Student Services

Student Activities/School and University Services

Term Withdrawals and Leaves of Absence

If a student is dropping all of their courses in a given term, they must complete a term withdrawal via Albert.

Students can only declare a Leave of Absence for the current term prior to the end of the add/drop period. Once the add/drop period has ended, students must complete a term withdrawal and if desired, declare a Leave of Absence for the following term(s).

Full-Time or Half-Time Equivalency for Graduate Students

Effective Fall 2019, the University defines administrative full-time course work to be a minimum of 9 credits for graduate students (note that your graduate program may have a different threshold for academic full time status-please consult with your advisor.)

To qualify for full-time equivalency, students must be enrolled in a minimum of 9 units or engaged in 30 hours per week on a combination of course work and/or appropriate activity required by the program. Students who request full-time equivalency cannot be employed full-time.

To qualify for half-time equivalency, students must be enrolled in a minimum of 4.5 units or engaged in 15 hours per week on a combination of course work and/or appropriate activity required by the program. Equivalency may be granted only for the purposes of visas, student loans, student loan deferral, TAP and Veterans’ Benefits requirements.

Equivalency credits can be granted only to students who are working on:

• Fulfilling a required master's or doctoral internship/clinical practice
• Writing a master's thesis or preparing a final experience
• Preparing for a doctoral candidacy examination
• A doctoral dissertation proposal
• Doctoral dissertation research

Doctoral students should visit Forms and Checklist or the doctoral version of the equivalency form.

With the exception of doctoral students who may be granted equivalency while registered for Maintenance of Matriculation, no student's application for equivalency status will be considered unless that student is registered for credit-bearing course work. Therefore, a student registered for a leave of absence, maintenance of matriculation, or only zero credit courses cannot be granted equivalency.

Equivalency applies only to state (TAP), federal (Stafford), veteran's benefits and visa status. Scholarships are based on the actual number of enrolled credits, and equivalency credits do not apply. Steinhardt students must be registered for 12 units to receive any Steinhardt scholarship(s). If students have a non-Steinhardt scholarship, they should confirm with the scholarship/sponsor for their eligibility requirements. The NYU Office of Financial Aid reserves the right to adjust any financial aid package.

International students with F-1 and J-1 visas must maintain full-time (12 credit) programs during the fall and spring semesters, and are eligible for equivalency if they fulfill any of the requirements listed above. International students who wish to pursue part-time study for any other reason must do so through the Office of Global Services.

Signatures: The advisor’s signature is required at all times on the Full- or Half-Time Equivalency Form. Final approval by Steinhardt Advisement and  Registration Services is required.

Download a Full- or Half-Time Equivalency form.

Maintenance of Matriculation and Time to Degree Completion

Students must maintain continuous matriculation every academic year until graduation. Typically, this is achieved by enrolling in courses in the fall and spring semesters. If a student is not registering for coursework in a given term, they should register for Maintenance of Matriculation (MAINT-UE 4747 or MAINT-GE 4747).

Undergraduate students must complete their degree within ten years. Graduate students (Masters, Advanced Certificate, Artist Diploma or professional doctoral (OTD or DPT) candidates) must complete their degree within six years. Doctoral candidates (other than ODT or DPT) should refer to Steinhardt’s doctoral advisement webpage for additional information.

Off-Campus Study

Students enrolled in degree programs at New York University are expected to take their courses, including those taken during the summer sessions and J-Term, at New York University. Permission to study at an institution outside of New York University is possible for certain programs and requirements, by exception only. Students should speak with their academic advisor regarding these requests. Off-Campus Study requests must be supported by a student’s academic department and are then formally reviewed for approval by Steinhardt’s Registration Services team. Unless written approval is granted from the Registration Services Team in advance of registration at another institution, students will not receive transfer credit for these courses. Students cannot request off-campus study during a term in which they are enrolled at NYU.

Students requesting permission to enroll in off-campus courses must submit an Off-Campus Petition form, approved by their academic advisor, to Steinhardt Registration Services at steinhardt.advisement.registration@nyu.edu. Please refer to the form for detailed requirements regarding off-campus course requests.

Auditing Classes

A student may audit classes with the permission of the instructor and their advisor. Auditors follow regular registration procedures, including payment of tuition. Regulations governing the auditing of courses are:

• Only matriculated students may audit courses
• Audited courses do not count in determining a student’s maximum course load
• No more than two courses may be audited per term
• Audited courses do not count toward full-time status
• Full tuition and fees apply to audited courses
• Tuition remission may not be applied
• No units are earned nor are letter grades recorded.
• An audited class cannot be taken again at a later date for a credit and a grade
• No withdrawals or refunds are granted
• Auditor status cannot be revoked once it has been requested.
• Audit Request forms should be submitted to: Registration Services steinhardt-registration-and-advisement-group@nyu.edu
• Deadlines: All auditing requests must be submitted within the first week of the term regardless of the start date of the course. There is no appeal for late submission.
• Signatures: The adviser and instructor’s signatures are required at all times

Maximum Credits Per Term

For undergraduate and graduate students, the maximum number of credits permitted for enrollment per term (Fall and Spring) is 18 credits. Undergraduate students may, by exception, petition their department to permit them to register for up to 20 credits. Students who wish to seek this exception should be in direct contact with their academic advisor.

