How to Register

Register Online
Registration Instructions
Registration Hub Tutorials
Registration Holds
Prerequisites & Co-Requisites
Class Time Conflicts
Closed and Restricted Classes
Waitlist
Grading Options
Changing Sections
By-Arrangement
Academic Credit Overload

Register Online

Online registration is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week during the registration period (with brief closures for maintenance on Sundays). On Priority Registration days, each registration window will open at 8:00 a.m. 

To register online, any computer connected to the Internet will do. There are several technology labs and computer kiosks around campus that students may use. Some labs, like the first floor lab in Millar Library, are open for general use during the hours that the buildings are open. On campus, students must log in to lab machines with their PSU Odin account to access the Internet, then log in to the myPSU to register for courses. Follow the 'Basic Online Instructions' below for instructions on how to access and use myPSU to register online.

For courses that have restrictions, students can contact the department or instructor to see if a Faculty Registration Override is available through myPSU. This process allows students to receive an electronic override to register online for the course, without having to submit instructor or department approval to the Registrar's Office. 

Register Online Now >

Registration Instructions

Basic Online Instructions

Go to myPSU

  • Enter Student ID or ODIN Username and Password.
  • First-time users of the portal need to synchronize their Portland State computer accounts, or create an initial account, using OAM (Odin Account Manager).
  • Navigate to the Academics page, select the "Registration Hub" link in the Classes section. 
  • To search for courses, select "Register for Classes". The advanced search feature allows students to look for courses according to subject, course number, title, credit hours, part of term, instructor, attribute type, start and end times, and days of the week. Choose one parameter -- or several -- then click on the "Search" button. 
  • Select courses by clicking "Add" at the right of the page. Continue searching and adding courses to complete your schedule. Each course will appear as "pending" in the summary section.
  • Click the submit button to register for the courses. Any errors will pop up in a window at the top of the screen.
  • To drop a course, select "remove" from the action menu and click submit.
  • To drop and add at the same time, click the "Conditional Add and Drop" box. This will allow you to confirm that you are able to add the course before the other course is dropped.

Registration Hub Tutorials

Please visit the tutorials on the Registration Hub page! These helpful video tutorials will guide you through some of the common functions of the Registration Hub to help you register and make changes to your course schedule.

Registration Holds

Holds are placed on student records for a variety of reasons: past-due accounts, missing admissions data, unsatisfactory academic progress, and others. Often these holds restrict student access to registration. Information about holds and how to clear them is available as part of the student record in the PSU Information System, by visiting the Registration counter in the Fariborz Maseeh Hall Student Services Lounge, or by calling 503.725.3220 during business hours.

Holds are intended to prevent adding new courses to a current or future term. If you have a registration hold, but would like to drop or withdraw from a course or courses you may request a drop or withdraw directly with the Office of the Registrar either in person or by emailing registrar@pdx.edu from your pdx.edu email account.

Prerequisites & Co-requisites

Prerequisites reflect the background necessary for successful completion of a course and may be expressed in terms of specific courses, credit levels, or more general experience, knowledge, or skills. Prerequisites expressed in terms of specific courses or credit levels will be enforced automatically by the registration system. Enrollment into courses with defined prerequisites will be blocked unless the student has met the prerequisite. A student who lacks the prerequisite but feels prepared for the course for other reasons may enroll with instructor permission using a Special Registration Form or via electronic override. 

Expected Preparation identifies minimal knowledge and/or capabilities (competencies) expected of students prior to entering a specific course. Expected preparation expressed in terms of courses indicates that preparatory course should be completed prior to enrolling in the course in question, or the student should have skills and competencies equivalent to those covered in the preparatory course. The only difference in pre-requisite courses and expected preparation courses is that the latter are recommendations only, and are not enforced by the registration system. Expected preparation is intended to ensure that students are prepared adequately for successful completion of a course. Students who have concerns about their readiness for a course should consult with the instructor before enrolling. Recommended Prerequisites Co-Requisite Courses 

Co-requisite courses are those which require concurrent registration. Examples include lecture classes that are linked to labs or recitation sections. The Registration system will not add a course with a co-requisite unless both courses are requested at the same time. If one section of the two co-requisite courses is closed, students must select another section and add both co-requisite courses at the same time. Students who later wish to change lab sections must add the appropriate CRN for the lab section before dropping the unwanted section. If one of the two co-requisites is dropped, the registration system drops both courses.

Class Time Conflicts

The online registration system does not permit students to enroll in courses for which the end time of the one course meets or overlaps the start time of another. To register for the second course, students must receive an electronic override to register online or submit a Special Registration Form, with appropriate department/instructor approval, to the Registration counter in the Fariborz Maseeh Hall Student Services Lounge.

