SUMMARY OF ENROLLMENT PROCEDURES

All upper division economics electives are restricted to declared majors only during Phase I (except Econ 100A/B). Undeclared students and students from other majors should put themselves on the waitlist. Students will be enrolled, on a space available basis, during Phase 2 and the Adjustment Period. We strongly recommend all Economics majors officially enroll in their economics courses in Phase I to ensure a seat in their classes. If you do not select economics courses in Phase I, you may not be able to add those classes in Phase II or Adjustment Periods.

(A) How to add an Economics course:

  1. To enroll in an Economics course you must use CalCentral. All Economics courses are impacted and we recommend adding them in Phase I.

  2. If you cannot immediately add a course, put yourself on the waitlist for the lecture and if the course has discussion sections, also on a waitlist for a section. You will not get into a lecture unless you get into a section. Because of this, it is a good idea to put yourself in a section that has the shortest wait list. If the waitlist is full, your chances of being enrolled are minimal. 

  3. The waitlists are processed automatically by CalCentral, not by the department. Waitlists are updated 4 times each day.

  4. If a course has seats set aside for Permission Number (PN), please contact the Economics Head Graduate Student Instructor (headgsi@econ.berkeley.edu) in room 548 Evans Hall to see if you can apply for a class permission number. Be aware that there are very limited (if any) seats saved for this purpose and other students will be competing for them. The Head GSI will accept paper applications for PNs starting the first day of classes and applications are due a week from then. 

  5. You can complete a PN application anytime at 548 Evans during the first week of the classes. Once instruction begins the Head GSI will also hold office hours the first two weeks of classes, from 9am to 5pm.

(B) How to stay enrolled in an Economics course:

  • You must attend lecture and sections during the first week of classes. Attendance will be taken.
  • If you are absent, you will be dropped. All drops due to non-attendance will be final.
  • More detailed information on how to stay enrolled in an Economics course.

(C) If your section was cancelled

  • You have NOT been dropped.
  • Log into CalCentral and change sections using the Switch Sections option.
  • Do NOT try to drop the lecture and then re-add it because you may not be allowed to re-add.
  • More detailed information on what to do if your section was cancelled.

(D) How to change sections:

  • You can only change your section if you are officially enrolled in the class. If you are wait listed in a section, it is not possible to use the "Switch Section" feature on Cal Central.
  • Logon to CalCentral and change sections using the Switch Sections option.
  • Do NOT drop the lecture and then re-add it because you may not be allowed to re-add.
  • More detailed information on how to change sections.

(E) How to drop an Economics course:

Consult the Courses webpage for course offerings.

More questions? Please review our Enrollment Frequently Asked Questions page or email ugrad@econ.berkeley.edu.