For J-term, the maximum number of credits permitted for enrollment for Undergraduate and Graduate students is 4 credits. There is no exception to this policy.

Summer session enrollment is dictated by a student’s academic program. Students should be in direct contact with their academic advisor.

Course Registration

Adding Classes after the Add/Drop Deadline

After the Add/Drop deadline in a given term, students should consult their academic advisors regarding enrollment in additional courses. Students must have the permission of the instructor to add any courses after the add/drop deadline.

Withdrawing from Classes after the Add/Drop Deadline

A student, who for any reason finds it impossible to complete a course for which they have registered, should consult their advisor and submit a class withdrawal request via Albert. 

Courses dropped within the add/drop period will not appear on the transcript. After the Add/Drop deadline in a given term, students should submit a class withdrawal request via Albert and speak with their advisor regarding these requests. Any course(s) selected for withdrawal after the Add/Drop deadline will result in students receiving a W (withdrawal) on their transcript.

Students may not withdraw from a course after the withdrawal deadline, which is published in the Academic Calendar. 

Students may only withdraw from a course by taking action via Albert. Ceasing to attend, notifying this instructor of intent to drop or any other method, does not officially drop a student from a course. 

Students should consult with the Office of Financial Aid immediately if they change the number of units for which they are registered. Any change in total course load may affect a student’s financial aid package.

Course Permission Form

Course Permission forms are available from the Steinhardt Registration Services forms website. Please consult with your advisor prior to form submission. All completed forms must be submitted to Steinhardt Registration Services at steinhardt.advisement.registration@nyu.edu.

This form gives permission to register: 

• For a program of more than 18 units (20 is the maximum number of units)
• For any course closed at enrollment limit but not over the room capacity, permission of instructor is required.

Cross-School Registration

You may take courses in other schools at NYU if you are a matriculated student and you meet the necessary prerequisites. Courses you take in the professional schools (Dentistry, Law, and Medicine) are generally not applicable towards your degree; however, exceptions may be made to this policy.

Students should make sure to select the appropriate course level (graduate or undergraduate level) when registering for courses to make sure that courses can apply toward your degree. Note that undergraduate courses cannot count toward graduate program requirements.

You may not be matriculated simultaneously in more than one school or program at New York University.

Independent Study

An Independent Study is designed by the student and sponsoring faculty to investigate an area or field of specialization not normally offered in scheduled course offerings. It is an opportunity to work one-on-one with a faculty member to complete directed reading, a creative project and/or supervised research. Students must consult with their advisors before undertaking an Independent Study.

• Only matriculated students are eligible to complete an Independent Study. Independent Study carries 1 to 6 units. The number of units will be determined by the work to be completed and should be comparable in rigor to that of a classroom course
• Minimum hours required per unit: 45 hours of work per credits per term
• Maximum credits allowed: As part of specialization: as determined by each department/program
  • Total allowed
    • For undergraduate students, a maximum of 6 units over the course of the undergraduate career
    • For graduate students, the number of units will be specified by the program
  • Cannot be used to satisfy liberal arts requirements
  • Cannot be used to satisfy professional education courses in the teaching professions
• Registering for Independent Study: Students first meet with the academic advisors to determine if the student should undertake an Independent Study; they then meet with the sponsoring faculty to complete the NYU Steinhardt Independent Study form, obtaining the signatures of the sponsoring faculty member, the sponsoring faculty member’s department chair and the student’s advisor. Students should self-enroll in the course via Albert. 
• Independent Study Title and Description: The title of an Independent Study will appear on the student transcript prefaced by the word “Independent Study”. The description of the Independent Study should include its theme which may be stated as a question or issue to be explored or creative technique to be examined; its type and scope, e.g. paper or special project. Students should use the Independent Study Form to have the correct title listed on their academic transcript. These forms should be submitted via email to: steinhardt.advisement.registration@nyu.edu. 
• Only full-time faculty may sponsor an Independent Study.

Special/Non-Degree Students

For information on Graduate Special Non-Degree student policies, please review this student advisement page.

Time Conflicts

Students are not permitted to register for courses that create time conflicts.

Students taking courses online across multiple time zones may have perceived time conflicts in Albert due to the time difference. Students should reach out to steinhardt.advisement.registration@nyu.edu for support in rectifying these errors.