Policies You Need to Know for Registration

All students are assigned to a specific academic year catalog upon enrollment. This catalog provides a complete set of academic requirements for graduation, which will not change despite any curricular changes that occur during a student’s years of study. Students who leave and return to Berklee after four or more years will automatically be assigned to the new catalog year that is in effect at the time of their return. If you have declared a major, your catalog year can be found in the top section of your degree audit.

You may opt to change to a more recent catalog year assignment if you prefer to graduate under a newer set of curricular requirements, but you may not change your catalog year assignment to an earlier catalog. You are encouraged, however, to contact the chair of your major via email to discuss the applicability of past course work to your existing catalog assignment.

The credit-by-exam (CBX) option is available for many, but not all, majors and courses. Students seeking to obtain CBX for a course should first determine if CBX is an option for a particular course, obtain the information about completing the CBX, and apply to the course chair.

For more information regarding the limitations and conditions for testing out of courses, see the Policy Handbook for Students.

After registering for courses, students may make adjustments to their course schedule during the add/drop period, which occurs at the beginning of each semester. During this time, students may add or drop courses to their schedule through my.berklee.edu. Please refer to the academic calendar for specific dates related to your program.

Note: Entering students may not add or drop courses online. They must contact the academic department that manages the course by email before the add/drop deadline.

After the deadline to drop a course has passed, students may withdraw from a course by submitting a Withdrawal from Courses Form (login required). A withdrawn course will remain on a transcript with a grade of “W” (Withdrawn) and is not eligible for a tuition refund or a replacement course. 

Note: Withdrawn courses are considered attempted courses and, as such, may affect a student’s satisfactory academic progress. Withdrawn courses are not considered when calculating a student’s GPA. If you receive financial aid, scholarship, or veterans’ benefits, withdrawal from a course(s) may impact your eligibility. If you are an international student, withdrawal from a course(s) may jeopardize your F-1 Visa status. 

The deadline to withdraw is listed in Important Dates and Deadlines.

Note: Withdrawing from the college and other refund information can be found at Withdrawals and Refunds.

Students may enroll in certain courses for a second or subsequent time. The following rules apply:

• Only the highest grade in a repeated course will be computed into the cumulative grade point average and the concentrate cumulative grade point average. 
• Only the highest grade in a repeated course will count as completed credit for Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP).
• All repeats of a course will count as attempted credit.
• The grades for all repeated courses will be shown on the student’s transcript.
• Only the highest grade in the repeated course and credits for the repeated course may count towards satisfying any graduation requirements, including the total credits required for graduation.

There are certain courses to which the above rules do not apply. Courses (such as labs, ensembles, non-leveled private instruction, dance technique courses, independent study, special topic courses, and internships, among others), are designated as “repeatable for credit.” A grade earned in such a course cannot be replaced by a grade from later retaking the course. All attempted and earned credits in these repeatable courses are factored into the student's grade point average and SAP.

Certain majors may have additional limitations on which courses, or how many courses, may be retaken. For example, no required music production and engineering course, required electronic production and design course, and certain other music technology courses can be repeated without departmental approval. Students are strongly advised to contact the appropriate department chair or program director for further information before repeating any course.

Students are not allowed to audit any course within the curriculum. All students must be properly registered for all courses they attend by the end of the add/drop period. After the add/drop period concludes, faculty will check their updated course rosters to identify any students attending their courses who are not fully registered and send them to the Office of the Registrar to resolve registration issues.

All students are required to declare a major field of study by their third-semester credit standing. You have the option to declare up to two minors as well. 

To stay on track for graduation, it is strongly advised that the declaration of major form be submitted at least two weeks prior to your assigned online registration time during your second semester if you would like to register for courses in your new major.

To declare, change, or drop your major/minor, you must submit either the Change or Declaration of Major Form or the Change or Declaration of Minor Form. For more information, see the Declaring a Major/Minor page. 

