RISD students may cross-register at Brown University in Fall and/or Spring semesters. First-year students are not permitted to cross-register as they are already registered in a full schedule at RISD. First-year students with questions should contact the Experimental and Foundation Studies division directly.

Students who wish to enroll at Brown must first register for the course BROWN 8800 in Workday during the first 40 days of the registration period. Multiple sections of this course may be added if students intend to take more than one Brown course in a semester.

Prior approval from the appropriate RISD department is also required, using the electronic ‘Prior Approval for Brown University Credit’ form found in Etrieve. Only Brown courses with prior approval for RISD credit will be registered.

NOTE WELL: Registration in the placeholder course in Workday at RISD is merely approval from RISD that the course may count toward your RISD degree.  It is NOT approval or actual registration at Brown or any guarantee you will gain entry into the Brown course.  You are NOT formally enrolled until you secure an override by the Brown Faculty member via Courses@Brown and subsequently post-override actually successfully submit a registration via Courses@Brown (see steps 5 & 6 below).

RISD students who have not completed registration in Courses@Brown by the established Brown deadline, you will be withdrawn from Brown and lose access to your Brown services and any course material via Canvas.  
 

Graduate students at RISD are permitted to register only for courses available to Brown graduate students.  These courses are numbered in the 1000-2999 range. Graduate students are not permitted to register for courses below 1000-level, except in the limited case of language instruction. 

RISD students are not permitted to register for courses with the following subject codes: GPHP, BHDS, DSIO, OMIM, OMOL, OBAN.  These courses are intended only for students in the Brown online masters programs and are not open to non-Brown students. 

PROCEDURE FOR STUDENTS

1. Browse course offerings for the upcoming semester using Courses@Brown. Be cognizant of registration restrictions as stated and the enrollment caps. If a course has a high number of Brown-oriented restrictions and/or is close to the enrollment cap, entrance is less likely as Brown faculty must prioritize Brown degree candidates for entry. 
2. In Workday, indicate your interest by registering for the RISD course BROWN 8800 by the deadline. You can register for multiple sections if you intend to take multiple Brown courses.
3. Complete the Prior Approval for Brown University Credit electronic form to secure permission to take the Brown course for RISD credit.
   Form instructions for RISD students
   Form instructions for RISD Division/Department
4. Once permission has been secured on the Prior Approval electronic form, the BROWN 8800 course will be replaced with the Brown course title on your schedule and information will be sent via the Registrar to Brown. Please Note: This approval does NOT mean you are registered at Brown. Registration is only completed when you complete the additional steps outlined below.
5. The Brown Registrar’s Office will send an email prior to the start of the fall semester with information on setting up Brown credentials.  After Brown credentials have been established, log into Courses@Brown and request an override (instructor permission) to register the course. You will receive an email when the instructor approves or denies the override request. Note: that the granting of the override does not register you for the course.
6. When the override/permission is granted, add the course to your cart in Courses@Brown, which will allow access to Canvas. Students are able to officially register beginning the first day of the Brown term. A video tutorial is available.

1. Access RISD’s catalog of courses Use the Academic Period dropdown to search by term (i.e. Fall 2026). Brown students may cross register at RISD in fall, winter, and/or spring for any modality course (in-person, hybrid, or online) as long as the instructor so approves. Use the All Filters function to sort for 'Open' courses with available seats, and 'Meeting Patterns' to find courses that fit your schedule. By clicking into the ‘Section Details’ (the course title hyperlink) you can find course modality, meeting times, and instructor contact information.
2. The cross-registration process will be managed via electronic forms. Students should reach out to RISD instructors first to indicate interest before submitting the cross-registration form.
3. The Brown student fills out RISD’s electronic cross-registration form. NOTE: the electronic add form will not be available until RISD’s first day of classes for the semester and will close on the last day of the RISD add/drop period. Brown students may authenticate into the form using Google (using @brown.edu email).
4. Once the form is submitted, the form will be routed electronically through the permission process.  Once all approvals have been secured, the RISD Registrar’s Office will work with the Brown Registrar’s Office to get the student registered for the course.
5. Additional important information:
   • For Fall 2026: RISD’s Add/Drop period runs from September 9 – September 16.  Cross-registration will not be available on September 9.
   • For Wintersession 2027: Wintersession begins on January 7, 2027. RISD’s Add/Drop period runs from January 07 – January 14. Cross-registration will not be available after January 14.
   • For Spring 2027: The spring semester begins on February 18, 2027. RISD’s Add/Drop period runs from February 18 – February 25. Cross-registration will not be available after February 25.
   • Brown seniors in their final semester are heavily discouraged from cross-registering in spring in the following circumstances. RISD’s spring semester ends after Brown’s and grades are not due until after Brown’s Commencement ceremony. If you require any RISD grade to complete either your concentration or quantity requirements and the Brown Registrar’s Office has not received that grade by the Brown deadline for degree clearance, your graduation will be delayed and your name will not appear in the May Commencement program of that spring semester in question.
   • Brown Graduate Students: If you are a graduate student seeking to cross-register at RISD, you will also require permission from the Brown Graduate School. Please submit a petition in UFunds.
   • In rare exceptions, Brown students are able to cross-register for an Independent Study Project (ISP) with full-time RISD faculty only. Any Brown student planning an ISP should email registrar@risd.edu for further instruction. ISPs are not available via the electronic cross-registration form. Include in the email the RISD faculty member that you wish to register for an ISP with.
   • Brown students are not allowed to register for RISD courses that conflict with the Brown courses that they are formally registered for in CAB. The student must choose between the two courses. If they do not make a choice, the Brown Registrar's Office will drop the student from the RISD course, and will ensure that RISD drops the student as well.