Registration Help

• 1 credit hour
• Required for all new first-year students in their first semester on-campus

Led by an upper-class student in your department, this is where new first-year students build community with fellow first-year students in their department, learn and engage with resources and opportunities, and develop skills to propel your success.

• 1 credit hour
• Required for all new transfer students in their first semester on-campus

Led by an upper-class engineering student, this is where you'll build community with fellow transfer students across engineering majors, learn and engage with resources and opportunities, and develop skills to propel your success.

Register for any 1 section that begins with "TR".

Students registering for a Merit section should go to the "Merit for Mathematics (MATH), Chemistry (CHEM), or Electrical & Computer Engineering (ECE)" section. The below table consists of non-Merit sections.

*transfer students only

Students registering for a Merit section should go to the "Merit for Mathematics (MATH), Chemistry (CHEM), or Electrical & Computer Engineering (ECE)" section. The below table consists of non-Merit sections.

Merit courses are specialized courses that integrate engaging, team-based problems. Approval is required to register for a Merit course. Students that received an email invitation to join MERIT are pre-approved to register for a Merit course. Students that did not receive an email invitation to Merit but are interested in joining should discuss with their Academic Advisor during their New Student Registration date. For more information, visit the Merit website (https://merit.illinois.edu/course-schedules/).

Course Registration Numbers (CRNs), 5-digit unique identification numbers for sections of courses, are provided in parenthesis for convenience.

Mathematics (MATH)

Chemistry (CHEM)

Electrical & Computer Engineering (ECE)

Problem: The section you are trying to register for is full.

Solution: Select a different section. If a different section is not available and you are trying to register for a Mathematics (MATH), Chemistry (CHEM), Physics (PHYS), Engineering (ENG), or a major-specific course, please contact a New Student Registration Assistant during your assigned registration time. If you are trying to register for a general education elective, select a different course.

Example: A student is trying to register for a MATH 241 discussion section that is full. To search for open sections, select "Open Sections Only" under Advanced Search while registering for classes. 

Problem: The university does not have record of the your fulfilled prerequisite or test score required to take the course.

Solution: Visit Course Explorer (https://courses.illinois.edu/schedule/DEFAULT/DEFAULT) to view the course prerequisite information. If your Academic Advisor recommended a course in your New Student Registration Agreement and you receive a prerequisite/test score error, please contact a New Student Registration Assistant for help during your assigned registration time.

It is the student's responsibility to ensure all prerequisites/co-requisites are satisfied and AP/IB/A-level credit processed within the first week of the semester.

Special Notes: 

• Mathematics (MATH) 115, 220, and 221 require a minimum ALEKS placement test score described at https://math.illinois.edu/academics/undergraduate-program/aleks-ppl-mathematics-assessment-exam.
• Physics (PHYS) courses enforce all prerequisites and co-requisites. Predicted AP, IB, or A-level MATH scores may be temporarily acceptable as approved by your Academic Advisor. Predicted AP, IB, or A-level PHYS scores are NOT acceptable. All prerequisites/co-requisites must be fulfilled within the first 10 days of the semester.

Example: A student is trying to register for ECE 205 and receives the below error.

When checking Course Explorer, the course description shows that PHYS 212 is a prerequisite. The student does not have credit for PHYS 212 but their Academic Advisor recommended taking the course in their New Student Registration Agreement. The student is attending New Student Registration in-person so raises their hand for a New Student Registration Assistant to help.

Problem: You are not registered for the co-requisite of a course and the university does not have record of you having earned prior credit for the course. A co-requisite is a course that must be taken at the same time as the desired course or credit must be earned before registering for the desired course. For example, MATH 231 Calculus II is a co-requisite for PHYS 211 University Physics Mechanics. MATH 231 must be taken simultaneously with PHYS 211 or prior credit must be earned for MATH 231 in order to register for PHYS 211.

Solution: Visit Course Explorer (https://courses.illinois.edu/schedule/DEFAULT/DEFAULT) to view the course co-requisite, section, and restriction information. If you are not the intended audience for the course, pick a different section or course. If you are the intended audience for the course, first register for the co-requisite course and then register for the course. If your Academic Advisor recommended a course in your New Student Registration Agreement without the co-requisite or without prior credit for the co-requisite course, please contact a New Student Registration Assistant for help during your assigned registration time.

Example: A student is trying to register for MATH 220 Calculus and receives the below co-requisite error.

When checking Course Explorer, the section information shows that this section is only for MERIT students. The students is not in MERIT so they must select a different non-MERIT available section.

Problem: You are not registered for all required sections of a course.

Solution: If you are registering for a Mathematics (MATH), Chemistry (CHEM), Physics (PHYS), Engineering (ENG), or MERIT course, refer to "Course Sections for Registration" on the Grainger First-Year Experience (GFX) website to see what sections you must register for. Otherwise visit Course Explorer (https://courses.illinois.edu/schedule/DEFAULT/DEFAULT) to view the course information.

Example: A student is trying to register for CHEM 102 and receives the below error.

When checking "Course Sections for Registration" on the GFX website for CHEM 102, the student sees that the lecture and quiz sections must both begin with the same letter. If the student selects a lecture "DL", the quiz section must start with the letter "D".

Problem: You are already registered for a class during that day and time.

Solution: Select a different section that does not conflict with your existing scheduled classes. You may need to switch sections of one or more courses in order for all the courses to fit in your schedule without conflicting times.

To avoid time conflict errors,

• It can help to register for any classes that have limited section options first and register for classes with many section options last. A New Student Registration Assistant can help you determine which course(s) to prioritize registering first.
• Check the bottom left weekly schedule visualization to ensure you do not have overlapping courses. The below screenshot is an example of a time conflict between two courses.

Example: A student is trying to register for a section of PHYS 211 and receives the below time conflict error.

When looking through additional section options in the registration portal, the student selects a different section that does not conflict with their other courses.

Problem: You are not the intended audience for a course.

Solution: Visit Course Explorer (https://courses.illinois.edu/schedule/DEFAULT/DEFAULT) to view the course section and restriction information. If you are not the intended audience for the course, pick a different section and as necessary, a different course. If you are the intended audience for the course or if your Academic Advisor recommended the course in your New Student Registration Agreement, please contact a New Student Registration Assistant for help during your assigned registration time.

Example: A student is trying to register for a section of TE 200 and receives the below student attribute restriction error.

When looking through Course Explorer, the section description shows that the section is only for students in specific Living Learning Communities (LLCs). If the student is not in the listed LLCs, they will need to select a different section.

Problem: You are not the intended audience for a course.

Solution: Visit Course Explorer (https://courses.illinois.edu/schedule/DEFAULT/DEFAULT) to view the course section and restriction information. If you are not the intended audience for the course, pick a different section and as necessary, a different course. If you are the intended audience for the course or if your Academic Advisor recommended the course in your New Student Registration Agreement, please contact a New Student Registration Assistant for help during your assigned registration time.

Example: A student is trying to register for a section of ENG 100 and receives the below major restriction error.

In order to register for the correct ENG 100 section designated to your major, you will need to refer to the table above under ENG 100 Engineering Orientation. 

Problem: You are not the intended audience for a course.

Solution: Visit Course Explorer (https://courses.illinois.edu/schedule/DEFAULT/DEFAULT) to view the course section and restriction information and pick a different section or as necessary, a different course.