Registration

How and When to Register

Newly admitted students register for courses on a different timeline for their first fall semester at Rice. New students register during Orientation Week (O-Week) after attending several academic advising events. Therefore, it is not recommended students create concrete academic plans before matriculation, nor in isolation of the academic resources and events Rice provides during O-Week and thereafter.

Instructions on how to waitlist a course with the new registration system can be found here.

During spring semester, first year students and upperclassmen follow the same registration procedures. The Office of the Registrar provides extensive step-by-step instructions as well as general registration tips. Spring registration normally occurs in November, while fall registration occurs in April. Summer registration also begins during the spring and can offer anywhere from two to three summer sessions. All students use the ESTHER Course Registration Planner to select their desired courses and are able to add and drop via the ESTHER system thereafter.