Request Department Approval to Register for a Course

Courses requiring department approval to register

Some MATH, MCS, MTHT, and STAT courses require department approval to register (see fall 2024 list below).  If you would like to register for one of these courses please fill out the appropriate form linked below.

Those seeking help or who encounter problems registering for 100/200/300/400 level courses should contact the Director of Undergraduate Studies . Those seeking help registering for 500-level courses should contact the Director of Graduate Studies.

Spring 2025 Courses with Departmental Approval: 

Please see notes below for additional information on approvals.

MATH: 100, 140, 141, 179, 215*, 294**, 300*, 313, 320, 330, 496 (see 496 information below)

MCS: 275, 320*, 360*, 421*, 471*, 472, 481, 496 (see 496 information below)

STAT: 382*, 385*, 401*, 411, 451, 481*, 485, 486, 496 (see 496 information below)

MTHT: 401, 411

CS: Please contact the College of Engineering Department of Computer Science

NOTE: STAT 130 and MATH 170 are restricted to students majoring in Biological Sciences or Integrated Health Studies. If you're not declared as one of those majors, you will need to request approval by sending an email to dus-mscs@uic.edu.

*Priority for some courses will be given to students who are required to take the courses. Other students (e.g., College of Engineering students) will be reviewed starting on November 25th.

**Multiple MATH 294 sections exist. One section is dedicated to students enrolled in MATH 215, one section is for students enrolled in MATH 313, and one is for students enrolled in MATH 330.

Spring 2025 Departmental Approval Form – Will be available by mid-October

Independent Study - MATH, STAT, MCS 496 Heading link

In order to register for independent study credit within the department, students must submit departmental approval from the link above for the appropriate rubric (e.g., MATH 496, STAT 496, MCS 496). Upon completing the departmental approval form, students must submit a syllabus and instructor approval to the undergraduate studies office. Instructor approval can either be an email from the instructor to undergraduate studies or for the student to forward the approval email to undergraduate studies.

The following is a sample syllabus with all of the information needed:

  • Course Credit
    • 1-4 credits is common*
  • Course Professor(s)
    • Please list the instructor’s name, title, and contact information
  • Course Description
    • Example: “The main topic of the course is high-dimensional robust statistics. In this course, we will learn about the recent advancement in high-dimensional robust statistics, including but not limited to the recent works that gave the first polynomial-time robust algorithms for a wide range of statistical problems with dimension-independent error guarantees.”
  • Course Objective/Topics
    • Example: “Algorithms, Linear Algebra, Corruption Models, Sample-Efficient Robust Estimation, Robust Mean Estimation in Polynomial Time”
  • Grading
    • Example: “This course is assessed by reading papers, conducting research meetings with the instructor, writing a summary report by the end of the term, and working on  research questions that could lead to publication.”

When determining the amount of credit hours, please use the below formula to select 1-4 credit hours.

*60 work hours = 1 credit hour.
Number of work hours per week x Number of weeks in semester = n; Number of total work hours. Then, n / 60 = Total number of Credit Hours earned.