Enrollment Limit and Waitlist

Fall 2024

Enrollment Limit for Undergrads

  • All Undergraduate students have an initial unit limit of 17 units.
  • Graduating seniors who have a graduation application on file for Fall 2024, Spring 2025 or Summer 2025 with the Registrar’s Office by March 29, 2024, can register up to 19 units without a petition beginning Mon, June 24, 2024.
  • Continuing students in good standing can register for up to 19 units without a petition beginning Mon, July 1, 2024.
  • All Continuing Students in good standing may submit an Excess Unit petition to register up to 21 units on Mon, July 1, 2024.  This will be available on the Registrar’s Forms' page.  

See this table for illustration of dates when unit limit will increase:

Type of Students Maximum Unit Load
4/23/24-6/23/24 6/24/24-6/30/24 Starting 7/1/24
New admits and students on academic notice 17 17 17
Continuing students
(in good standing)
17 17 19, 20-21*
Graduating seniors
(applied for graduation by 3/29/24)
 17  19 20-21*

*Requires the Excess Units Petition to raise the enrollment limit above 19 and up to 21 units. This petition will be available on the Registrar's Forms page beginning Mon, July 1, 2024.

Enrollment Limit for Grads

Graduate students have an enrollment limit of 16 units per semester.  If you need more than 16 units, submit the Excess Units Petition, available at the Graduate Admission & Program Evaluation (GAPE) website.   


Waitlist

How does waitlist work?

The waitlist provides students with a process to help them enroll in a class that is full when seats become available. The waitlist process runs nightly from April 23, 2024 through Aug. 30, 2024 

See SJSU catalog for assistance with:

  • Signing up for waitlist
  • Issues that prevent you from enrolling in classes
  • Billing information

Reasons waitlisted students will not be automatically enrolled, check the following:

Automated Waitlist Reprioritization

The waitlist will be adjusted to give priority to graduating seniors and graduating graduate students starting May 14, 2024 through Aug. 30, 2024.  In order to move to the top of the waitlist, you must meet one of the following categories:

  • Graduating seniors who have applied for Fall 2024, Spring 2025 or Summer 2025 graduation
  • Graduate students with an approved candidacy form on file and a minimum of 21 units earned

Variable Waitlist Unit Limit

Undergraduate Students

  • During the first three weeks of the advance registration, students are limited to 5 waitlist units.
  • Starting May 14, the Variable Waitlist Unit Limit will apply. The Variable Waitlist Unit Limit defines the available units a student can waitlist at a given time. Here is the formula: Variable Waitlist Unit Limit = 17 minus Enrolled Units
        • Variable Waitlist Unit will be activated once a student enrolls in at least one class (regardless of the amount of units)
        • Waitlist units limit remains at 17 despite the raise of enrollment limits or approved of excess units petition.
        • The system will refresh the student’s enrollment on a nightly basis. See table below for an example of the nightly changes on the variable waitlist:
  Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
Total Units 17 17 17 17 17
Enrolled 0 6 11 12 14
Available Waitlist Units 5 11 6 5* 5*

*The available waitlist units will remain at 5 once your enrollment has reached 12 or more units.

Graduate Students

  • Waitlist is limited to 5 units for the entire registration period.