During the add/drop period (first ten days of the semester) all courses require instructor permission to add.
| Tuesday | August 31 | First day of classes |
| Thursday | September 2 | Senior Thesis meeting 11:00am, Pickford Auditorium |
| Monday | September 13 | Last day to add classes |
| Monday-Tuesday | October 18-19 | Fall Break: no classes in session |
| Thursday | October 21 | Last day to withdraw or opt for CR/NC grading |
| Thursday-Friday | November 25-26 | Thanksgiving recess: No classes in session |
| Monday | November 29 | Senior Theses are due by noon in the Founders Room, Bauer Center |
| Friday | December 10 | Last day of CMC classes |
| Monday-Friday | December 13-17 | Final Exams |
Administrative Drops: If a student fails to attend the first two meetings of a course (or one course meeting for courses meeting only one time per week) and the absences were not approved in advance by the instructor, the faculty member of record my ask the Registrar to drop the student from the course. However, students will not automatically be dropped from a course they do not attend. The Registrar may permit reinstatement into a dropped course when documented circumstances beyond the student’s control prevented the student from attending the course and communicating with the instructor.
Off-Campus Study fall 2010 semester: Students who have been accepted for study abroad, the Washington DC program, or exchange programs in the fall semester should not pre-register for courses at CMC unless their plans may change. Registrations for these students will be deleted on August 18, unless they have notified the Registrar's Office that they will be attending CMC in the fall.
What to Do When Classes Close: Students may register for closed courses with permission of the instructor. The CMC Registrar's Office does not keep waiting lists for closed courses. Students interested in entering a closed section should contact the instructor on the portal use the portal PERM system to ask for permission to enroll. The Joint Science Department keeps waiting lists for all closed Joint Science courses and labs, if appropriate.
All degree-seeking undergraduate students may pre-register for up to 4.0 units of academic course credit along with up to 0.5 course unit of co-curricular partial-credit courses, such as music lessons, ROTC, Speech and Debate, or theatre performance. Students who have completed at least 3.0 units of academic courses in the immediately preceding semester and who received a semester grade point average of at least 10.50 may overload up to a total of 5 course units of academic course credit starting the first day of the new semester. Students may not exceed 6.0 units of total credit, including co-curricular partial-credit courses. Overloading students who receive a low grade notices in any course (except PE) must drop back to no more than 4.0 units of academic credit. These students may remain enrolled in an additional 0.5 unit of co-curricular credit, not to exceed 4.5 total units. 3/2 majors and Science and Management majors may pre-register for 5 academic courses with permission from their major advisor or the Dean of Faculty. Any student requesting an exception to this policy must petition the Academic Standards Committee and present compelling reasons (with appropriate documentation) for the exception.
CMC students must complete three semesters of physical education by the end of their sophomore year. Two seasons of CMS intercollegiate athletic team or club sport participation will also fulfill the PE requirement. To count towards the PE requirement, students must register for all PE courses, including athletic teams and club sports. Coaches cannot sign up or drop students. Regular due dates and deadlines apply to PE courses. All PE courses are non-credit courses for CMC students.
Fees for PE courses are charged to students’ accounts and are final as of the deadline to add classes on the 10th day of the semester.
In September, PE courses will begin on Monday, September 6 at 8:00 am. PE courses that are “to be arranged” will meet for the first time on Thursday, September 9 at 11:00 am in Ducey gym.
At CMC, freshmen and sophomores may take 1 course off-campus; juniors and seniors may take 2 courses (1/2 of their academic course-load) off-campus. Off campus courses and programs which are not considered cross-registration include:
| Scripps College | Lower-level Languages, Joint Music |
| Pitzer College | Lower-level Languages |
| Pomona College | Lower-level Languages, Theatre |
| All Colleges | Joint Science American Studies 103 JT and 180 JT Asian-American Studies courses with an “AA” suffix Africana Studies courses with a “AF” suffix Chicano Studies courses with a “CH” suffix Media Studies courses with an “MS” prefix Military Science Physical Education Religious Studies |
Senior thesis is a regular course for which students must register in person at the CMC Registrar's Office. The Senior Thesis Topic Form must be completed before students can sign up for thesis. A required meeting explaining thesis requirements will be held at the beginning of each semester.
Science majors must complete a science thesis (Biology, Chemistry, or Physics 188L and 190L; or Biology, Chemistry, or Physics 191). All two-semester science theses include labs and lab fees. Science majors make all thesis arrangements through the Joint Science Department and must register for the appropriate course.