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  4. Course Registration Instructions for Transfer Students

Course Registration Instructions for Transfer Students

As you begin your Vanderbilt career, please take the time to reflect upon your goals as well as to review the important information for incoming transfer students. The following information highlights some of the important issues that you should consider as you select your courses for the semester.  

Registration Process
  1. Determine the courses for which you already have academic credit. To begin this process, log in to YES and click on the Transfer Credit icon. Click on the Add Request link to submit a new course. More detailed instructions, including the YES Transfer Credit User Guide, can be found on the University Registrar's site.
  2. Determine how your courses count toward your requirements, for both the core curriculum and for your major. (Note that AXLE is the core curriculum for all students entering before Fall 2025; the College Core is the core curriculum for all students entering Fall 2025 and later.) Look carefully at the complete list of courses for which you have received transfer credit. Review the AXLE requirements and the section for your prospective major in the Undergraduate Catalog to ascertain what portion of your requirements you already have fulfilled.
  3. Determine your standing with regards to the Writing requirement. All transfer students must complete at least one Writing course at Vanderbilt, regardless of how many writing credits they transfer. The Writing requirement is time‐sensitive and is tied to class standing, so it is in your best interest to complete it as soon as possible. (Please note that transfer students are ineligible to register for First‐Year Writing Seminars numbered 1111, as these courses are reserved for entering freshmen.)
  4. Determine your standing with regards to the foreign language proficiency requirement. All students must show proficiency equivalent to at least the second semester of the first‐year sequence of a foreign language. Proficiency can be shown through test scores (read more about foreign language proficiency and placement).
  5. Choose courses to satisfy your remaining core curriculum/major requirements. (The core curriculum for all students entering before Fall 2025 is AXLE. The core curriculum for all students entering Fall 2025 and later is the College Core.)
  6. Choose electives to round out your course selections, if you still have room in your schedule. Typically, upperclassmen enroll in five or six courses per semester. 
  7. Place your desired courses in your cart in YES (if needed, see the YES User Guide: Enrollment for detailed instructions on how to enroll in courses) and contact your adviser. Your adviser will be able to review the courses in your cart to make sure they are appropriate and will meet your needs; your adviser can then remove your Adviser Approval Hold so that you can enroll in your courses.

Be mindful of course pre‐ and co‐requisites. Requisites are included in the class detail in YES. Due to the vagaries of the evaluation process, it is not likely that requisite courses that you completed at your prior institution will be posted to your Vanderbilt record at the time of enrollment. Should you encounter difficulties enrolling in courses with pre‐ or co‐requisites, please contact the College of Arts and Science Office of Undergraduate Education at arts‐sci‐records@vanderbilt.edu.