Web Registration
Students will use Schedule Builder to register for classes. This online system offers a pre-registration planning tool which allows students to create their schedule and check for scheduling conflicts prior to their registration appointment time. Each student is given a registration appointment based on class level. Course enrollment is first-come, first-serve within assigned class levels.
Schedule Builder opens for pre-planning for Spring 2025 courses on November 1.
3Ls – November 13 at 8:00am - 11:00am
2Ls – November 14 at 8:00am - 11:00am
3Ls – December 4 at 8:00am - 11:00am
2Ls – December 5 at 8:00am - 11:00am
January 6 to January 21
Weekdays: 6:00am-11:59pm
Weekends: 10:00am-6:00pm
Important Links
Adding and Dropping Courses
During the open registration window, which extends through the first eight (8) calendar days of the term, students may add and drop classes through Schedule Builder, and/or place themselves on a waitlist for any overenrolled classes.
After Schedule Builder closes, through the second week of the term, students may add or drop with the permission of the instructor. Note that adds are not permitted if the room is already at-capacity. All requests will be made through email as follows:
- Student emails professor to initiate the request and copies registrar@law.ucdavis.edu.
- Professor uses “reply all” to grant permission.
- Registrar’s Office completes schedule change on the student’s record.
Adding or dropping a class after the second week is rare and requires both instructor and Dean’s Office approval. All requests will be made through email as follows:
- Student emails professor to initiate the request and copies registrar@law.ucdavis.edu.
- Professor uses “reply all” to grant permission.
- Registrar’s Office obtains approval from the Dean’s Office and completes schedule change on the student’s record.
Students may not add a course if there is a time conflict with another course they are taking (even if there is only a small amount of overlap). Students may not drop a course if doing so would take them below 10 units. The last day to make enrollment changes is the last day of instruction. Courses with “W” codes will not be displayed on a student’s transcript; only courses a student completed and received a grade for will be included on their transcript.
Waitlist Procedures
Class size is determined by the nature of the course and the seating capacity of the classroom. If a class is full, students can place themselves on a waitlist using Schedule Builder. The waitlist process runs through the first eight (8) calendar days of the term. Note that not all courses have waitlists and waitlists are limited in size. Students are permitted to enroll in a maximum of 17 units, and waitlisted units count towards that 17-unit total.
Class rosters are updated at midnight every night during open registration. If an enrolled student drops any time in the 24-hour period between updates, at midnight the system will automatically fill empty seats with students from the waitlist. Please be aware that if the system encounters a registration error when attempting to add the student in position #1 (e.g., you have a hold on your account), an email notification is sent, and the system automatically moves on to registering the next student. The first student will stay in waitlist position #1 until the registration error is resolved or the waitlist process concludes.
Students are responsible for dropping waitlisted courses they do not wish to attend via Schedule Builder.
First Day Attendance Policy for Overenrolled Courses
To preserve their place in an overenrolled course, students must attend the first class and sign the attendance sheet or be dropped for non-attendance. This policy applies to both enrolled and waitlisted students. To count as present, a student needs to attend the whole class, not just a quick drop-in at the start. Students who are dropped from an overenrolled course after the first day due to non-attendance may re-add themselves to the waitlist through Schedule Builder.
Students who have extenuating circumstances and are unable to attend the first day for good cause but wish to remain enrolled, may email registrar@law.ucdavis.edu and their professor in advance of the first class. If a student is not present on the first day and has not emailed in advance, they will be dropped and their seat may be given to someone else in the following order of preference: 1) those who are on the waitlist and were present on the first day, 2) anyone else present on the first day.
Students may not sign the class attendance sheet for another student. Doing so will be considered a violation of student judicial affairs conduct rule 102.02.
Consider Your Exam Schedule
When planning your course schedule, be sure to consider your final exam schedule. The law school regulations do not allow for rescheduling of exams unless you have two or more exams scheduled for the same day. Having one final exam each day for several consecutive days does not constitute a hardship or valid reason for rescheduling. The exam schedule is available prior to course registration so students may plan their exam schedules accordingly. If you do not want to test for consecutive days, you should not select a combination of courses which would result in an exam schedule with consecutive days of testing.
Prerequisites
Some courses have prerequisites. It is your responsibility to check the course description to confirm you meet these requirements; Schedule Builder will not prevent you from registering, even if you do not have the required prerequisite. You can see prerequisites on Schedule Builder by clicking “Show Details” or by visiting the Course Description page on the Law School website. Faculty members have the right to drop students from a class if they have not completed the appropriate prerequisite.
