Course Registration

The University operates year round. Fall Term is from September to December; Winter Term is from January to April. Intersession is comprised of two, six-week terms: Spring (early May to mid-June) and Summer (early July to mid-August). While research is continual throughout the year, graduate course offerings are concentrated in the Fall and Winter terms.

Before Fall Term classes begin all graduate students must:

  • Explore the department's course offerings and have an idea of what courses are of interest

  • Meet with their supervisor to establish a program of study, including which courses you will be taking (it is up to the student to arrange this meeting)

  • Fill out the registration forms (links are near the bottom of this page), sign them, have your supervisor sign them

  • Register yourself in all courses open to registration using BearTracks.

  • Meet with the Graduate Advisor to submit these course registration forms and for enrollment in courses not open to registration

  • Ensure you are registered within the first week of term.

Note: for all incoming students, ANTHR 501/601 is mandatory in the first fall term of your program.

Registration is the student's responsibility. Students need to ensure they discuss their course selections with their supervisor prior to course registration and maintain full-time registration throughout their program.

Students can change course registration without financial penalties one week after the first day of classes (see University Calendar for exact date). For any changes to registration after this date please refer to the University Calendar. Students who are having difficulty in a course are encouraged to discuss the situation with the instructor and/or the Associate Chair, Graduate Program. Any course withdrawal form must be signed by the Associate Chair and approved by the GPS.

Once the required graduate courses are completed and the focus shifts towards the thesis/dissertation, the GPS requires a minimum amount of registration in the thesis (THES) course. Failure to register in any academic year will be interpreted by GPS as a withdrawal and the student will have to apply for re-admission and pay a readmission fee.

THESIS courses (THES 903, 906, 909)

After the course work is completed, to be registered as full-time (particularly for immigration, student loan or scholarship purposes) the student should register in THES 909.

The University defines full-time as enrollment with a total of 9 units of course weight during the Fall and Winter terms and 6 units of course weight in Spring and Summer. A typical course has a weight of 3 units. Any total number of units less than 9 units per term defines the student as part-time.

Students can register in:

  • THES 909 - 9 credits

  • THES 906 - 6 credits

  • THES 903 - 3 credits

If you plan on being outside of Edmonton for a term or more, please email GPS with your name, student ID, a specific request to be enrolled in an off-campus section of your thesis course, and verify that your mailing address in BearTracks is at least 80km outside of Edmonton. It is the student's responsibility to ensure they send the email with the appropriate information and their mailing address in BearTracks is up-to-date prior to sending the email to GPS.

Note: Course weights are not the same as fee index units.

Students who have completed their course work and are working on their thesis research the majority of the time and meeting regularly with their supervisor must be registered full time.

Note: On the transcript, the grade on a THES course appears as IN (incomplete) until after the student has completed their program. After program completion the grade of CR (completed requirements) will appear. Students must be registered in a THES course for the term in which they submit their thesis.

Course Registration Forms

For the year(s) students are taking non-thesis courses (typically this is year one and sometimes also year two of their program), all students must complete the Graduate Program Registration Form. Once students are registered full-time in Thesis courses, they do not need to complete the Graduate Program Registration Form. The Graduate Program Registration Form must be signed by the student and their supervisor prior to emailing to anthgrad@ualberta.ca.

All students who wish to take Anthr 500/600 or Anthr 571/572, must complete the Course Registration Form with the course instructor (typically the supervisor, but not always in the case of Anthr 571/572). These forms must be completed, signed and emailed to anthgrad@ualberta.ca for department approval and registration. These courses are closed to registration and the department will register students only once all approvals are completed. It is the student's responsibility to ensure these forms are complete and submitted prior to the add/drop deadline.

If you have any questions regarding course registration, please contact either your supervisor or the Graduate Advisor at anthgrad@ualberta.ca.