Non-Degree Admission

To apply for admission as a non-degree student, you need to show that you have a bachelor's degree or its equivalent, know which course(s) you want to enroll in, have permission from the instructor(s) to enroll, and pay a $75 application fee.  Each of those requirements is discussed in more detail below. 

Be sure to read the instructions below and collect the information you will need.  When you are ready to apply, use the same application as our degree-seeking applicants in the Laney Connect Hub. After you have created an application account, on the first page of the application, choose "Non-Degree / Special Standing" as your program, select the term you are applying for, and then complete and submit the application.

1. Show That You Have a Bachelor's Degree or Its Equivalent.

You show this by attaching to your application a transcript from your undergraduate/graduate institution. This transcript needs to be final — that is, it needs to be issued after graduation and show that you were awarded the degree.

You will need a scanned copy of your transcript, or an electronic transcript. It needs to be issued by the registrar of the institution that awarded the degree.

This is essential: if you do not attach a transcript, we will deny your application.

2. Know Which Course(s) You Want to Enroll In.

The application asks you to complete several fields of information about the course(s) you want to enroll in: subject, class number, instructor, etc.  It is important that you complete all the fields for each class, so we will know how to enroll you. The document below shows you the fields on the application and explains what information to enter into them.

• Course information on the non-degree application 

You must complete this information for at least one course. 

This is essential: if you do not specify at least one course to enroll in, we will deny your application.

3. Have Permission from the Instructor(s) to Enroll.

You need to request permission from the instructor for each course you want to enroll in and attach the permission(s) to your application.  For each course, obtain permission from the instructor via email, then save the reply email from the instructor as a pdf document, and attach it in the relevant field of the application.  Email is the easiest method, but scanned letters on letterhead will of course also work.

For each course you list on the application, you must attach a document showing that the instructor has given you permission to enroll. 

This is essential: if you do not include this, we will deny your application.

You may want to ask the instructor for "overload permission."  When a semester starts, degree seeking students have priority in registering for courses.  If a course you want to enroll in fills up with degree seeking students, we will not be able to enroll you, even if we have a permission email from the instructor.  However, if the email from the instructor explicitly gives you "overload permission," then we can enroll you in an otherwise full class.  So to prevent another round of request and response, you may want to ask the instructor to give you overload permission from the start.

Note: If you are looking to enroll in Math or Computer Science courses, do not submit an application without first talking with the department. Degree seeking students have priority for all courses, and beginning level courses almost always fill. Even if you have faculty permission, you may be locked out. To avoid this situation, contact Terry Ingram (Math) at terry.ingram@emory.edu or Misty Brooks (Computer Science) a misty.brooks@emory.edu before you submit an application.

4. Pay a $75 Application Fee.

You pay the fee at the end of your application, and you cannot submit without paying the fee.

The application fee is not refundable. If for some reason you are unable to enroll, or decide not to enroll, we will not refund the application fee.

Then What Happens?

If your application is complete, we will process it and admit you as a non-degree or special standing student. We will send you a email letting you know you have been admitted, and that enrollment is pending.

As soon as the semester starts, we will enroll you in the course(s) you selected, and let you know you have been enrolled.  If a course fills up and you don't have overload permission, we will email  you to let you know that you need to request overload permission before we can enroll you.

What If I Want to Keep Taking Courses?

Once you have been admitted as a non-degree student, you can continue to take courses and do not need to apply for admission again, as long as you take at least one course each term.  You will need permissions for each course, and we will enroll you at the start of each term. To enroll again, contact Tamika Hairston at tamika.hairston@emory.edu.

However, if you take a break of one or more terms, then you need to apply for readmission.