Can I change my course plan? If so, how do I do that?

Yes, the course plan from your initial application is not set in stone, and can be changed. Indeed, it will almost certainly have to be changed, since new courses are always being added, old courses drop off the books, and interests change over time. (In particular, the seminars that are offered tend to closely track faculty interests and thus tend to change from year to year – with some faculty never teaching the same seminar twice!) As such, the course plan that you submitted with your application is not a binding plan for the future, but rather an existence proof that you can devise a cohesive plan. Changes to your course plan can thus be made, but only with the permission of the DUS. 

To change your course plan, just drop by the DUS’s office hours to discuss your proposed changes. When doing so, be certain to bring: 

  1. … the full initial course plan from your application, annotated with the classes you’ve already taken and are currently taking
     
  2. … your complete new proposed course plan, annotated with the classes you’ve already taken and are currently taking
     
  3. … a brief description (in only 1-2 paragraphs) of the changes, why you want to make them, and how they will affect your overall theme

In addition, if you’re hoping to add any courses which are not in the bluebook’s list of relevant courses, please see the entry on this page for Can I count this particular course for the major?, and include the items listed there. Note that we cannot approve individual course changes without also looking at your full plan, for the reasons explained above in the entry on How are applications evaluated?

Before you stop by, it would also be helpful if you could email this information to the DUS. When doing so, please just paste the information into the body of an email message, rather than sending along an attachment. (Around the time that schedules are due each semester, the DUS tends to get a dozen attachments per day that are all named “Revised Course Plan”, etc.) 

Finally, you should be sure to get approval for all changes in writing. The easiest way to do this is just to have the DUS reply to your email noting the accepted revisions. (Be sure then to save that email!)