Skip to main content
Department of Psychology Psychology
  1. HOME
  2. Undergraduate Program
  3. Courses
  4. UPS/Concurrent Enrollment

Concurrent Enrollment (CE) and University & Professional Studies (UPS) students 

Concurrent Enrollment through UC San Diego Extended Studies provides the opportunity for those who are not registered UC San Diego students to enroll in UCSD courses. CE/UPS students are part of the UC San Diego community and are expected to follow University and UC-wide policies, including the Student Conduct Code and the Policy on Integrity of Scholarship. 

The procedures & policies laid out below are specific to the Psychology Department and apply to courses with the subject of PSYC (psychology). For any questions about the concurrent enrollment process, please direct them to UCSD Extended Studies. Questions about courses in other departments should be sent directly to those campus departments. 

Expand All

These courses are not open to CE/UPS students, regardless of whether instructor approval has been granted or not.

The following Psychology Undergraduate courses are not available to CE/UPS students:

  • PSYC research courses: PSYC 71, 81, 113, 114, 115A/B, 116A/B/C, 117, 118, 126, 140, 193L, 199
  • PSYC honors courses: PSYC 110, 111A/B, PSYC 194A/B/C
  • PSYC elective courses: PSYC 124, 125, 126, 131, 151, 175, 187, and certain 193s
  • PSYC courses with 50 or fewer total seats in the course
  • PSYC graduate courses are not available to CE/UPS undergraduate students

The following Psychology Graduate courses are not available to CE/UPS graduate students: 

  • PSYC colloquium and brown bags: PSYC 223, 224, 242, 274, 275, 280
  • PSYC laboratory courses: PSYC 270A/B/C
  • PSYC research practicum: PSYC 296, 299
  • PSYC apprentice teaching: PSYC 500

Concurrent enrollment is not guaranteed. Although we do our best to accommodate CE/UPS students, PSYC courses are in high demand. It is possible that a CE/UPS student will not be approved to enroll in more than one or any PSYC courses.

Concurrent enrollment approvals are contingent upon course attendance. CE/UPS students will not be approved to enroll in PSYC courses they have not been attending since the first day of classes for the quarter.

Concurrent enrollment approvals will be based on: space availability, instructor approval, the order in which "add" requests were received, and a review of overall departmental course enrollment numbers.

A maximum of four PSYC courses per CE/UPS student will be approved per quarter. If students are offered a spot in a fifth course, they will have to drop one of the other PSYC courses they were approved to add during the quarter. However, due to the high demand for PSYC courses, students should not expect to be offered more than one-two PSYC course approvals.

Concurrent enrollment is not guaranteed. Although we do our best to accommodate CE/UPS students, PSYC courses are in high demand. It is possible that a CE/UPS student will not be approved to enroll in more than one or any PSYC courses.

Concurrent enrollment approvals are contingent upon course attendance. CE/UPS students will not be approved to enroll in PSYC courses they have not been attending since the first day of classes for the quarter.

Concurrent enrollment approvals will be based on: space availability, instructor approval, the order in which "add" requests were received, and a review of overall departmental course enrollment numbers. When requesting instructor approval, students should include their current institution transcript, a paragraph stating their qualifications for the course, and what other graduate courses they will be requesting authorization to take that quarter. 

Non-UCSD students cannot make up more than 20% of the enrollment in Psychology graduate courses. Even with instructor approval, your enrollment request will be denied if a course has already reached the 20% cap.

Please note that CE/UPS undergraduate students are not eligible to enroll in Psychology graduate courses. Additionally, individual instructors may have stricter enrollment requirements for their course (e.g., CE/UPS students must be enrolled in a recognized Ph.D. program in order to enroll in their graduate course).

A maximum of three PSYC courses per CE/UPS student will be approved per quarter. If students are offered a spot in a fourth course, they must drop one of the other PSYC courses they were approved to add during the quarter. However, due to the high demand for PSYC courses, students should not expect to be offered more than one-two PSYC course approvals.

The Psychology Department process:

  1. CE/UPS students will submit an EASy request for each course they would like to request permission to enroll in for that specific quarter.
    • Before submitting their EASy "Add" request for a psychology (PSYC) course, students must:
      1. Obtain the course instructor's permission via email.
      2. If requesting enrollment in an upper-division PSYC course (UD: PSYC 100-193), you must also have a copy of your unofficial home college institution transcript. An unofficial transcript is unnecessary for a lower-division (LD: PSYC 1-70) PSYC course request.
    • Students will submit the instructor's permission email and the home college institution's unofficial transcript in the "Justification" section of the EASy request. These documents will need to be combined into one PDF file to upload into the EASy System.
    • Failure to submit the email and transcript will result in the EASy request being denied.
  2. Department will process “Add” requests beginning the Tuesday of Week 2 (and not before).
    • For undergraduate courses, there must be at least 20 open seats in the course and no active waitlist for staff to consider processing the request.
      • IMPORTANT: "Add" requests will not be approved for courses that are full, so please only submit EASy requests for PSYC courses with open seats.
    • For any requests where 1. and 2. are not completed/available, the Department will keep the "Add" request pending, and final decisions will be made on Friday of Week 2.
    • "Add" requests will not be reviewed or processed after Friday of Week 2.
  3. If the request is approved, the Department will approve the EASY request. Extended Studies will provide further guidance on the next enrollment steps and payment process. If the request is denied, the student cannot enroll or attend the course.

How can I enroll in a PSYC course as a CE/UPS student? Students should first register with UC San Diego Concurrent Enrollment. Your Extended Studies Program Advisor will provide the next steps.

What are my chances of getting into a PSYC course? We do not know your chances of enrolling in a PSYC course. Many factors, known and unknown, make it difficult to make a prediction. Please follow the policies and instructions provided for the best chance of enrolling in a PSYC course.

Can I place myself on a PSYC course waitlist? No, CE/UPS students cannot place themselves on course waitlists.

I need to enroll in 12 units this quarter; do I have priority to enroll in a PSYC course? No, priority enrollment is not available for CE/UPS students. Please work with your Extended Studies Program Advisor and review our policies above to learn what factors course approvals are based upon.

I'm a Psychology major at my home institution; do I have priority to enroll in PSYC courses? No, priority enrollment is not available to CE/UPS students. Please review our policies above to learn what factors course approvals are based upon.

The Schedule of Classes online shows there are available seats in a course; can I enroll? No, the Schedule of Classes provides a general overview of which courses are high in demand and the state of their waitlist. Courses that are full or have a waitlist on Friday of Week 2 are closed to CE/UPS students. Please work with your Extended Studies Program advisor and review our policies above to learn what factors course approvals are based upon.

An instructor said I could join their course; can I enroll in the course? No, an instructor’s approval does not guarantee a seat in their course. Instructors do not manage enrollment in PSYC courses. All PSYC course enrollment goes through the instructor and Department.

An instructor has not responded to my request to enroll in their course; what should I do? A student is required to have an instructor and departmental approval. CE/UPS students will need to continue to reach out to the instructor until contact is made and approval to take the course is given. The psychology advising office does not have different contact information for the instructor than what is posted on our website. 

An instructor denied my request to enroll in their course. Is there anything I can do to still obtain a seat in the course? No. If the instructor denies your request to enroll in their course, you are not allowed to take the course. 

If you still have a question? Please contact your Extended Studies Program Advisor with any additional questions or clarification. UC San Diego Concurrent Enrollment; University and Professional Studies (UPS)

Expand All