English as a Second Language

All degree and diploma students for whom English is a second language and whose entering Berklee English assessment or TOEFL score places them in an ESL course are required to enroll in that course in their first semester. All degree and diploma students must continue to enroll in an ESL course in subsequent semesters until they attain proficiency, as defined as ready to enroll in LENG-111 Writing and Communication. No first-semester student is permitted to drop any required course without the written authorization of the course chair.

LENG-111 Writing and Communication

All degree students are required to enroll in LENG-111 Writing and Communication in their first semester, unless they have received appropriate transfer credit or are enrolled in an ESL course. All degree students who have received transfer credit for LENG-111 will be required to select another liberal arts course for their first semester.

The semester level is determined by the program of study (Bachelor of Music degree or Professional Diploma) and the total number of credits a student has earned. It is not determined by the number of semesters a student has been enrolled. The following is a chart of semester levels with credits earned.

Exceeding the maximum credit load will result in an extra credit fee. The fee is based on the number of credits over the maximum (check Tuition and Related Costs for exact amount).

The Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) policy is intended to provide early identification of students requiring additional academic support and governs the eligibility of all students for enrollment and financial aid.

All students are required to consistently meet or exceed the following three SAP standards each semester:

• A cumulative grade point average (CumGPA) of 2.00
• A cumulative credit completion percentage (CumCCP) of 70 percent, calculated by cumulative credit hours completed divided by cumulative credit hours attempted
• The completion of graduation requirements within 150 percent of the published length of the degree or diploma program, e.g., complete the 120-credit degree program within 180 attempted credits

Failure to Meet SAP Standards

Students who fail to meet or exceed any one of the SAP standards for the first time will be placed on suspension warning. Students in suspension warning status are given one additional semester of enrollment and financial aid eligibility to meet SAP standards.

Failure to achieve SAP standards for a second time will result in academic suspension from the college and a loss of financial aid eligibility.

The college’s primary commitment is to full-time study and does not allow for the unrestricted enrollment of part-time students. All students are considered full time and charged the full-time diploma or degree tuition, unless a student meets certain criteria and is authorized to enroll part time by the college.

The maximum credit load within full-time tuition for each program is:

• Bachelor of Music degree program: 16 credits
• Professional Diploma program: 13 credits

Exceeding the maximum credit load will result in an extra credit fee, listed on the Tuition and Related Costs page.

Maximum Extra Credits per Term

Students may register for up to four extra credits each term and will be charged per credit for each extra credit. Diploma students may register for up to 17 credits, and degree students may register for up to 20 credits.

First-semester entering students and transfer students generally may not exceed the registration credit limit of their programs. Students wishing to register for more than four extra credits who have demonstrated high academic achievement and/or high musical proficiency should seek approval from the director of academic advising in the Academic Advising office or the major department chair.

Part-Time Status

To enroll in fewer than the full-time minimum of 12 credits per semester, students must request official part-time status by the posted deadline—the Friday before the start of classes for that semester—to be effective for the same semester. Part-time study is charged on a per-credit basis and is typically awarded only for medical reasons or in a student’s last semester. Also, students that receive financial aid and/or a scholarship who enroll in fewer than 12 credits may have their award affected.

• The deadline to request part-time is listed on the Important Dates and Deadlines page. Go to the Part-Time Status Request form.

Special part-time status procedure for the summer term only:

• Domestic students in their second term of enrollment (or higher) do not need to request authorization to study part-time. Simply register for your courses, and you will be charged by the credit—up to 11 credits for degree and diploma students. All students will be charged the full-time rate once they're at 12 credits.
• International students must be authorized for part-time status for the summer term and must submit the Part-Time Status Request form by 11:59 p.m. ET on the published check-in deadline.
• Spring entering students may enroll part time during the summer by declaring it as their vacation semester.

For more information regarding full-time and part-time attendance, see the Academic Policies section of the Institutional Policy Handbook for Students. Specific information for international students can be found at Part-Time Enrollment (login required).