates in its graduate certificate programs--the Certificate of Special Studies in Administration and Management (CSS), the Certificate in Public Health (CPH), the Certificate in Museum Studies (CMS), the Certificate in Publishing and Communications (CPC), and the Certificate in Applied Sciences (CAS)--and in the Diploma in English for Graduate and Professional Studies (DGP). Candidates who enter the United States on an F-1 visa must remain in good academic standing and enrolled full time (14 units) in courses that will count toward their certificates or diplomas; those who fail to do so will not be eligible for F-1 student visa status and the benefits of the F-1 visa category.

International students who are not admitted certificate or DGP candidates but who are considering study at the Harvard Extension School should ensure that they have visas that will enable them to remain in the United States for the duration of their studies. Tourist visas are usually valid for three to six months and are not designated by the US Immigration and Naturalization Service for study purposes; therefore, they rarely are extended for educational reasons.

Students who enroll in Extension School courses while on a student or other visa must comply with Massachusetts Immunization Regulations, as described below.

Massachusetts Immunization Regulations

In compliance with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Immunization Regulations, all students who enroll full time (14 units), or who enroll while on a student or other visa, must submit proof of immunization against certain communicable diseases.

These students must submit proof of measles vaccination (two live immunizations on or after the first birthday, at least 30 days apart, in 1969 or later); rubella vaccination (one immunization on or after the first birthday in 1969 or later); mumps vaccination (one immunization on or after the first birthday in 1969 or later); and a tetanus-diphtheria booster (one booster within the last ten years). Documentation of a positive blood test for immunity to measles, rubella, and mumps is acceptable in lieu of immunizations.

Certificate of immunization forms are available in the Registrar's Office; they may also be downloaded from this website. Completed forms are due in the Registrar's Office by September 27 in the fall term and February 4 in the spring term.

Downloading Forms

Downloadable forms require that you have Adobe's Acrobat Reader on your computer. This is a free product, available at the Adobe website (linked below). Instructions for installing the Adobe product are at their site.

If you have technical problems, please use the alternate method described above to submit your form.

1. Download and install Adobe's Acrobat Reader. If you have problems downloading or installing Adobe's Acrobat Reader, you will have to contact Adobe for support. PLEASE DO NOT CALL HARVARD for technical support.

2. Download the certificate of immunization form. (Adobe PDF format, 36K)

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