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First Year Students

Registration

Step 3: Shopping Cart

phone: 919-684-6217 | email: advising@duke.edu | advising.duke.edu

Plan Your Time 

Step 3 will take time to complete. It is recommended that you complete these steps on a computer.  You will need to browse through courses in DukeHub, check on prerequisites and placement, and explore departmental and program websites. Be sure to consult the Learning at Duke section for information on AP, IPC, PMC credit, courses, curriculum and first-year requirements. 

3.1 Identify courses you might like to take this fall

WRITING 101 is the university writing course required of all first-year undergraduate students, regardless of any pre-matriculation credit. If you are in the group selected to enroll in Writing 101 this fall, the following message will appear in your message center in DukeHub. 

If you don’t see a message that you have to enroll in WRITING 101 in fall, you will take it spring semester. However, beginning on Friday, July 14, 2023 and continuing through the end of drop/add, anyone can enroll in a WRITING 101 section that is still open, regardless of whether you were selected to enroll in fall. 

Seminar classes: If you are not in the group selected to enroll in WRITING 101, then you should enroll in a seminar instead. Find several seminars that you might be interested in and place them in your Shopping Cart. Remember that you can choose 89S seminars, which are specifically for first-year students, or seminars at the 100-399 level, which may be appropriate for you depending on your interest and background. To find seminars, look for courses with an “S” after the course number (e.g., 89S), or use the Advanced Class Search option, which is explained in section 3.4. See page 6 in the Learning at Duke section for more information on the first- year seminar requirement. For a list of Fall 89S seminars, go to this website and click on “Fall 2023 Seminars.” https://trinity.duke.edu/fall-2023-first-year-seminars  

3.2 Preparing for Registration

Your primary goal now is to search for and add classes to your Shopping Cart. Review your Enrollment Dates under the Enrollment section in DukeHub for your Shopping Cart Appointment and Enrollment Appointment. 

3.3 Search for Classes using “Simple Class Search” under “Class Information”

Simple Class Search is a way to find classes and add them to your Shopping Cart. DukeHub lists all courses taught at Duke, including graduate and professional school courses that prohibit registration by first-year students. Only add courses from undergraduate departments. For a list of undergraduate departments and programs and their abbreviations, see the Learning at Duke section. You can also limit your view to undergraduate courses in Advanced Class Search (Section 3.4) and Schedule Builder (Section 3.5). 

  1. Under Class Information, navigate to Simple Class Search.   
  1. Check that the Term is correct:  2023 Fall Term.  
  2. Click on the Subject dropdown to view available subjects. 
  3. Select a Subject and click the Search button to see available courses in that subject. 
  1. Click on the View Sections button to view scheduled sections.  
  1. Review the Class Details by selecting the expand icon. 
  1. Review Class and Section Information.  From this screen, you can add the course to your Shopping Cart by clicking on the “Add to Cart” button in the lower right corner of the screen. 
  1. You can also add classes to your Shopping Cart using Additional Actions. 
  1. A confirmation message will appear at the top of the Simple Class Search page letting you know the course was successfully added and the Shopping Cart icon will appear. 

3.4 Search for classes using “Advanced Class Search”- Under “Class Information”

The Advanced Class Search function is another way to search for and add classes to your Shopping Cart. You are able to narrow down your choices using a variety of search criteria, similar to Schedule Builder (section 3.5).  

Available criteria include: 

  • Subject (e.g., Biology) 
  • Start Time/End Time and Day(s) taught 
  • Course Attributes: 
    • Curriculum-Areas of Knowledge  
      • ALP Arts, Literature & Performance 
      • CZ Civilizations 
      • NS Natural Sciences 
      • QS Quantitative Studies 
      • SS Social Sciences 
    • Curriculum-Modes of Inquiry 
      • CCI Cross Cultural Inquiry 
      • EI Ethical Inquiry 
      • FL Foreign Language 
      • R Research 
      • STS Science, Technology & Society 
      • W Writing 
    • Interest Area 
      • Service Learning Course
    • Seminar/Lab/Topics 
      • Seminar  

The term should read 2023 Fall Term in Advanced Class Search. 

