Registration for VIP is open to all undergraduates

Current students

Registration happens in two phases, pre-registration and open registration.

  • Pre-Registration for Spring 2026: ends October 30
  • Open registration for Spring 2026: begins December 8, 2025

Pre-registration for VIP is now open. If you complete a VIP pre-registration survey by October 30, your pre-registration will be handled through the VIP office and the Purdue Registrar prior to batch scheduling. Students and advisors will not add VIP to CRFs through the scheduling assistant. Instead, your VIP section will be placed on your CRF so it can be optimized with other courses, giving you the best chance of being assigned to the team that you prefer.

VIP and the Registrar will add the course to your schedule according to the team you selected in the survey. The course will only be added to your CRF if you have already completed the pre-registration survey.

Future students

Incoming first-year students can participate in VIP through a VIP-related Learning Community.

  • Apply directly through the Learning Community Portal. Additional information on applications and deadlines is available on the Purdue Learning Communities page.

Pre-registration

Students enrolled in VIP 17911 and VIP 47921 in Fall 2025 will be placed on the same team for Spring 2026 and do not need to complete the pre-registration survey.  

Pre-registration will be handled through the VIP office and the Registrar prior to batch scheduling. Students and advisors will not add VIP to CRFs through Scheduling Assistant (UniTime). Instead, VIP sections will be placed on CRF so it can be optimized with other courses, giving students the best chance of being assigned to the team that they prefer. To indicate teams to join for the upcoming semester, students must complete the pre-registration survey.

VIP and the Registrar’s office will add the course to a students' schedule according to the team selected in the survey. The course will only be added to CRF if the pre-registration survey is completed by the deadline. 

Open registration

During open registration, students can add VIP as a new course or can change a VIP team (section). Please follow the appropriate link for a step-by-step video on adjusting your schedule. 

  1. Use scheduling assistant to update or change VIP team
  2. Select the VIP course level
  3. Click the button to "add conflicting suggestions"
  4. Identify the section by instructor and/or schedule note
  5. Select the section (team) you want and submit

Unlike most courses where the labs are all the same no matter what time they are scheduled, each lab section represents a different team. You can choose your team by finding the appropriate CRN via the CRN list in the section below entitled "view schedule in MyPurdue."

Please be aware that spaces may be limited during open registration due to the pre-registration process. It is advised that students follow the pre-registration process, especially continuing VIP students.

Course Registration

There are different course numbers for each year. Register for the course number that corresponds to the level of courses you are taking in your major/program. If you are classified higher in myPurdue, you can request a classification override.
There are different course numbers if you are taking VIP as part of the FYE VIP Learning Community pilot (taken with ENGR 13300) or senior design.  

VIP course numbers

  • VIP 17911: First year participation in VIP for first semester FYE VIP LC students (offered in fall)
  • VIP 17912: First year participation in VIP for second semester FYE VIP LC students (offered in spring)
  • VIP 17910: First year participation in VIP (primarily Data Mine LC students, although there are limited spots available in spring)
  • VIP 27920: Sophomore participation in VIP
  • VIP 37920: Junior participation in VIP
  • VIP 47920: Senior participation in VIP
  • VIP 47921: First semester senior design participation in VIP (Note: departmental eligibility requirements must also be satisfied)
  • VIP 47922: Second semester senior design participation in VIP

The section matters! Please see the scheduling assistant walkthrough instructions below.

  • Each VIP team is a different section of the courses above. It is important that you register for the team that aligns with your interests. See the teams link to find more info and expectations of each of the teams.
  • Each team will meet weekly. Some teams have an established meeting time as shown in myPurdue, and others will schedule the meeting based on member availability. In general, course conflicts with the team meeting time (lab section) will not be approved.
  • In addition to the team/lab meetings, each registered student is expected to participate in 10 Professional Development (PD) activities during the semester. The course lecture meets weekly, and each week counts as one "PD credit." Therefore, you should plan to attend the lecture most weeks. However, there are other opportunities to earn credits, so please contact VIP if you have a conflict with the lecture.

VIP must be taken for a letter grade. It cannot be taken P/NP.

How does VIP count?

  • Electrical and computer engineering
    • Up to six credits of VIP can be used as special content courses in electrical engineering (EE) or in computer engineering (CmpE).
    • In addition, two semesters of VIP (VIP 47921 and VIP 47922) can be used to satisfy senior design in EE and CmpE. Please note that per current catalog, "all 20000-level courses and all but one 30000-level core course must be completed from above prior taking senior design (ECE 36200 prior to taking 47700). The remaining 30000-level core course must be taken with first semester of EPCS or VIP." Current and archived catalog terms can be found for electrical engineering and here for computer engineering.
  • Honors
    • VIP counts for Honors credit (does not require an Honors contract)
  • VIP Pathway (FYE requirement)
  • Technical elective in most engineering disciplines
  • Science, technology and society foundational learning outcome
  • Certificates:
    • Entrepreneurship certificate: option and capstone course
    • Defense and security undergraduate certificate option
    • Data Science certificate

Schedule in MyPurdue

In myPurdue, go to Registration > Scheduling Assistant > Lookup Classes

Using VIP 47920 as an example, this is how you find the section for the specific VIP team you are interested in joining. The process for VIP 27920 and VIP 37920 are similar. If, for example, you are interested in the 'Beyond 5G' as a senior, you would enroll in section 10008-001 for the team.

Each team has different section numbers for the sophomore-, junior- and senior-level courses, but the teams are linked (cross listed). The team limit includes all of the cross-listed CRNS. You can register for the VIP team in scheduling assistant by clicking the search icon next to a course request:

Then, search for VIP, select the correct class (47920 for this example), and select the correct section number (10008-001). Click "select" in the top right corner to fill the course request line item.