Is re-taking a course seen negatively in PhD applications? I am re-taking a course I was registered to during a somewhat rocky exchange semester. I was too far behind on the assignments to get a good grade, and chose to wait and re-register now, two years later, after having graduated.
The subject is quite central to my field, and it is one of the hardest and most useful courses I have taken during my studies.
Assuming that I get the good grade I am aiming for this time, will this delay in passing the course be seen negatively in a PhD application, since the committee will think I have had much longer to learn the material, and presumably failed to get a good grade the first time?
I doubt that it would be seen negatively by most reviewers, but who can speak for everyone. It shows some evidence of seriousness.
But it might not be necessary, in fact, especially if this is for application to a US institution where the acceptance is based on an overall assessment of the likelihood of success without individual small things having much effect. If you have letters of recommendation predicting your success then it probably isn't necessary to retake the course.
But the &quot;hardest and most useful&quot; comment suggests that it might be worth it.
But if you are ready to make application now and the course would delay that, then there is no reason you can't do both. Send off a few applications and also register for the course.

Caveat: In France things might be different, especially if you have a masters and not just a bachelors. But in the US you would likely have an opportunity to learn the required material as part of early doctoral studies.