Please see below for course planning resources and important dates for faculty.

Fall 2023
Start of Term Dates - Fall 2023
Date Event
TBD Canvas courses are published and accessible to prospective enrollees via the GSD course directory or my.Harvard.
August 1 Deadline for submitting course/studio descriptions and titles
August 14 Students will be able to join your Canvas site as prospective enrollees.
August 14 Your syllabus must be posted in Canvas by this date.
August 14 Deadline to submit introductory video for faculty teaching Option Studios; not required for instructors of elective courses.
August 29-31 Option Studio lottery, MDesS Advanced Course Selection Process, and the limited-enrollment lottery take place.
September 1 On this date, students can officially enroll in courses via my.Harvard.
September 5 Classes begin. Please note that on Tuesday, September 5, the GSD will be utilizing a Monday class schedule.
September 12 Prospective enrollees are removed from Canvas sites.
September 18 The last day for students to drop courses with no WD notation.
September 19 Waitlisted students are removed from Canvas sites.
October 19 The last day for students to withdraw (WD) from a Fall 1 (Module) course.
December 6 The last day for students to withdraw (WD) from full semester and Fall 2 (Module) courses.
Spring 2024
Start of Term Dates - Spring 2024
Date Event
January 2 Students will be able to join your Canvas site as prospective enrollees.
January 2 Your syllabus must be posted in Canvas by this date.
TBD Deadline to submit introductory video for faculty teaching Option Studios; not required for instructors of elective courses.
January 3 Canvas course sites are published for the course selection period.
January 16 MDes Open Projects Lottery – MDes Domain students entering their final semester will lottery and be enrolled into their Open Projects course.
January 17 Option Studio Lottery – Students will automatically be enrolled in these courses in the evening, after the results of the option studio lottery have been determined.
January 18 MDes Advanced Course Selection Process – This is the first of a two-phase enrollment process for limited enrollment courses. MDes students will participate in this advanced course selection for a limited number of seats in capped enrollment courses. MDes students will be automatically enrolled in the courses they successfully lottery into that evening.
January 19 Limited-Enrollment Course Lottery  –  This is the second of a two-phase enrollment process for limited enrollment courses. All GSD students participate in this lottery. Students selected will automatically be enrolled (or waitlisted) in these courses in the evening, after the results of the lottery have been determined.
January 20 On this date, students can officially enroll in courses via my.Harvard. January 22
January 22 Classes begin.
January 27 Prospective enrollees are removed from Canvas sites.
February 2 The last day for students to drop courses with no WD notation.
February 3 Waitlisted students are removed from Canvas sites.
March 4 The last day for students to withdraw from a Spring 1 (Module) course.
April 22 The last day for students to withdraw from a full semester and Spring 2 (Module) courses.

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