Registration and Waitlist

Registration will occur over a two-week period (see Academic Calendar for more information). Each student will be given a registration appointment based on class level (MSL, LLM, 1L, 2L, 3L, Exchange). Course enrollment is first-come, first-serve within assigned class level. Each registration appointment group remains open through the end of the add/drop period.

When can I waitlist?

As soon as a course has filled up during the registration period.

Why can’t I Waitlist myself for a course?

1. Self-Service will not let you add a course to your waitlist if you are already enrolled in a different section of the same course. Example: You are registered for a section of Trial Advocacy I and you would like to add yourself to the waitlist to another closed section of Trial Advocacy I.
2. Self-Service will not let you add a course to your waitlist if you are already enrolled in another course that is considered equal to the course you wish to waitlist for. Example: You are registered for Legal Ethics and you would like to add yourself to the waitlist for Professional Responsibility.

If you find yourself in either situation, you will need to send an email from your uchastings.edu email account to registrar@uclawsf.edu. The email must come from your College of the Law email account and must include the five digit number of the section you want to waitlist. The Registrar’s Office will manually add you to the waitlist.

“Automatic” Waitlist? What’s that?

During the registration period, there are a handful of courses that have an “automatic” waitlist. Students cannot register themselves for these courses on Self-Service; waitlisting is the only option.

How do I add a course I’m Waitlisted for?

Check the Registration Calendar for the first date that the Registrar’s Office will begin offering available seats to those on the waitlist. The first date will be the date that seats are offered on a WEEKLY basis. The second date is the date that seats will be offered on a DAILY basis. Students will not be given permission to add available seats in waitlisted courses prior to the first date. Email notices of available seats will be sent to your College of the Law email account only, and you will be able to accept these spaces on Self-Service.

For Weekly Waitlisting, waitlist seats are offered weekly. Emails are sent at 3 PM every Monday and Wednesday. Students have until 3:00 PM to register for the course (refer to the email for the deadline). Only students who receive an email have permission to add the course.

For Daily Waitlisting, waitlist seats are offered daily. Emails are sent at 3 PM, Monday through Friday. Students have until 3 PM the following day to register for the course. Only students who receive an email have permission to add the course.

Please note: For Summer Sessions, there is *ONLY* Daily Waitlisting. You will have until 3 PM the following day to register for the course. If you miss the window to register, you will need to add yourself to the waitlist again.

If you receive an email telling you that you have been offered a space in a class, log on to Self-Service before the expiration date/time stated in the email. To claim your seat in the class, select “Manage My Waitlists” from the main menu page. You will see that the “Status” column next to the class in question states “Permission to Register”. To enroll in the class, choose “Register” from the drop-down box in the “Action” column next to the class, and click the “Submit” button at the bottom of the page. You will be taken to a Registration Results screen if your attempt was successful. BE SURE TO CHECK THIS SCREEN! If for any reason you are not eligible to take the class (e.g. too many units, conflicts with another course, you haven’t completed the pre-requisite, etc.), you will not be enrolled. If you need to drop classes in order to accept your space in a waitlisted class, you can do so at the same time that you add the waitlisted class. Your complete current schedule is at the bottom of the waitlist page; place checkmarks in the “Drop” column next to classes you wish to remove from your schedule. If for any reason you are unable to add the waitlisted class, the entire transaction will fail and you will not be added or dropped from classes. If you do not add the seat prior to the expiration date/time stated in the email, you will need to add yourself back to the waitlist and wait until you are offered a space again.

What if I have not met pre-requisite(s) for a course I want to Waitlist for?

If you have not met the prerequisite(s) for a course you want to waitlist for, but think that you have special circumstances that will allow you to take the course regardless of pre-requisite completion, you must submit a Petition for Exception to Registration Regulations in the Registrar’s Office. The Registrar’s Office will manually add you to the waitlist. Again, this should be done before your waitlist appointment so that you can be added as soon as possible.

Should I attend the classes I am Waitlisted for?

Students are required to attend classes they are registered for. Attending a class you are waitlisted for will not increase your chances of getting into the class. Also note, a professor cannot enroll students who are on the waitlist if they attend class.

To facilitate waitlist processing, instructors are given the option of taking daily attendance in all courses, beginning the first day of classes through the last day of the Add/Drop Period. Enrolled students (but not waitlisted students) not in attendance during this period may be dropped, opening up a space for a waitlisted student.

I no longer want the class I am Waitlisted for. Does it matter if I stay on the Waitlist?

If you are no longer interested in the class you waitlisted for, for whatever reason, you should drop yourself from the waitlist. This will free your inbox from unwanted emails and is a courtesy to other students on the waitlist.

Second- and third-year students are classified according to the total number of units that will be earned at the end of the semester in which pre-registration occurs (including transfer units for students for whom an official transcript has been received). Students must earn at least 22 units to be classified as a 2L and at least 54 units to be classified as a 3L. Contact the Office of the Registrar if you have questions concerning your class status or believe you have been placed in an incorrect registration group.

For JD students:

Students with a cumulative GPA of less than 2.7 may not enroll in more than 16 units; if your cumulative GPA is 2.8 or higher, you may register for up to 17 units. Please note, enrollment in more than 17 units is not allowed. In accordance with the Academic Regulations, full-time students must enroll in no fewer than 10 units each semester. Students must receive permission from the Academic Dean’s office to enroll in fewer than 10 units in a given semester.

For LL.M. students:

Students may enroll in a maximum of fifteen units each semester. In accordance with the Academic Regulations, LL.M. students must enroll in no fewer than 10 units each semester. However, in extraordinary circumstances, the Dean of Students may permit a student to enroll in under ten units in one semester.

To enroll in any clinic or a judicial externship, you first need to obtain prior approval from either the Civil Justice Clinic staff (for all CJC clinics), or from the Externships and Pro Bono Programs office. Please refer to the Academic Regulations, the Course Catalog and the Course Schedule for more information about clinics and judicial externships.

Enrollment in non-clinical non-classroom units (includes independent study, journal and journal note credit, Moot Court competition, TA credits) is not available for online registration. These units will continue to be handled through the Registrar’s Office. Students may sign up for a majority of these units by submitting a petition. Contact the Office of the Registrar with enrollment questions and issues. See Section VIII of the Academic Regulations for more information about these types of courses.

If there is a “Hold” on your record, you will not be permitted to register until the hold is released. Please be sure that all holds are cleared from your record prior to your registration appointment time. Examples of holds include (but are not limited to) non-payment of fees, late Towers rent payments, and missing Health Services documentation. If you are unsure of your hold status, log on to Self-Service and see if any notifications are listed.

Once registration begins, students should review the related terms Course Schedule Changes page on Sharknet.

Some students enter law school with well-defined interests or develop such interests relatively early in their studies and therefore choose to complete a concentration in their area of interest or otherwise focus their studies in one or more specific areas. But many others would be equally or better served by completing a core set of courses that exposes them to the most essential areas of contemporary law practice. A well-rounded legal education will afford graduates maximum versatility in a shifting legal market that makes employment options difficult to predict. The UC Law SF faculty have identified the following courses as those most crucial to a well-rounded legal education, and recommends that all students seriously consider completing as many of the courses listed below as possible.

• Administrative Law
• Business Associations or Corporations
• Civil Procedure II
• Constitutional Law II
• Criminal Procedure
• Evidence
• Federal Income Taxation
• Financial Basics for Lawyers
• At least one international course
• At least one perspectives course (i.e. one that offers a broad theoretical or historical view)

Set up an Academic Advising Appointment

• At least one experiential course (i.e. a clinic or externship)