Academic Planning and Registration

4-Year Plans are tools (usually in the form of a pdf worksheet) that assist you with planning out which courses you will need to take in each semester. Many courses have a progression, so they need to be taken during certain semesters to stay on track to graduate in a timely manner.

4-year plans for many of the majors can be found on the program’s page in the catalog (along with an overview of the program, degree requirements, and contact information for the department). You can also find 4-year plans on the college websites linked below. If you are unsure of which college/school your major is in, check the Majors at Mason handout.

Bachelor of Applied Science

Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution

College of Education and Human Development 

College of Engineering and Computing

College of Humanities and Social Sciences 

College of Public Health 

College of Science 

College of Visual and Performing Arts 

Costello College of Business 

Honors College

Schar School of Policy and Government 

The Degree Audit is where you can see your degree progress and evaluation (requirements you have completed and have yet to complete).

Degree Audit has an “Add or Edit Program” function that allows you to see a degree evaluation for a program that you are not currently declared in (e.g. a different major, concentration, minor, etc.). You can also use it to put in future classes for degree planning purposes. Keep in mind that these tools are only to be used as guides. They do not guarantee future course availability nor take into account certain exceptions to course requirements. Always check with an academic advisor for more detailed planning.

If you have questions about credits earned prior to being a matriculated student at Mason (e.g. AP, IB, dual enrollment, credits from previous institution, etc.) see the Admissions website.

If you are considering taking a course outside of Mason as a current student, see the Registrar’s website. Be aware that you need to obtain permission prior to enrolling in the course.

To see current transfer course equivalencies, use the Transfer Credit Matrix.

Patriot Web is used to register for classes, view or make changes to your schedule, view your transcripts, and more. You can review Patriot Web Tutorials on the Registrar’s website. Also on the Registrar’s website, you can find an Online Registration Guide.

If you have issues with registration or need to make a special registration request, meet with your Academic Advisor. For certain requests, you may need to submit a Registrar Form, for example: Course Audit, Credit Overload, Satisfactory/No Credit, and Time Conflict. For information, see the page on Undergraduate Appeals, Academic Requests, and Exceptions to Policy.

If you have an issue with registering for a MATH course, submit the Course Override Request Form.

If you have an issue with registering for a different course, contact the department for assistance.

Some courses that are full give you the option to add yourself to a waitlist. See the Waitlist Guide for more information.

Please check Patriot Web to see if you have any holds that might prevent you from registering for classes. Contact the office that placed the hold to find out what you need to do in order to remove it. Make sure you take care of holds well in advance before your registration time begins or it will delay the process.

It is your responsibility to be aware of academic dates and deadlines including but not limited to the Last Day to Add, the Last Day to Drop, and the various Withdrawal deadlines. See the Academic Calendar for specific dates.

Students need to maintain a cumulative GPA and a term GPA of a 2.0 or higher to remain in good academic standing. If students fall below a 2.0 cumulative GPA and/or term GPA, they can face academic warning, probation, suspension, or dismissal. For more information about the Academic Standing Policy, see the Undergraduate Policies in the catalog and the Registrar’s website on Academic Standing.

Click the images on the right (or above if on mobile) to see a chart that illustrates the Academic Standing Policy as well as a flow chart to determine your Academic Standing.

The current Academic Standing Policy is in effect starting Fall 2022. To view the previous policy that was in effect from Fall 2004 to Summer 2022, see the Undergraduate Policies for the 2021-2022 catalog or any prior archived catalog.

You can use the GPA Calculator to see what grades you need to earn in your current and/or future courses to achieve or maintain a certain cumulative GPA.