Course Registration Information and Forms

Register for courses

Hampshire Students

Five College Students

Register for Hampshire courses as a Five College student

Community Members Taking Hampshire Courses

Community members, including Hampshire staff, may take a maximum of one course per semester, on a space-available basis.

Register for Hampshire courses as a community member

Registration Forms and Advice

Preparing for preregistration and add/drop

  • Discuss your course selections with your advisor, who must authorize you to preregister.
  • Check approvals/holds on TheHub for your time and date to begin registering and for the ADV code indicating advisor approval.
  • Some holds will prevent you from preregistering for courses. Check the "approvals and holds" link on your student menu on TheHub for more information.
  • You may preregister for a total of four academic courses, including a maximum of two Five College courses. Five College requests submitted beyond the limit will not be processed.
  • The above-mentioned course limit does not apply during the add/drop period at the beginning of the semester.
  • Amherst College has a two-course maximum per semester.
  • The four-course limit during preregistration does not apply to co-curricular (OPRA) ourses.
  • You may preregister for courses with prerequisites, but the course instructor will determine your eligibility to remain registered. Read the description carefully to determine that you have met the prerequisites.
  • During preregistration in spring for fall courses, 100-level courses have spaces reserved for new entrants. Spaces on 100-level waitlists are also limited.

Speeding up your registration

Before registration begins, you can enter the courses that you want by going to your student menu on TheHub and clicking on "search/register for courses." This will bring you to a screen where you can fill out search criteria for courses. The next screen will show your search results. Select the box to the left of the desired course and click "submit." This will place the courses on your "Preferred Sections" list. When the registration period begins, return to your student menu on TheHub and click on "register and drop sections." Select the drop down menu on this screen to register, waitlist, or remove the courses.

Shopping around for courses

If you are registered for a class and would like to visit another one that meets at the same time, speak to the professor of the class for which you are registered. Failure to do so could jeopardize your ability to receive an evaluation for the course, and the instructor may assume that you intend to drop the course. Faculty are not obliged to write evaluations for students who have missed too many classes.

Handling course time conflicts

TheHub will not allow students to register for two courses that conflict. Occasionally, students and faculty make special arrangements to accommodate minor time conflicts. Get permission from the faculty member of the course regarding the time conflict. You can have it emailed to centralrecords@hampshire.edu. We will register you.

Registering from a waitlist

If you are on a waitlist for a course, you will be notified by email when a space in the course becomes available. You must register yourself on TheHub within 24 hours of the time the email was sent to avoid being dropped from the waitlist, so it is important that you check your email several times daily. The waitlist notification system runs whenever course registration is open on TheHub. 

If you are dropped from a waitlist, you must re-add yourself to the waitlist (yes, your name will then be at the bottom) if you still intend to take the course. You must attend courses you are waitlisted for as faculty will not write evaluations for students who have missed too many classes.

Enrollment between the add and drop deadline

You may use this Enrollment Form - Hampshire Course to register for a course with approval from the instructor between the add deadline and the drop deadline at the beginning of the semester regardless of your position on the waitlist.

Maintaining your schedule

Students are responsible for the accuracy of their course schedules and for making changes by the appropriate deadlines. Check the "courses tab" on TheHub under "Courses and Divisional Evaluations."

Independent Study

Use this Independent Study Form to work at any level with Hampshire College faculty. Courses that require a form for registration will not appear immediately on your schedule.

To register for an independent study supervised by Five College faculty, you must register through the Five College request system.

Instructor Permission

The Instructor Permission Form is required only for courses identified on TheHub as "Instructor Permission." Courses that require a form for registration will not appear immediately on your schedule.