  1. Check the box that says “Show Open Classes Only.” 
  2. Select your criteria. 
  3. Click the “Search” button. 

3.5 Create a class schedule with Schedule Builder

Schedule Builder is Duke’s tool to help you quickly and easily generate class schedules. 

 
With Schedule Builder, you can add any classes you may be interested in as well as any times you know you can’t have a class (for a job, sports practice, etc.). Schedule Builder will generate every possible combination of classes and breaks that you have selected, allowing you to choose the schedule that works best for you. Students can favorite and name specific schedules for easy reference for registration. The schedule can be imported to your DukeHub Shopping Cart rather than having to add each class manually through Simple Class Search or Advanced Class Search. 

Schedule Builder will also display courses that you’re already enrolled in and generate schedules with them included, helping you fill holes in your schedule even after your initial registration. If a class fills up before you registered or you decide to change a course during the drop/add period, Schedule Builder can help you replace a course by showing you only those new classes that will fit your current schedule.  

NOTE: Schedule Builder is a tool to plan your class schedule for the term. You will still need to enroll in those courses via your Shopping Cart. 

A detailed Help Guide for using the Schedule Builder can be found on the University Registrar website here. 

3.6 Check on class details

Below is an example of the Class Detail view, which you can also access from your Shopping Cart by clicking on the Expand icon. 

COURSE SUFFIXES 

(i.e., letters that follow the course number; not all courses will have these) 

  • A: The course is taught abroad or away; do not enroll in these (e.g., BIOLOGY 201LA) 
  • FS: Course in a Focus Program; only students accepted to FOCUS are enrolled (e.g., BIOLOGY 180FS) 
  • D: Course has a discussion or recitation section with it (e.g., ECON 201D) 
  • L: Course has an associated laboratory (e.g., MATH 105L) 
  • S: Course is a seminar (e.g., ENGLISH 89S) 
  1. The green circle indicates this course is open. 
  2. Career = Undergraduate. This course is appropriate for you. Note that you must specify “Undergraduate” in Advanced Class Search. 
  3. Units (credits) = 1. This is a one-credit course, as are most undergraduate academic courses at Duke. Some courses are 2.0 credits and others are 0.5 credits. 
  4. This is a graded course (scale of A, B, C, D, F). Many partial-credit courses are only taught satisfactory/unsatisfactory. 
  5. Course description along with prerequisite coursework or previous experience needed for a class will be noted here. 
  6. “Instructor Consent Required” means that you must contact the instructor of the course and obtain a permission number to enroll; see section 3.8 for more information on permission numbers. 
  7. Enforced class prerequisites would be listed here (see section 3.9) 
  8. Class Attributes indicate which Areas of Knowledge and/or Modes of Inquiry are being satisfied (EI, STS, W, SS). 
  9. Displays available seats/capacity. The maximum enrollment for this course is 15 students.  
  10. The maximum number of students who may be wait-listed for this course is 15. 
  11. Some courses, like the one shown, include a link to student course evaluations history. This shows how previous students regarded the class. 
  12. (not pictured here) Synopsis. Some courses will have a link here to a synopsis. If so, be sure to read it. 

3.7 How to add and drop courses from your Shopping Cart

To add a course: When you find a class, click on “Add to Cart.” You can also use Class Search (section 3.3) or Advanced Class Search (section 3.4) or Schedule Builder (section 3.5). 

Placing a class in your Shopping Cart does not reserve a seat in the class. Students must add classes to their Shopping Cart, select the checkbox next to the class, and select ‘Enroll’ in order to register for the class when their enrollment appointment opens. 

To DELETE a course from your Shopping Cart: Click on the check box next to the course name and select the ‘Delete’ button. You will be prompted to confirm the deletion of the course from your Shopping Cart. 

Classes fill up quickly during registration. We strongly recommend students have back- up schedules in their Shopping Cart in case their preferred classes are no longer available. 

3.8 Permission numbers and how to use them

Permission numbers are used in the registration process to allow faculty to grant permission for students to enroll when the student has not met a prerequisite, to override a class capacity, or when a class requires permission. You can add the course to your Shopping Cart, but the system will not allow you to enroll until you have entered the permission number provided by your professor in DukeHub. 

