Eligibility to Enroll

Eligibility by Term

Fall 2025: Term 1258

May 1, 2025: Last Day to Apply for Admission for Fall 2025

The following applies to registration for the summer sessions for all undergraduate and graduate students. You are eligible to register if you meet one of the following conditions:

• You were enrolled in Fall semester 2024 and/or Spring semester 2025.
• You were enrolled for a Summer session 2025.
• You have been admitted or readmitted for the Fall semester 2025.

Deadline to apply for admission or readmission is May 1, 2025.

Spring 2025: Term 1251

December 1, 2024: Last Day to Apply for Admission for Spring 2025

The following applies to registration for the summer sessions for all undergraduate and graduate students. You are eligible to register if you meet one of the following conditions:

• You were enrolled Spring semester 2024, and/or Fall semester 2024.
• You were enrolled for a Summer session 2024.
• You have been admitted or readmitted for the Spring semester 2025.

Deadline to apply for admission or readmission is December 1, 2024.

Summer 2025: Term 1255

May 1, 2025: Last Day to Apply for Admission for Summer 2025

The following applies to registration for the summer sessions for all undergraduate and graduate students. You are eligible to register if you meet one of the following conditions:

• You were enrolled in Fall semester 2024 and/or Spring semester 2025.
• You were enrolled for a Summer session 2024.
• You have been admitted or readmitted for Summer sessions 2025.

Deadline to apply for admission or readmission is May 1, 2025.

Students who have academic or financial registration holds (service indicators) are ineligible for registration.

Previously enrolled military students returning from active duty will have their enrollment eligibility extended to accommodate their return from active service.

If you do not meet any of the above conditions:

Undergraduate Students:

Apply for admission or readmission online through the Office of Admissions.

Any undergraduate student denied admission as a degree-seeking student is not eligible to apply for admission as a visiting student. Visiting students (students-at-large) must apply/re-apply for admission each term. They are ineligible to receive federal financial aid.

An undergraduate student's admission category (i.e., degree seeking, student-at-large, etc.) cannot be changed after the last day to add classes (census date) for that semester.

Graduate Students:

Students who hold an undergraduate and/or graduate degree(s) must have a current graduate admission status to enroll for course work. Admission can be requested via the Graduate Studies website.

Registration Holds/Service Indicators

Registration holds may prevent you from registering for classes for future semesters and appear in the “Holds” section of your message center in MyRED.

Registration holds can be placed for a variety of reasons. It is in your best interest to take appropriate action to remove holds when you are notified that they have been placed. The “Holds” section of the message center will indicate the type of registration hold on your account (for example, student accounts hold, academic probation hold, health inoculation hold) and whom you should contact to discuss actions that must be taken to remove it. These actions will vary depending on the type of hold. Please note that some holds will require multiple steps for removal. 

Registration holds may be placed in response to debts incurred to any university department. The university agency/department placing the hold will release the hold when the debts are paid.

English proficiency holds for undergraduate non-native speakers are placed/released by the Office of Admission.

English proficiency holds for graduate non-native speakers are placed/released by Graduate Studies.

Important: Holds must be cleared before beginning the registration process, adding a course or appealing an academic dismissal.

Course Prerequisites

*View the Academic Calendar for the last day to drop a non-eligible class for the Spring Pre-Session.

Prerequisites indicate the level of preparation a student needs for a course. If there is doubt about the preparation level or having completed the equivalent, permission to enroll may be requested from the instructor of the course or the department chair. Consult the appropriate catalog for the official listing of course prerequisites.

Permission as a prerequisite refers to the permission of the instructor teaching the course. If the instructor's name is not listed, contact the office of the academic department offering the course.

The prerequisite listed under the first section of a course applies to other sections of the course unless indicated otherwise. Academic departments reserve the right to deny admission in a course if you do not meet the prerequisites. Academic departments reserve the right to drop you from a course if you do not meet the course prerequisites.

If you register for a course for which you are not eligible, and do not drop the course by midnight on the last day to file a drop for a full refund, you are subject to a loss of tuition, fees and/or also subject to standard grading policies. View the Academic Calendar for session-specific dates.

The college or department reserves the right to administratively drop a student at any time who does not meet the prerequisite or qualify for the course. If you are dropped from the course by the college or academic department, you are still responsible for making sure the course is dropped from your registration. Do not assume that the college or department will automatically process an administrative drop of the course for you. 

NOTE: Learn more about Add/Drop/Withdraw.

Graduates

All 800 and 900-level courses require admission to the Graduate College or permission from Graduate Studies. If you take a course for graduate credit, you must use the 800 or 900-level class number for that course.

