Course Restrictions

Before listing courses in your application or attempting course registration in Bear Tracks, please note the following restrictions.

Unless your exchange agreement specifies otherwise:

  1. NSE Students:  Do not use this page.  Refer instead to the list of UAlberta "Closed Programs" on the NSE website.
  2. Level Restrictions:
    • Undergraduate students cannot take graduate-level courses (usually numbered 500 or higher)
      • Please note that most undergraduate LAW courses are numbered 500 or higher
    • Graduate students cannot take undergraduate-level courses (usually numbered below 500)
  3. Courses Closed to Exchange Students: 
    • Courses marked in Bear Tracks as open to only certain UAlberta student groups (exceptions: COMM and PLAN courses)
    • Courses with non-standard fees
    • Alternate delivery sections of any UAlberta courses
    • Courses from the Faculties of Medicine & Dentistry (with the exception of courses in the Departments of Biochemistry, Cell Biology, and Physiology), Nursing, Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Rehabilitation Medicine
    • Courses at Yukon University, Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre, and the Faculty of Education's School of Library and Information Studies and its English Language School
    • Field schools, work placements, or practica
    • Alberta School of Business courses BTM 441, BUS 101, 222, 301, 303, 404, FIN 430, 436, 440, MGTSC 212, SEM 210, 441, 470, 471; independent research; internship; study tours; competitions; special projects; work experience; Honours (480) and Special Topic (488) courses
    • Renewable Resources courses REN R 301, 401-405, 501, 603-605, 900+
    • School of Public Health course SPH 603 
    • Sociology courses SOC 399, 499

Important Considerations:

  1. Specific Course Registration Not Guaranteed:  Course availability is not guaranteed due to potential cancellation, capacity limits, or unmet prerequisites.  Prepare alternative course selections in the event that some of your initial selections are unavailable.
  2. Exchange Agreement Limitations:  If your home institution has an agreement with only one UAlberta faculty or department, you will likely be limited to courses within that area.
  3. Augustana Campus:  Unless your exchange is at Augustana (located in the town of Camrose which is about 100 km south of Edmonton), do not select courses having codes starting with "AU". 
  4. High-Demand Departments:  It is highly unlikely that you'll be able to take many (if any) courses in Art & Design (except for HADVC courses, ART 134, DEC 135), Computing Science, Drama (except for DRAMA 101, 102, 149), and Economics. 
  5. Admission-Dependent Faculties:  You can only take courses in the Alberta School of Business or in the Faculties of Engineering; Law; or Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation if you are admitted to one of those faculties.
  6. Law Faculty:  The undergraduate-level Juris Doctor program is a professional after-degree program requiring a prior bachelor's degree.  Students without this background should consult with their home instititution academic advisors before applying for the exchange and seek permission to take fewer than the maximum number of courses allowable per term if necessary.
  7. Undergraduate students must take all or a majority of their courses in the same faculty.
  8. Graduate students must list courses from only one department in their applications or, if they plan to take courses in a faculty without departments, then the courses listed must be from only that faculty.  (Graduate students *might* be able to take courses in other departments or faculties but that would be something that they must investigate after they have been admitted and is not guaranteed.) 
  9. Realistic Course Selection:  Choose courses aligned with your academic background or entry-level courses in other areas.  
  10. Credit limits:
    • Undergraduate: Maximum 15 credits (typically 5 courses) per term but Engineering maximum is 18 credits (typically 5 courses) per term.  Engineering students unable to register in 5 courses with that total number of credits can sometimes be permitted to register in a greater number of courses, on a case-by-case basis.
    • Graduate:  Maximum 9 credits (typically 3 courses) per term.  
  11. Auditing:  Exchange students cannot audit courses.
  12. Research Restrictions:
    • Undergraduate:  Cannot conduct research.
    • Graduate:  Can take courses or conduct research, but not both.  Research requires finding a UAlberta supervisor before applying.

Return to the sitemap of the Incoming Exchange Student Application Guide.

Updated for 2025/26 applications