Who is eligible to register in MUSC courses?
Courses may use a mix of eligibility requirements and registration restrictions (reserved capacity) to determine which students are eligible to register.
- Eligibility requirements are pre-requisites that are listed in the Academic Calendar.
- Registration restrictions, or reserved capacity, refers to additional requirements that instructors may set up to restrict registration (e.g. based on degree, program of study, year level)
Waitlist Guidelines
The waitlist processes will be in effect starting from the first registration dates. Starting 1-2 weeks before the first day of a given term (December 22 in the case of 2025W Term 2), all waitlisted students will be dropped from the MUSC waitlists, and MUSC waitlists will be removed.
This means that there will no longer be an option for students to waitlist in MUSC courses. Between that date and the course add deadline:
- Students will be responsible for monitoring their desired MUSC courses for open seats, and registering into the courses when seats become available.
- Any prior waitlist order will not exist.
- In cases where students do not meet the eligibility requirements, and if they are interested in a course, they should contact the instructor directly to discuss the possibility of registering.
- If the instructor approves, the student should submit a registration request (either by email or through the online form), with a screenshot of the instructor’s permission.
The Music Academic Advisor will work to address those requests as soon as possible, but can only register students who have been granted permission and when there is an open space in the course.
- If the instructor approves, the student should submit a registration request (either by email or through the online form), with a screenshot of the instructor’s permission.
- In the case of ensemble courses, the waitlist will also be removed, and students who have not yet auditioned will be responsible for reviewing the audition requirements and contacting the instructors about the possibility of auditioning.
Types of MUSC Courses and Waitlists
The School of Music offers a range of courses for different audiences, and this means that there needs to be numerous approaches for managing waitlists.
Only eligible students can join the waitlist, and waitlisted students will be automatically offered seats as they become available.
Interested students not enrolled in the BMUS should join the waitlist, and will be asked to complete a survey about their program of study and interest in the course. The course instructors will prioritize which students they would like to fill the remaining seats.
Interested students not enrolled in the BMUS GSSM, GSEM, COMP, or ORGN should join the waitlist, and will be asked to complete a survey about their program of study and interest in the course. The course instructors will prioritize which students they would like to fill the remaining seats.
Students who meet both eligibility restrictions and reserved capacity should be able to register or join the waitlist, and will be automatically offered seats as they become available.
Students who do not meet either the eligibility restrictions or the reserved capacity requirements may not be able to join the waitlist (or will be able to join the waitlist, but won’t be offered a seat into the class). These students should contact the instructor to request permission to register, and also will need to follow up with the Academic Advisor.
Students can register in these courses on a first-come, first-served basis. Once the course is full, interested students can join the waitlist.
Waitlisted students will be automatically offered seats as they become available.
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- Non-music students will only have the option to waitlist in the course.
- Joining the waitlist is not a requirement, but waitlisted students will be informed when audition details are updated, and are responsible for taking the steps to complete audition requirements.
- Any UBC student can find audition details and sign up for an audition, following the instructions at this page.
- Students who pass the audition and are offered a seat in the class will be registered in the course. Students are responsible for monitoring their registration and should proactively follow up with the Academic Advisor if they have not been registered.
FAQ for students about course waitlists
A: Generally, the order of priority for admission to courses is:
- Students in the Bachelor of Music, or other music degree programs;
- Students in the Major/Minor in Music and Minor in Applied Music Technology who require specific MUSC courses; and then
- All other students on a first-come, first-served basis.
In some cases, higher priority may be accorded to students in a certain year or specialization. And in other cases, admission is based on audition only.
A: This depends on the course, and how the waitlist is set up.
- For automatically-managed waitlists, students have 24 hours to accept the offer before the system moves to the next person on the list.
- For manually-managed waitlists, if a student is offered admission to a course, but the Academic Advisor is not able to complete the registration (e.g. due to a course conflict, credit issue, or account hold), the student will be informed by email of the issue and the deadline to resolve it.
A: There are a couple of situations that may lead to students being removed from MUSC course waitlists. This could happen if a student is offered a space in the class, but they do not register by the stated deadline, or if they do not complete the waitlist survey by the stated deadline. All students will be dropped from MUSC waitlists 1-2 weeks before the start of the term (for more details on this, see the section on “Waitlist Timelines.”)
A: Whether a course has an automatic or manual waitlist, there may be space in the course while there are students on the waitlist. Here’s why this may happen:
- For automatic waitlists, students are offered a seat and have 24 hours to accept it, and if the seat isn’t accepted the system will move to the next person on the list. This could lead to “empty” seats in the course for a period of time.
- For manual waitlists, staff will review and admit students from the waitlist periodically, so there may be available seats between these reviews.
- For most courses, it’s not possible for students to bypass the waitlist and register in open seats in a course.
There is an issue in Workday where students may get “stuck” on a waitlist. This happens if a student is eligible for the course (based on eligibility details listed in the Academic Calendar), but where only reserved seats are set-up (and for which they do not qualify). When students join a waitlist, they should make sure to double check whether the course has reserved capacity, and whether they qualify for registration based on the reserved capacity.
A: Contacting the Music Academic Advisor or instructor will not increase the chances that a student will be admitted to a course from the waitlist.
If a student is hoping to be admitted to a course where they do not meet the pre-requisites or registration restrictions, they will need to contact the instructor to request permission.
A: This is a common question for courses like MUSC 100, MUSC 120, and MUSC 119, which are all required courses for the Major in Music, Minor in Music, and Minor in Applied Music Technology. There are a few things to keep in mind:
- Students are recommended to join the waitlist as soon as they can.
- The School of Music cannot guarantee that there will be seats available for all students interested in the Majors & Minors listed above. An effort is made to prioritize students pursuing these credentials, and students will likely be surveyed about their academic interests to determine priority for registration. Students should be sure to complete the waitlist survey as soon as they can, and by the stated deadline (if applicable).
- Students who are in the BMUS or one of the Majors or Minors within Music can also reach out to the Music Academic Advisor if there are concerns about degree or program progression, and to discuss course planning for this and future academic years. To minimize this risk, students are advised to waitlist or register as soon as the registration date and time comes.
A: There is no way for students to determine their waitlist position. However, it may be possible to estimate your position by noting how many people are on the waitlist when you first registered on it. Please note that the course instructor and Advising staff are not able to provide you with your position on the waitlist.
A: Each course and each term is different, and it’s not possible to predict whether a student will be admitted. There is usually some movement (students adding and dropping courses) leading up to and during the first weeks of the term.
A: If you are in the BMUS, Major/Minor in Music, or Minor in Applied Music Technology, please contact the Music Academic Advisor (music.advisor@ubc.ca) to discuss degree planning and your options. For all other degrees, please contact your home faculty or department advising office.
A: Students are welcome to join the waitlist of the lower-level ensemble they’re auditioning for (in this example, that would be MUSC 150C). Students who are admitted to the ensemble will be registered in a course based on their “class standing” (year level) in Workday. The waitlist registration won’t impact what course a student ends up being registered in.
A: Waitlists can help the School of Music understand demand for certain courses. The School may add additional sections depending on the availability of resources.