Co-Curricular Enrollments
Co-curricular enrollments for the following courses are coordinated through the Registrar’s Office (not Schedule Builder) and should be completed no later than the eighth day of the semester:
- Journals (Law 411A, 411B, 411C, 411D, 416, 417A/B, and 418)
- Competition Teams (Law 412 and 413)
- Boards (Law 414, 414A, and 415)
- Independent writing projects (Law 419/A and Law 499/A)
Students who are serving as the Editor-In-Chief of a journal should reach out to registrar@law.ucdavis.edu prior to the start of the fall semester to request the enrollment form for the coming academic year.
General Notes:
- Students may enroll in a maximum of 17 units per semester, including co-curricular units. Students cannot volunteer or waive credit when participating in a credit-bearing co-curricular activity. If a student wants to work on a specialty journal for no credits they can do so, but they cannot have one of the named editor positions.
- Students cannot defer units, including co-curricular units, to another term or academic period. All work must be enrolled and appear on the student’s transcript for the academic period in which the student engaged in the activity.
- For 419/A or 499/A writing projects that are an extension of a paper from a previously graded class in a prior term, the additional units must be S/U graded.
Notes about Moot Court Competition Credits:
A moot court competition (Law 413) is an activity in which participants take part in simulated court proceedings, which usually involves drafting memoranda and participating in oral argument. Students may receive academic credit for competing in law competitions. General guidelines for enrollment are as follows:
If a student is participating in a competition which requires research and preparation in advance, and the student participates in oral arguments on the day of the competition, this may be eligible for one unit of credit. If student advances to an additional “round” of competition within the same competition/event, this does not constitute reason for an additional unit of credit.
If a student is participating in a competition which requires research and preparation in advance, participates in oral arguments on the day of the competition and is required to draft a substantial brief as part of the competition, this competition may be eligible for two units of credit.
If a student participates in a competition and is asked to return to participate in a second, advanced level of competition, with an entirely new case/competition held on a different day of competition and additional preparation is required, this may qualify the student for an increase in academic credit by one additional unit.
Non-Law Courses
Our regulations allow students to take and receive credit for one or two undergraduate or graduate courses offered in other parts of this university, subject to the rules listed here in Regulation 1.7. There are a few forms and approvals which have to take place before a law student may be registered for non-law courses:
Students interested in transferring UC Davis credit toward the JD degree must submit the Dean’s Approval For Outside Units form to the Registrar’s Office PRIOR to enrolling. This form requires an explanation indicating how the course will advance the student’s legal training.
Because UC Davis courses outside the law school are typically offered on the quarter system, please note the number of semester units that will transfer back to the JD degree based on the quarter units:
- 5 quarter units = 3 semester units
- 4 quarter units = 2 semester units
- 3 quarter units = 2 semester units
- 2 quarter units = 1 semester unit
Once you have made contact with the program or department and they have granted you permission, please forward that approval email along with the course number, and the 5-digit CRN number to registrar@law.ucdavis.edu.
Deferred 1L Classes
Students cannot self-enroll in 1L courses. If you have deferred a 1L class until your second year, please email the Registrar's Office with the course information (CRN, professor, etc.) for the course in which you would like to be enrolled. Provided there is a seat available in that section and you have sufficient units available in your schedule as well as no other course/time conflicts, the Registrar's Office will enroll you in the course you selected. If there is not a seat available, we will work with you to enroll in an alternative section.
Auditing Classes
UC Davis School of Law does not have a formal "audit" option. Law students may discuss informal arrangements with professors related to sitting in on classes, but this would not result in any units and would not appear on the student's transcript in any way. Essentially this would just be an informal agreement between the professor and the law student.
Withdrawal or Leave of Absence
Students who wish to withdraw from law school (indefinitely) or to take up to two semesters of Planned Educational Leave (PELP), should review Article V of the Law School Regulations. All students considering withdrawing or going on leave should meet with Dean Scivoletto as their first step. Students who use Financial Aid and loans should also speak to the Financial Aid Office. Please contact the Law School Registrar's Office to complete the appropriate paperwork.
All students are subject to the Law School’s Fee Refund Schedule. The effective date is the date the Withdrawal or PELP Form is submitted to the Law School Registrar’s Office.
Students who Withdraw or PELP have a notation of this leave placed on their official transcript. Students who Withdraw are no longer considered UC Davis School of Law students and will need to complete the readmission process to return and continue their law studies. Students returning from PELP are considered continuing students and readmission to the university is guaranteed.