How to Register
How to Register for Classes
After you complete your New Student Registration Academic Advising meeting, you will receive an email to your application and your Illinois email addresses. This message will provide a summary of your conversation and the specific classes you should register for.
You will begin registering for classes during an assigned registration time. If you are completing New Student Registration on-campus, this is built in to your day's schedule. If you are completing New Student Registration online, you will receive an email with your assigned registration time. Follow the instructions in the email to join the online registration help room at your assigned time, then begin the steps below to register for classes.
Steps to register for classes
1 Open these 4 tabs in your web browser
You will be prompted to verify your identity with the 2-Factor authentication service Duo. If you haven't set up a Duo account yet, follow the steps at the NetID Center (https://identity.uillinois.edu/iamFrontEnd/iam/start). We strongly recommend setting up 2-Factor Authentication to your personal United States cell phone number.
If you haven't activated your NetID yet, login to myIllini (https://myillini.illinois.edu/IdentityManagement/Login) for "Future Students" and complete the "NetID & Computing" step.
2. Self-Service (https://apps.uillinois.edu/selfservice): where you can access the registration portal and other important information you will need throughout your time at Illinois such as personal information, financial aid notifications, final grades, and more.
3. Course Explorer (https://courses.illinois.edu//): to view course descriptions, section options, any prerequisites or restrictions, explore general education courses, and more.
4. Grainger First-Year Experience (GFX) website (https://gfx.grainger.illinois.edu/): instructions on how to register, navigate common registration errors, and how to get help.
2 Access the registration portal
Under "Student Services", click "Registration and Records"
Under "Registration", click "Class Registration"
3 Search for the class you need to register for
Refer to your New Student Registration Agreement email for what classes you must register for. You will register for one course at a time.
Enter in the "Subject" (e.g. Chemistry) and "Course Number" (e.g. 102). Leave the "Title" blank.
Select "Advanced Search" and click "Open Sections Only" to view only course sections that have seats open.
Select "Search" at the bottom of the screen. Your result will show all sections of the searched course that have open sections.
4 Register for the class
Some courses require you to register for multiple sections. For example, CHEM 102 consists of a lecture section where you'll learn concepts, and a discussion section where you'll practice applying what you learned in the lecture. Refer to the Registration Sections Table for a quick guide on what sections to register for common engineering, science, and math courses.
Select "Add" for each section you wish to register for. Each section that has been added will show "Pending" in gray in the summary of your courses in the bottom right of your screen.
After you've added all required sections of a class, select "Submit". If you successfully registered for the course, the course will show "Registered" in green in the bottom right of your screen. Congratulations, you have registered for the course!
If you received a red error(s) in the top right of your screen, refer to the Registration Help page.
5 Repeat steps 3-4
Register for the remainder of your courses in the New Student Registration Agreement by repeating steps 3-4 for each class.
Tip: Avoid sections that say "time conflict". This means that you are already currently registered in a class during that day or time.
Tip: Use Google Maps or another map service to check the time it takes to get from one class to another!
As you're registering for your other courses, you may wish to switch sections of a course you've already registered for. To switch sections of a course, you must drop the section you no longer want and add the new desired section at the same time before selecting "Submit". You must follow the outlined steps along with the screenshots below to accomplish this.
- First, for the registered section of the relevant course, hit "Web Drop Course" under Action.
- Now, without clicking "Submit", choose the desired section as replacement from the search list. Click "Add" to see the section appear in the bottom right corner as "Pending" in gray.
- Click "Submit" twice to confirm your changes. This drops the previously registered for section and adds the desired section to successfully complete the section change.
6 Schedule Check
After you've completed registering for all the classes in your New Student Registration Agreement, have your schedule checked by a New Student Registration Assistant! The assistant will double check that you've successfully registered for all your courses, provide any insight about the structure of your schedule, recommend any adjustments, and help you email yourself a copy of your schedule. If you are attending New Student Registration in-person, raise your hand to have your schedule checked. If you are attending New Student Registration online, join the online help room to have your schedule checked.