Graduate School

Cross-Registration at RISD and Harvard

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Cross-Registration at RISD and Harvard

There are agreements in place between Brown and the Harvard University Faculty of Arts & Sciences and Brown and the Rhode Island School of Design to allow cross-registration of graduate students in courses without paying tuition to the host institution.

A Brown graduate student is required to use the appropriate form in UFunds to obtain authorization from the DGS of their graduate program. The Brown graduate student would then receive instructions to electronically enroll at Harvard FAS or manually at RISD. Neither Harvard nor RISD is required to offer courses in online or hybrid formats by virtue of these agreements. Students should confirm that they can participate in the course in accordance with its listed format.

  • The Cross registration application in Ufunds for the fall semester will be open from August 17, 2026 through October 16, 2026
  • The Cross registration application in Ufunds for the spring semester will be open from January 4, 2027 through March 12, 2027
  • Cross registration is not an option during the Summer Session

Steps for Cross Registering at Harvard

Brown students go to the “Graduate School Administrative Forms” page in UFunds and fill out the “Harvard and RISD Cross-Registration” form. The student will get the approval of a department representative (usually the DGS) to take the course. If approval is given, the student will designate the department representative as a recommender for the form in UFunds and the department representative will complete the online recommendation. 

Harvard Registration Process

  • Step 1: Create an account allowing you to enroll through my.harvard. The New User Registration form needs to be re-submitted each term regardless of previous FAS course enrollments.   
  • Step 2: Cross-register for courses directly in my.harvard. 

Students participating in this program are not required to obtain a Harvard ID card to attend courses sponsored by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

Steps for Cross Registering at RISD

Brown students go to the “Graduate School Administrative Forms” page in UFunds and fill out the “Harvard and RISD Cross-Registration” form. The student will get the approval of their program’s DGS to take the course. If approval is given, the student will designate the DGS a recommender for the form in UFunds and the department representative will complete the online recommendation. This notifies the Registrar’s office that the student may proceed, at which point the student will be instructed to register online at RISD.

RISD Registration Process

  1. Access the RISD Course Listings. Use the filters to search by 'Academic Period' (term). Only courses with an Enrollment Status of 'Open' should be considered. Brown students may cross-register at RISD for any modality course (in-person, hybrid, or online).
  2. Before filling out the cross-registration form, indicate interest in a course by emailing the instructor using their email address included in the Course Listing. 
  3. Fill out RISD’s electronic cross-registration form. This electronic add form will not be available until RISD’s first day of classes for the semester and will close on the last day of the RISD add/drop period. Brown students may authenticate into the form using their @brown.edu email address.
  4. Review and agree to follow RISD’s Health and Safety Protocols linked in the form.
  5. Once the form is submitted, it will be routed through the permission process.
  6. Once all approvals have been secured, the RISD and Brown Registrar’s Offices will register the student for the course.