College-Specific Eligibility Requirements

College of Architecture Courses

The requirements for eligibility to take architecture, interior design and landscape architecture courses are outlined in the Undergraduate Catalog. Since academic standards for architecture, interior design and landscape architecture programs require higher academic performance, students should review these requirements in the Undergraduate Catalog.

Eligibility for all architecture, interior design and landscape architecture courses will be checked. Students must be admitted into the professional program to be eligible to take 200-level or higher College of Architecture classes unless permission is granted by the appropriate director and course instructor. Students may be dropped if they do not qualify.

Visit College of Architecture

College of Business Courses

Eligibility requirements for the College of Business courses appear in the Undergraduate Catalog. Students may be dropped from courses by the college if they do not qualify. All students are required to meet prerequisites. In some courses, this includes the specific prerequisite as well as a 2.5 cumulative grade point average (GPA).

Visit College of Business

College of Engineering Courses

The requirements for eligibility to take engineering courses are outlined in the Undergraduate Catalog. Eligibility for all engineering courses will be checked. Students may be dropped from courses by the college if they do not qualify. Students informed of an administrative drop are responsible for making sure the course is dropped from their registration. Do not assume that the course drop will be processed for you by the college or department.

Eligibility for freshmen-level courses is based on the following priority:

• Engineering students
• Pre-engineering students
• Students in other colleges where the course is required
• Other students

Enrollment in engineering courses is based on priority and space availability.

Visit College of Engineering

Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts Courses

Eligibility requirements for the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts courses appear in the Undergraduate Catalog. Students may be dropped from courses administratively if they do not qualify.

The Glenn Korff School of Music courses are reserved for music majors and minors who have successfully auditioned for acceptance into the Glenn Korff School of Music. The only exceptions are the Music for Non-Major courses designated by the subject area MUNM that are open to anyone. View the Undergraduate Catalog for restrictions on the MUNM courses if you are a music major or minor.

All University of Nebraska–Lincoln students may register for music ensembles pending a successful audition (auditions for ensembles typically occur the first week of classes). All students who wish to take applied music lessons must audition before registering.

Several of the courses in the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film have sections that are reserved for Theatre Arts majors only.

Eligibility for courses in the School of Art, Art History and Design, the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film and the Dance Program in the Glenn Korff School of Music are based on the following priority:

• Majors in that area
• Students in other colleges where the course is required
• Other students

Enrollment in the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts courses is based on priority and space availability. Many courses in Art, Art History and Design, Theatre Arts and the Dance Program are reserved for majors only.

Visit Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts

College of Journalism and Mass Communications Courses

Eligibility requirements for College of Journalism and Mass Communications courses appear in the Undergraduate Catalog. These requirements will be checked. If you do not have the approval of a College of Journalism and Mass Communications advisor and the necessary prerequisites, you should not register for the course(s).

If you register for a course for which you are not eligible and do not drop, you are subject to a loss of tuition and fees. The college reserves the right to administratively drop any student not having the needed prerequisites for College of Journalism and Mass Communications courses.

Visit College of Journalism and Mass Communications

Entry-Level French, German or Spanish Courses

Most incoming students who wish to enter the University's language program in French, German or Spanish will be expected to take the Computer Assisted Placement Examination (CAPE). The goal of this examination is to determine the level of expertise in a second language that these students have obtained elsewhere as a result of training in secondary school, a university or other prior second language environments.

The results of the placement exam, together with consideration of any prerequisites, will assist students in finding the level at which they will have the greatest opportunity for success. The examination results will be used in combination with advising to determine appropriate placement in the sequence of courses offered within the department's curriculum.

Those students exempt from this requirement will be expected to enroll in a beginning elementary language course (101). Students qualifying for this exemption are defined as follows:

• Students with no previous second language exposure whatsoever;
• Students whose second language exposure amounts to one year or less at the U.S. high school level;
• Students who wish to begin the study of a new language other than those previously studied. Depending on experience, these students may wish to take the placement examination.

Students are responsible for determining their obligation regarding the placement examination and should contact the Department of Modern Languages or the Language Laboratory to verify foreign language placement exam scheduling.

Visit the Department of Modern Languages

Payment of Financial Obligations

Failure by a student to pay a financial obligation to the university or any department, division or agency thereof will result in denial of readmission, denial of transcripts, denial of registration for ensuing terms, withholding of diplomas and may result in an administrative cancellation of enrollment until the debt is paid in full. View the "Registration Hold/Service Indicators" under "Eligibility to Enroll" for the corresponding semester.

Past due accounts will be subject for assignment to a professional collection agency, and collection costs may be added to the delinquent account.

If your check is returned unpaid for insufficient or uncollected funds, we may re-present your check electronically. In the ordinary course of business, your check will not be provided to you with your bank statement.