Courses: Auditing

If you audit a course, you attend classes, you may complete assignments and take exams (this is up to each instructor), but you are not given a final grade.  Instead, a grade of AD (audited) is submitted by the instructor at the end of the semester.

*IMPORTANT*

  • an audited course is counted as part of your course load. You may enroll in no more than 4.5 credits in addition to a 1.0 credit audited course. 
  • Audited courses count toward the total credit limit of 6.0 that no student may exceed.
  • Audited courses count toward the maximum of 2.5 credits for seniors who wish to be part-time in their final semester.
  • If authorized to enroll in an underload (see course load) a student may not include an audited course among the credits that comprise the underload.

 

 

 

 

Procedure

In order to register as an auditor in a course you must obtain written, signed permission from the instructor. You must submit the Permission Form to the Registrar's Office by 5 p.m. on the last day of drop/add. The Registrar's Office strictly enforces this deadline.

          

See also:

What happens if I stop attending or want to withdraw from an audited class?
  • If you stop attending an audited course, the instructor can issue a notation of "WA" (withdrawn from audited course). You can also withdraw from an audited course through your academic dean's office (with a "WA" ).
If I'm enrolled in a course for credit, can I change it to an audit course?
  • Once you are enrolled in a course for regular credit, you cannot change it to an audit once the drop/add deadline has passed or vice versa.
Can I repeat an audited class for credit?
  • You cannot repeat for credit a course previously audited at Duke or at another college or university. Therefore, you should be sure not to audit (at Duke or elsewhere) any course that you might later need for a major, minor, or certificate, or as a prerequisite for postgraduate study (e.g., medical school).
Can I audit a class that I took as graded before?
  • You may audit a class that you have previously completed on a graded basis. 
Can I audit PE or music or art classes?
  • You may not audit physical education, studio art, applied music, dance technique, or performance courses.
Can I audit a foreign language course?
  • You should not audit a foreign language course if you are planning to fulfill the foreign language requirement in that language and there is any reason to believe that you may need to take that course for credit. Courses taken on an audit basis fulfill no curricular requirements.
When is it useful to audit a class?

There are only a few circumstances where an audit is useful. These include:

  1. if you want to explore an area unrelated to your major and the course is outside of your primary interests;
  2. if you want a review of an area you are already knowledgeable in, or;
  3. if a course is of particular interest but would require an extraordinary effort for you to take for a grade along with your other planned courses.