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Course Overload Guide

Course overload is taking more courses in a term than the usual prescribed number. In the Fall and Winter terms, this means taking more than 5 courses per term. In the Intersession and Summer terms, this means taking more than 3 courses per term and more than 5 courses total.

Students who have major and cumulative averages of 85% or higher may take one course on overload per term. Students with averages below this must obtain permission for course overload from the Associate Dean, Academic and Student Success. Please note that approval for course overload will only be granted in exceptional circumstances. (Source)

How to Course Overload​

For CS students, the process of overloading is simple:

  1. Contact Tina Palmer at csinfo@uwindsor.ca. State that you'd like to course overload for the upcoming term and she'll give you a form to have filled out.
  2. Once you have the form, you'll need to fill out the relevant information about yourself and the course you'd like to overload with. Now, you must email the form to the professor of the course you'd like to overload with. They must sign the form and then hand it back off to Tina.
  3. Once the form is sent back to Tina, you've officially done all you need. From there, your form will be approved by a CS advisor as well as the Associate Dean of Science, before finally being processed by Registrars. After Registrars, you'll be added to the overloaded class!

Why Course Overload​

You may be wondering why someome might want to course overload. Indeed, for most students 5 classes in a semester is more enough. However, overloading does have some advantages that might make it worth it if you're up to it:

  • The cost increase of going from 5 classes in a semester to 6 classes in a semester is negligible. It's almost like you get a free class.
  • Some courses are only offered at specific times in the year, so overloading may help prevent you from having to delay your graduation due to unfulfilled requirements.
  • If you've ever dropped/VWd from a class, you may be slightly behind in your course sequencing. Overloading may help you get back on track.
  • Overloading multiple semesters in a row, in conjunction with taking some summer courses, may help you graduate sooner.

Helpful Tips​

  • Make sure the course you're overloading is a CS course. If you're taking at least one CS course in your overloaded semester, I'd recommend making that the course you overload. This is because different departments handle overloading differently, and you're more likely to have success dealing with the CS department.
  • Additionally, if you're going to be taking multiple CS courses in a semester, choose a course with a professor you have a good relationship with to be your overloaded class. Since you need their consent to overload in their class, choosing which course to overload based on the professor teaching it is your best bet.
  • Make sure all your fees are paid up on UWinsite before trying to overload. They won't let you enroll if you have an outstanding balance.
  • Make sure you're comfortable with the workload of 6+ courses. Be prepared to either increase the amount of time you spend on school or lower your grade expectations.

Jeremie's Experience With Overloading​

I overloaded the last two semesters of my degree to allow myself to graduate earlier. I can definitely say that it was a positive experience for me, and well worth doing. The fact that I saved roughly $2000 by overloading twice was certainly a plus. That being said, overloading added a lot of additional work for me and made these last two semesters harder than they could have been. For some context, I overloaded the semester when I took COMP-4540 and COMP-4400, as well as other core courses, and it certainly was not easy. I did, however, survive and got to graduate sooner as a result. I would recommend anyone who considers overloading to craft their overloaded semesters in a way such that you have at least one bird course. Moreover, look at your marks and make sure you're in a place where you believe you can handle the additional workload of an overloaded semester.