Closed and Restricted Classes

Closed classes are those that are at capacity registration. Restricted classes are those that are restricted to certain populations of students, whether they be students in a particular college, at a particular student level, or declaring a particular major. Decipher major restrictions using the major code lists. 

Students may register for restricted classes online by receiving an electronic override, or in-person by submitting a Special Registration Form, with appropriate department stamp or instructor signature, to the Registration counter in the Fariborz Maseeh Hall Student Services Lounge. If a closed class offers waitlist, students may add themselves to the waitlist (see waitlist information). If no waitlist is offered, student may be added with instructor or department approval on a Special Registration form.

Waitlist

  • Registration options may include a Waitlist if the feature is engaged by the department. If the waitlist itself is full or the section has no waitlist, the section is closed. 
  • To add yourself to a course waitlist, choose Wait List WEB from the Action drop-down menu. 
  • If the course is full and a waitlist is available, the Status box will indicate how many students are already waitlisted. 
  • First, attempt to add the course. You will receive a message indicating the course is full. In the registration pane, select "Wait List WEB" and click on Submit to be added to the waitlist. 

You can visit the Understanding Waitlists for Students webpage to learn about how you will be notified when a seat is available, or what to do if you are still on the waitlist on the first day of class.

Grading Options

Certain courses at Portland State University are offered under multiple grading options: Pass/No Pass and differentiated (A-F) grades. Other courses are offered only under one grading option. When multiple options are available, students generally select the preferred grading option at the time of registration but may make grading option changes until the end of the 7th week of the term.

Grading option changes for P/NP or A-F grades are made in myPSU, or by submitting a Special Registration Form to the Registration counter in the Fariborz Maseeh Hall Student Services Lounge.

To change your grade option on your course schedule, click the "Schedule and Options" tab. If the Grade Mode on your course is underlined, it will have multiple options. Click and select your grade option from the drop down menu. Click "Submit" to save changes.

To register for an Audit grade option, students must first register for the course during the registration period, then submit a Special Registration Form with instructor's signature to the change the grading option to Audit. Any changes to an audit course must be made directly with the Registrar's Office.

Changing Sections

The registration system does not allow students to register for two sections of the same course at the same time unless the course is repeatable for credit. Examples of repeatable courses are special topics courses (numbered 410). 

To change sections, click the "Conditional Add and Drop" box. This will allow you to confirm that you are able to add the course before the other course is dropped.

By-Arrangement

Students may arrange for academic credit to explore individualized topics or learning experiences. The resulting "by-arrangement" courses are omnibus-numbered (e.g., 401-410, 501-510, or 601-610) and students will work with their instructor to select an appropriate course number and credit number. By-arrangement courses will require student, instructor, and departmental (commonly the department chair) approval before they can be created.

By-Arrangement Requests can be initiated and tracked online: 

Open the By Arrangement Approval Dashboard 

By-Arrangement submissions can begin when registration opens for a term. The deadline to enroll in by-arrangement courses is the last day of the term. However, if enrollment in the by-arrangement is required in order to receive Financial Aid, the course must be added before the end of the second week of the term.

Resources:

eBy-Arrangement Credit Request - for Students & Faculty
eBy-Arrangement Credit Request - for Departments
By-Arrangement Form (pdf)

Academic Credit Overload

Undergraduate Academic Credit Overload

Undergraduate students who enroll in more than 21 credits per term are considered to be in academic overload. PSU audit credits and transfer credit taken at other institutions while concurrently enrolled at PSU are counted in determining overload status. Transfer credits that result in an overload for a given term will not be accepted in transfer unless prior approval has been granted.

Academic overload must be approved on a term-by-term basis as follows:

  • 22-25 credits: Students must obtain prior approval from their academic program adviser using the Overload Approval Form, to be submitted to the Office of the Registrar in advance of the overload term.
  • 26 or more credits: Students must obtain prior permission from the Academic Requirements Committee (ARC) by submitting an ARC petition in advance of the overload term. Students must provide justification for the overload and obtain written support from their academic program adviser. 

Graduate Academic Credit Overload

Graduate students who enroll in more than 16 credits per term are considered to be in academic overload.

Academic overload must be approved in advance as follows:

  • 17-19 credits: Students must obtain approval from the department head of their academic program using the Graduate Overload Approval Form.
  • 20 or more credits: Students must obtain approval from the chair of the graduate committee of their academic program and the dean of graduate studies using the Graduate Overload Approval Form.