New Degree-Seeking Students

Incoming first-year and transfer students have the opportunity to begin their academic journey at CU Boulder during Summer Session. It's a great way to lighten the credit load for future semesters or take required courses now to free up your schedule for study abroad or internships later. Summer also lets you acclimate to the campus environment before the rush of fall semester. 

Once you confirm your intent to enroll at CU Boulder as a new first-year or transfer student, you'll receive a CU login name and instructions to activate your IdentiKey. You will not be eligible to register for summer classes until your $200 enrollment deposit has been on file for 24 hours.

New students who were admitted for summer must be enrolled in Summer Session classes and complete the online New Student Welcome Experience in order to become eligible to register for fall semester classes.

If you decide to change your admit term after enrolling in summer classes, contact the Office of Admissions to update your record. If you don't, you won't be able to enroll in the fall semester and you may be assessed a financial penalty. See the Withdrawal section for more information and deadlines.

If you have problems or questions concerning online registration, contact the Office of the Registrar at registrar@colorado.edu or 303-492-6970.

New Nondegree Students

If you're interested in enrolling in CU Boulder summer courses without pursuing a degree at the university, you may be able to do so as a nondegree student through Continuing Education.

Please contact Continuing Education at 303-492-5148 or complete the Online Enrollment Application to get started.

Once your application has been processed for summer, you will receive an invitation to enroll with your student ID and detailed instructions for creating your IdentiKey as well as registration and payment information.

If you're a nondegree student thinking about applying to CU Boulder as a degree-seeking undergraduate student in the future, you may transfer an unlimited number of credits taken as a nondegree student on any CU campus; however, applicability of these credits toward degree requirements is established by individual colleges and schools. Consult the dean's office of the college or school you plan to enter for further information.

If you enroll in summer classes and change your mind, you may be assessed a financial penalty for the classes you dropped. See the Withdrawal section or call Continuing Education at 303-492-5148 for more information.

Enrollment Dates

The enrollment date for transfer, international, new first-year, new graduate, and new nondegree students is Monday, March 7.

Follow the step-by-step instructions on the Office of the Registrar website to search for and enroll in classes.

If you are registering for a lecture class that has a required recitation and/or lab, the system will prompt you to add that component.

The maximum credit load allowed for most colleges and schools during Summer Session is 16 credit hours. Graduate students in the School of Education may register for no more than 9 credit hours.

When you add a class to your shopping cart, you'll be prompted to select from the available class options. The deadline to change your grade mode varies by session; see the Session Calendars for details.

Independent study and occasionally regular courses are offered on a variable-credit basis. You must designate the number of credit hours you wish to receive for the course at the time of registration. See the CU Boulder catalog for more information about these options.

When a class is full, but registration is still open, some departments allow students to join a waitlist to be automatically enrolled in the class if a seat becomes available. Placing your name on a waitlist does not guarantee enrollment in that class.

If you're automatically enrolled from the waitlist, you'll receive an automated email confirmation. Visit the Office of the Registrar website for more information.

Waitlist deadlines vary by session; see the Session Calendars for details on the last day to add your name to a waitlist and when the waitlist is canceled.