If you are a Pitt staff or faculty member or a student looking to take courses without enrolling in a degree-granting program, you may apply to take undergraduate level courses at the University of Pittsburgh as a non-degree student directly through the College of General Studies.
We have no application fees!
Determine Your Applicant Type
Review the applicant types below to determine which type best fits you:
Post-Baccalaureate (already attained a bachelor’s degree or higher):
- This student status does not lead to a degree.
- Best for students who need to make up prerequisite courses prior to applying for graduate school or those who want to take a few college-level courses for professional or personal enrichment purposes.
- If accepted, students must enroll in classes in the term they are accepted. Otherwise, they will need to reapply for another term. Accounts will remain active as long as there is no more than a three-term lapse in enrollment.
- Post-baccalaureate students are not eligible for academic advising, but may attend walk-in advising hours.
Guest (enrolled in a degree program at another 4-year institution):
- This designation is for students who plan to take undergraduate courses for credit at the University of Pittsburgh with the intention of transferring those courses back to their home institution.
- To be eligible for admission, students must be currently enrolled at another 4-year institution with at least 12 completed credits, and have a minimum 2.0 cumulative or overall GPA.
- Guest student status is granted for one term only and does not automatically renew.
How to Apply
Post-baccalaureate and guest students complete our free non-degree application online.
Helpful Tips:
This application will require you to create a user account; this means you can start your application now and finish later.
You’ll need to upload your transcripts from your home institution as part of your application. Please have an electronic version of your transcript available as you complete the application. Transcripts may also be sent directly to our office, but this will result in a processing delay. See full application instructions here.
Review our Before You Apply Checklist for additional information:
Before You Apply Checklist:
- Ensure that the course(s) you wish to take are offered in the desired term and that there are open seats remaining in the course by using the Pitt Class Search tool.
Please note: Admission to CGS gives you access to undergraduate courses only. If you wish to take graduate-level courses as a non-degree student, contact the graduate school offering your desired course(s) directly for admission process and requirements. Undergraduate courses are numbered from 0001 to 1999. Any 2000-level course or higher is a graduate level course.
- Check for any prerequisite requirements (also listed in Pitt Class Search for individual courses). If prerequisites are listed and you have taken them at a different institution, you will need to contact the academic department to request a permission number to waive the prerequisite and enable enrollment.
- Certain courses may be restricted to degree seekers only. Check for any restrictions using the Class Search tool.
- For syllabi of desired courses, contact the department offering the course directly.
Please note: Non-degree seeking students are not eligible for University-sponsored financial aid. To learn more about financial aid eligibility requirements and tuition costs, please visit the Admissions and Financial Aid website. Tuition is billed on a per-credit basis consistent with current University rates.
Admission Timeline
Admission is rolling, but please submit your application at least 2 weeks prior to the start of classes, as after this time we cannot guarantee a processing date before the start of a term. Term start and end dates can be found on the University’s Academic Calendar. Please note that depending on volume, applications may take from 2-4 weeks for processing.
Review this FAQ page to get some answers to questions we hear frequently from our non-degree students!
FAQ for Non-Degree Seekers (Post-Baccalaureate & Guest Students)
Questions?
Email us at cgs@pitt.edu.