Teaching Assistant

Serving as a teaching assistant is an academic endeavor equivalent to taking a course. The College expects teaching assistants to attend the class sessions and spend a minimum of six hours weekly outside of class on duties related to the course. Teaching assistants engage in the material at a deep, sustained level throughout the semester in order to be able to assist in any of the following as negotiated with the professor:

  • Course planning
  • Leading discussions/Critiques
  • Designing and teaching one or more class sessions
  • Holding office hours
  • Providing feedback on papers and other assignments
  • Scheduling and acting as a liaison with community and academic partners
  • Other duties as appropriate to the course

Students serving as teaching assistants must officially register as such by submitting an enrollment form to central records by the deadline to submit forms during the add/drop period at the beginning of the semester of the course. They may not register for the actual course and will receive an evaluation of their role from the faculty member by the course evaluation deadline.

It is important to note that the duties and responsibilities of teaching assistants differ significantly from the duties of work-study positions or those of office/course assistants, which are more limited in scope. It should also be noted that teaching assistants are responsible reporters/employees. This means that they should report any information received while serving in their role that indicates the sexual misconduct policy may have been violated. Please review the Title IX policy for more information.

Instructor Assistant (for OPRA and other co-curricular courses)

An instructor assistant helps to facilitate a course and engages in activities including leading discussions, prepping for outings or classes, and supporting students while in the field or classroom. This will include work outside of the scheduled course hours. The student will be officially registered as an instructor assistant (not for the course). The activity will be included in your transcript if you successfully complete it. Unlike the position of teaching assistant for an academic course, the activity cannot be counted towards satisfactory academic progress for the semester and cannot be used as a Division III advanced educational activity. Return the Instructor Assistant form by the drop deadline.

Private Music Lessons

You may take private music lessons with instructors affiliated with one of the Five Colleges. To register for your lessons, contact the instructor in advance of the semester’s start to find out if they can give you permission to enroll. Then, request the  lessons on TheHub via the Five College request system during course preregistration or add/drop.  Check the academic calendar for dates and deadlines. Fees for lessons vary from $650-$775 for 12 one hour lessons per semester. The fee will be added to your student account and the College will handle the payments. If you are a Division II or III music concentrator who is currently receiving a Hampshire grant, you may be eligible for a one-time music grant for private lessons. Contact the financial aid office for details.

In some instances, you may take lessons with an instructor who is not affiliated with one of the Five Colleges. In that case, you will need to obtain prior approval from a member of Hampshire’s music faculty.  The Hampshire music faculty member and the instructor will both need to sign a permission form. These forms are not online. You can pick up the form in Central Records, located in the Lemelson Building. The completed form should be returned to Central Records by the end of the course add/drop period for the semester you are taking the lessons.  Although you may take lessons at any time during your academic career, please note the following:

  • They may not be used in place of one of the seven courses required in Division I.
  • They may not be used in place of one of the academic courses required to maintain full-time enrollment.
  • They may not be used as an advanced educational activity in Division III.

If you have questions contact Central Records

centralrecords@hampshire.edu

Dropping courses and withdrawing from courses

Students may drop courses on TheHub during the add/drop and preregistration periods. Use the Course Withdrawal Form between the drop deadline and the course withdrawal deadline to receive a withdrawal notation of "W" on your transcript. Students may no longer withdraw after the course withdrawal deadline. A "No evaluation notation" is recorded on student transcripts for Hampshire courses that are not successfully completed. An "F" is recorded for Five College courses that are not successfully completed, in accordance with Five College policy.

Auditing a course

Use this Audit Form only for Hampshire courses and submit it by the drop deadline. Course registrations CANNOT be changed to audit after this deadline. Please see the policies on auditing a Five College course and for taking Five College courses pass/fail. Courses that require a form for registration will not appear immediately on your schedule.

Advanced Standing

First-year students entering fall 2012 and after may use qualifying college courses and AP and IB exams to satisfy some Division I and II requirements. See the full policy in the student handbook.

If you are having technical difficulty with TheHub, please contact the IT help desk at 413.559.5418 or email helpdesk@hampshire.edu. If you have questions regarding registration policy, please contact Central Records at 413.559.5421 or email centralrecords@hampshire.edu.