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Information on Auditing Courses for L&S Undergraduate Students

The following section discusses the rules for the College of Letters & Science (L&S) undergraduate students who wish to audit a class.

Auditing a course allows a a student to take a class without the benefit of a grade or credit for a course.  An L&S undergraduate student who audits a course does so for the purposes of self-enrichment and academic exploration.   The course is offered ONLY on a space-available basis with the approvals of both the instructor of the course and an academic dean in the College of Letters & Science. 

A student who wishes to audit a course is expected to attend classes on a regular basis as an observer.  Auditors do not take exams or submit class work.   Auditors will receive a final grade of Satisfactory (S) or No Report (NR).   AU will appear in place of a number of credits.   Audit courses do not satisfy any credit, coursework, or degree/major requirements.   Also audit courses do not satisfy any minimum or maximum credits required in each term.    Information about submitting a formal request to audit a class can be found at course change request on the Registrar's Office website.

Please note that auditing a course is not free.   A course taken for audit costs the same as a course taken for credit.   If a student is not paying full-time tuition and fees, they will be assessed per-credit fees for an audit course.


A Course Change Form requesting to audit a course must be completed with the appropriate signature(s) and returned to the L&S Undergraduate Academic Deans' Office located in 101 Ingraham Hall or via email by the last day to request Pass/Fail if you are an L&S undergraduate student.   Non-L&S degree-seeking candidates should work with their academic dean's unit in their school/college for more assistance in auditing courses on the UW-Madison campus.

  • The deadline to request to convert a course from credit to audit (or to convert a course from audit back to credit) is the end of the fourth week of the fall or spring term.
  • The deadline to request to convert a course from credit to audit (or to convert a course from audit back to credit) for a modular course or summer course is the end of the one-quarter of the session, extended to the following Friday.  Exact deadline information for modular or summer courses can be found at session dates.  The following rules apply to L&S undergraduate students enrolled in a summer term/session or modular course on the UW-Madison campus:
    • For a student enrolled in a modular course or a summer session/term less than two weeks, the audit deadline is the end of the 1st week on Friday.
    • For a student enrolled in a four-week modular course or a summer session/term, the audit deadline is the end of the 1st week on Friday.
    • For a student enrolled in an six-week modular course or a summer session/term, the audit deadline is the end of the 2nd week on Friday.
    • For a student enrolled in an eight-week modular course or a summer session/term, the audit deadline is the end of the 2nd week on Friday.
    • For a student enrolled in a nine-week modular course or a summer session/term, the audit deadline is the end of the 3rd week on Friday.
    • For a student enrolled in a ten-week modular course or a summer session/term, the audit deadline is the end of the 3rd week on Friday.
    • For a student enrolled in a twelve-week modular course or a summer session/term, the audit deadline is the end of the 3rd week on Friday.
    • For a student enrolled in a modular course or a summer session/term of more than twelve weeks, the audit deadline is the end of the 4th week on Friday.
A student may audit a course ONLY with the consent of the instructor.   Students should also make sure they communicate with their academic advisor to determine whether it is appropriate to audit the course in question.   Students cannot audit laboratory or performance skills (e.g., foreign language courses, art classes, music courses other than those in appreciation and history of music, etc).  Audit courses carry no academic credit, do not fulfill degree requirements, and may affect a student's classification as a full-time student.   Students should note that credit value of audited courses is included in the semester/term load for determining fees and the maximum number of credits carried each semester/term.
  • An auditor is considered a passive learner and may not recite in class or take examinations. 
    • An audit is a silent observer in the course and may not be allowed to actively participate in synchronous or asynchronous discussions.
    • Auditors also may not recite, perform, or take examinations.
    • Auditors may not submit assignments for review or grading. Professors may not respond or provide feedback to your direct communications as their priority is focused on degree/credit students in the course. All exceptions are at the discretion of the instructor.
  • A change from an audit to a credit basis must be made by the deadline for adding courses and receiving 100% tuition adjustment on dropped classes.
  • A change from a credit to an audit basis must be made by the end of the fourth week of classes.
  • For a student who does elect to audit a course, the letters "AU" are entered on the transcript under credits and the course does not earn credit or impact the GPA.
  • Students who audit a course are required to pay fees as though the course was being taken on a credit basis.
  • A student will receive a grade of S (Satisfactory) or NR (No Report) for an audited course.
  • A student should not audit a course if they have already taken the course or plans to take the course at a future date.
  • Students may not audit courses in their major or major department.
  • Students may not audit courses in their major or courses they wish to take at a future date in their major department.
  • Students may not audit:
    • Directed Study or Independent Study courses (e.g, 299, 399, 699, etc.)
    • Physical education activity classes
    • Language classes
    • Studio and performing arts classes
    • Writing, computer, and lab courses
    • Seminar, research, and colloquia courses
    • Online courses
    • Math courses (Normally students are not permitted to audit elementary and intermediate level mathematics courses.   Exceptions for L&S undergraduate students will only be made on the recommendation of the Department of Mathematics by the Chair, Associate Chair, Undergraduate Advisor or placement advisor to L&S Undergraduate Academic Deans' Services (ADS).   Students are permitted to audit advanced level mathematics courses.) 
  • Students may not register for Audit after the 4th week of classes during the fall and spring terms or the appropriate deadline for modular courses or summer term classes.
  • Wisconsin residents age 60 (as of the first day of class) and older are eligible to audit classes tuition-free.  For more information about this opportunity, please refer to Senior Learning and Senior Guest Auditors at Adult Career and Special Student Services.
  • For non UW-Madison degree-seeking students who are interested in auditing a course as a special student, please refer to guest auditors.

For more information on auditing a course, see Audit in the Guide under Courses and Enrollment.

You may contact the L&S Academic Dean's Office with further questions: 


Phone: (608) 262-0617
Email: lsdeans@saa.ls.wisc.edu



Keywordsaudit, audit a course, AU, auditor, seniors, senior citizens, modular course, summer course, auditing a class, auditing a course   Doc ID26734
OwnerTori R.GroupL&S KB
Created2012-10-08 15:37:56Updated2024-02-02 12:36:27
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