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In general, Special Students are treated like first-year graduate students. They are eligible to enroll in undergraduate or graduate courses, depending on their preparation. However, Special Students do not have priority for limited-enrollment courses. Enrollment in each course is subject to the permission of the instructor.

Graduate student office space in departments is seldom available to Special Students. Departmental mailboxes are occasionally available to Special Students. Policy in these and similar matters is determined by the individual departments.

Students may apply for a half (one term) or a full (two terms) academic year (September-June), with extension possible for the following year by formal reapplication.

Students registering for non-credit audited courses (TIME) pay the same rate as credit courses.

Financial Aid through Harvard (including scholarships, work-study, and loans) is not available to non-degree students.

Students may register for summer courses only through the Harvard Summer School (51 Brattle Street, 617-495-4024).

Special Students may obtain an official registrar's transcript of courses and grades received, but they are not candidates for any degree at Harvard University. Students whose primary goal is to try at a later date to gain admission to a Harvard graduate degree program should not regard Special Student admission as an acknowledgement of graduate degree qualification.

Special Students who later apply, and are admitted, to a GSAS degree program may petition for both appropriate academic and financial credit earned as a Special Student to be applied towards satisfying the requirements of the Graduate School and of their department. Consult the Graduate School admissions information or the GSAS Handbook for details.

Individuals denied admission to a degree program in GSAS ordinarily cannot apply as a Special Student for the same academic year.

Students seeking premedical courses should note that the Special Student/Visiting Fellow Office is unable to provide its own premedical advising program. Premedical students must rely on their undergraduate schools for career counseling and placement services.