Prior to registering for classes each term, students may require academic advising using the procedures established by each college.
Currently enrolled students normally register beginning in October for spring semester classes and in March for summer term and/or fall semester classes. A registration schedule that includes the beginning dates and times for currently enrolled students can be found at registrar.ua.edu/student-services/registration. New students register for classes during a new-student orientation session. The Orientation Office provides new students with information about orientation sessions at orientation.ua.edu. Late registration is permitted until approximately one week after classes begin; there is a penalty fee for late registration.
Courses that receive inadequate registration for a given semester may be dropped from the schedule of classes before the date for enrollment confirmation and tuition payment and/or before the first week of classes.
For the most current information, students should use the online schedule of classes at myBama.ua.edu.
The Semester System
The academic year is divided into two semesters and one summer term. The first semester begins August and concludes in December. The second semester begins in January and concludes in May. The fall semester consists of one 10-week session (referred to as Fall II) and the full term. The spring semester consists of Winter Interim (a term between the end of the fall term and the beginning of the full spring term), one 10-week session (referred to as Spring II) and the full term. The summer term consists of Interim session, two five-week summer sessions and one 10-week summer session. The summer term begins in mid-May and ends in August. The Interim session is the first three weeks of the summer term. The University's current academic calendar can be viewed at registrar.ua.edu/academiccalendar.
Credit for courses completed is awarded in semester credit hours. The number of semester credit hours awarded for a course may vary from one academic department to another depending on class hours, contact hours, outside-the-classroom work, practical or experimental work and laboratory work.
Course Hour Load in the Fall and Spring Terms
During the fall and spring semesters, the normal class hour load for a full-time undergraduate student who is not on scholastic probation is 12-18 credit hours each semester. A student who has earned at least 12 credit hours at The University of Alabama and has maintained a GPA of "B" (3.0 GPA) or higher for all work attempted at The University of Alabama may enroll for more than 18 hours. The maximum load for which a student may enroll in one semester is 21 hours; however, an academic division may impose additional restrictions on class hour loads. The following policies also govern the class hour load during the fall and spring semesters:
- A senior who is on academic warning may enroll for a maximum of 18 credit hours during the semester in which he or she will complete degree requirements.
- A senior who is not on academic warning may enroll for a maximum of 21 credit hours during the semester in which he or she will complete degree requirements.
- The maximum load for which an entering freshman or transfer student may register during the first term at The University of Alabama is 18 hours.
- Students may not register for more than 4 credit hours during the Winter Interim session of the spring semester.
Course Hour Load in the Summer Term
During the summer term, the normal class hour load for undergraduate students is six credit hours for one five-week session or 12 credit hours for the summer term. Undergraduate students may enroll for a maximum of seven credit hours in each of the two summer sessions that make up the summer term. Students may not register for more than 4 credit hours during the summer Interim session. The total load in a summer term may not exceed 18 credit hours, including Interim session and 14 credit hours, including both courses that last for one summer session (five-week courses) and courses that run throughout the summer term (10-week courses). Full-time enrollment for the summer term is 12 hours.
Undergraduates Taking Graduate Credit
Bachelor’s-seeking students who are not enrolled in an Accelerated Master's Program may petition to take graduate classes if they have completed the equivalent of at least 90 hours of undergraduate classes with a GPA of at least 3.0 overall. Permission to take a particular course is granted based on approval by the instructor, the instructor's department chairperson or graduate program director, and the graduate dean. The student's department initiates this process using the Level Override Form located in myBama. Once approved, the student’s overall course load cannot exceed 15 hours per semester when enrolled in graduate classes. No more than 9 graduate credit hours can be completed prior to earning the bachelor’s degree. Graduate courses taken as part of this policy may be applied to either a future graduate degree or the undergraduate degree, but not both. Bachelor’s-seeking students taking graduate-level courses are expected to meet the same academic standards as the graduate students in the course.