Most classes do not require a permission number. However, the Enrollment Options box appears for every class placed in your Shopping Cart.  

If the course does not require a permission number or you have yet to obtain a required number, leave the Permission Number blank and select Save to continue. If you have obtained a permission number, enter it and select Save to continue.  

If you need one, it can be difficult to obtain one during the summer because faculty are often away from Duke and unavailable by phone or email. If you wish to try to contact the instructor anyway, go to directory.duke.edu and enter the instructor’s name in the search box to find their contact information. 

To enter a required permission number, type the Permission Number provided by the instructor or departmental staff member in the Permission Number box which pops up when you are you adding a class and select Save. 

You can also enter a Permission Number by selecting the Additional Actions icon next to the class and select Edit.  Enter the Permission Number provided by the instructor or departmental staff member in the Permission Number box and select the Save button. 

3.9 Course prerequisites- what you should know

Some courses will indicate in the course description, course details, or synopsis that there is a prerequisite for the course. Some course prerequisites are enforced, i.e., you need to have the prerequisite showing on your Academics page in DukeHub in order to enroll, and others are not. It’s important to know the difference. 

Enforced prerequisites:  If a course has an enrollment requirement on the Class Detail page (see item 7 in the screen shot in section 3.6), the course has an enforced prerequisite. This means that you can add the course to your Shopping Cart, but the system will not allow you to enroll until the prerequisite course is listed on your Academics page in DukeHub. For example, Intermediate Microeconomics I, ECON 201D, requires previous credit in economics and math. If you have AP, IPC, PMC credit in economics and math, check to see if these are listed on your Test Scores or Transfer Credit sections under Academics. If they are, the system will recognize that the prerequisites have been met, and you can enroll. If they aren’t, postpone enrollment in this course until later. 

Unenforced prerequisites: If a course mentions a prerequisite in the course summary or synopsis and there is no specific enrollment requirement listed in class details, then the prerequisite is not enforced; instead, it is a recommendation that students should have taken the prerequisite before enrolling. This means that you can add the course to your Shopping Cart and enroll. The system will not check your record to see if the prerequisite is listed. However, just because the department doesn’t enforce the prerequisite doesn’t mean it isn’t important. You should be sure you have the required background before beginning the course. To do otherwise could present real challenges to your academic success in the class. If you have any concerns, talk with the course instructor when classes begin in August. You can also contact the Academic Advising Center. 

Waiting for AP scores: AP scores are usually electronically transmitted to Duke from AP Services in the first week of July. Your AP credit should be processed and posted to Test Scores and Transfer Credit sections before you register for classes. However, if your AP credits are not posted by the time you register for a class with an enforced prerequisite, then postpone enrolling in the course until later. You can add the course during drop/add after your credit has been posted. If you don’t see AP scores posted in DukeHub before you register, there is a good chance that the University Registrar has not received your official score report, and you will need to have it sent. You can contact the Office of the University Registrar with questions about this via email to registrar@duke.edu. 

Waiting for International Placement Credits (IPC)? International Baccalaureate scores are sent by IBO to Duke around the same time as AP is received. For all other international placement exams, the official results should be submitted by the student to the Office of the University Registrar. If your scores have been received and IPC credit is awarded, you will see these credits on your Academics page in DukeHub. If the credit is not posted by the time you want to register for a class with an enforced prerequisite, then postpone enrolling in the course until later. You can add it during the drop/add period, after your credit has been posted. For questions about IPC, contact the Office of the University Registrar. 

The system is looking for official AP test scores and not self-reported test scores to satisfy enforced prerequisites. Official AP test scores can be viewed in the Test Scores section under Academics in DukeHub. 

Self-reported scores can be found if you select the APSLF- AP Self-Reported Scores-Unofficl section in the Test Scores section. 

Official scores which have been received and posted by the University Registrar’s Office to your Duke academic record in DukeHub can be found in the Transfer Credit section under Academics in DukeHub. 

3.10 Are you done with Shopping Cart?

Once you feel confident about your Shopping Cart and have selected a variety of courses (including WRITING 101 if you are scheduled to take it in the fall), move on to Step 4 to put together a tentative schedule.