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First-Year Student Registration Support

New Eagle Timeline

New Eagles: Prior to registering for classes, it is recommended that you review the resources below that will aid you in planning your schedule. Please make sure to use your AU email when communicating with your advisor, your faculty, and other staff at AU.

Rising Sophomores: You will continue working with your assigned First Year Advisor until mid-May. You'll receive informaton about advising in the second year on May 20th! For now, if you have questions or concerns, please reach out to your FYA.

Registration Resources

Your first year advisor will email information on how to register, resources to support your planning of classes, and a reminder of how to make an appointment with them.

You will use the resources under "What Registration Resources Can I Use?" below, and support from your First-Year Advisor to choose, plan, and register for classes.

Log in to Eagle Service and on the "Schedule and Plan" page you can plan and register for courses. 

Below are the registration resources you can use as you plan your courses on Eagle Service. If you need a refresher on using Eagle Service, review the Eagle Service 101 document.

  • Course Planning Checklist - This will guide you through the course planning process including items to reflect on, items to prepare for, and items to plan. 
    • If you are part of a specific cohort, please make sure to plan the appropriate courses for your cohort in the spring.  
  • Student Advising Documents SharePoint – use to this to review what is suggested for next semester at AU through your major. You will need to login using username@american.edu NOT username@student.american.edu. This site contains: 
    • Suggested First Year Courses by major – use this document to verify that you're taking the recommended courses for your first year. 
    • Graduation Planning Documents - use these links to find your major and suggested courses for your future semesters in your major. Links to the different graduation planning documents are at the bottom of the Student Advising Resources SharePoint.
    • Blank Planning Documents – use these documents as a template for you while planning your future semester. Links to different blank planning documents are on the right side of the Student Advising Resources SharePoint.
  • Academic Programs section of the Course Catalog for your intended major – you can review your intended major requirements in full here. All majors and minors are located in this section of the Course Catalog if you are planning to add a minor or double major and want to take a course for these programs.
  • For Frequently Asked Questions, registration tutorials, and other resources, please visit  

AU Core Foundation

In your first year at AU, you want to progress through the AU Core Foundation Requirements. In consultation with your first year advisor, check that you are making progress to finish these requirements. 

Review the entire AU Core

Students will take AUx1 in their first semester and AUx2 in their second semester. See more about the AUx program and see course descriptions in the AU Experience Homepage.

All students have to complete one or more writing courses to fulfill their Written Communication and Information Literacy I requirement. You will receive guidance in your Suggested Course Letter. Below is more information about each course option:

WRT 100: Not all sections of WRT-100 will be open when registration begins. If you do not get a seat in any section, select a section to waitlist. The Writing Studies Program uses waitlist data to strategically open more sections to accommodate the demand. The Writing Studies Program will open sections throughout the summer. 

WRT 106: If you see WRT-106 listed in your Suggested Course Letter, you indicated having AP/IB credit that qualifies you to fulfill the Written Communication and Information Literacy I requirement through one semester of courses instead of two. You must submit your scores and/or transcripts to AU Admissions once they become available. Your first-year advisor will verify your score/transcript in late July/early August. The Writing Studies Program makes enough seats available to accommodate half of the eligible population for WRT-106 each term. This means that you will take WRT-106 next spring term if you do not get a seat now.

WRT 101: This recommendation has been made if you indicated anticipating dual-enrollment credit.

WRT 102: If WRT-102 is listed, you will be pre-registered for a section. No further action is needed.

All students have to complete one course in their first year to fulfill their Complex Problems requirement. You will receive guidance in your Suggested Course Letter. Below is more information about each course option:

CORE 105: Each section has a unique topic. Search the course catalog in Eagle Service to find a section that interests you. If you cannot get a seat now or you choose to take it in the spring, there will be plenty of sections of CORE-105 open next spring to do so.

CORE-106 and 107: These sections are only open to students in Honors (106), Community-Based Research Scholars (106), AU Cornerstone (107), and University College (107). If you see CORE-107, you have been pre-registered in a section.

To fulfill the Quantitative Literacy I requirement, students will take a Math or Statistics course. Depending on your major, you may have a specific Math and/or Statistics course(s) to complete as a requirement for your major. 

If you’re planning to pursue a major that eventually requires Calculus, you need to complete the Math Placement Exam to ensure placement into the appropriate course. Check out the exam website for the list of majors that require the exam.

To receive additional advising on an appropriate course to fulfill the Q1 requirement, you can reach out to your first year advisor.

Spring 2024 Key Dates
  • Jan 15 - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day; no classes university offices closed
  • Jan 16 - Spring Classes Begin
  • Jan 16-19 - Winter Welcome
  • Jan 29 - Last day to add a fall course, internship, Independent Reading or Research, or Community Service-Learning project
  • Jan 29 - Last day to drop a fall course for a 100% refund and without a "W" recorded
  • Feb 6 - Last day to withdraw from a fall course for a 50% refund
  • Feb 13 - Last day to withdraw from a fall course for a 25% refund (no refunds after this date)
  • Mar 4 - Schedule of Classes for Summer and Fall published
  • Mar 10-17 - Spring Break; no classes, university offices open Mon-Fri
  • Mar 22 - Last day to withdraw from a fall course or change a grade option (end of the 10th week)
  • April 29 - Spring classes end
  • April 30-May 1 - Spring Study Days; no classes
  • May 2-8 - Spring final examinations
  • May 10 - All full-term spring classes final grades due