Information on Petitions

Any deviation from the department requirements as listed in the general catalog for the year you entered UCSD, or any substitution of courses, whether from UCSD or another institution, must be approved by petition.  Undergraduate Student Petitions are available here.  Please fill them out carefully and completely, and be very clear and concise about what you are requesting and why. 

DO NOT ASSUME THAT YOUR PETITION HAS BEEN APPROVED UNTIL YOU PICK-UP A COMPLETED, SIGNED COPY.

Transfer of Courses from other Institutions
Courses taken at other accredited institutions may be applied toward major requirements with approved petitions.  Students planning to take courses at other institutions should petition beforehand, otherwise there will be no guarantee.  If you have a petition for equivalency in progress, you should not enroll in the equivalent UCSD course until you receive the outcome, or you could receive a "W".  The following information should be included:

1. name of other college
2. number of the course(s)
3. year and term of the course
4. course description from their catalog
5. syllabus of course (including textbook used and chapters covered)
6. lab notebook if requesting a lab equivalency
7. list the number of hours spent in lecture, recitation, and lab
8. grade received in the course(s)

Example of how to word a petition for equivalency:
Request: That Pasadena City College CHEM 1+2 taken in 09/10 be reviewed for equivalency to CHEM 6ABC+7L at UCSD.  Received a grade of "A" in both courses.  Text used: "General Chemistry" 2nd Edition by Zumdahl. Each semester had three hours of lecture and six hours of lab per week for 16 weeks.  See course description and syllabus attached.
Reason: Would like to avoid duplication of credit for courses already taken.

EAP Coursework
Final approval on EAP course petitions will not be granted until you return, as we will need to evaluate your complete coursework. However, students are highly encouraged to seek advice in advance on proposed EAP coursework, especially if you have several course options. Instructions for petitioning EAP courses would be the same as outlined above.

University Exceptions
Petitioning to add/drop courses past University deadlines or request exceptions to University policy all require extenuating circumstances and you will need to provide sufficient evidence of those circumstances.  Please note that petitions of this nature have a lengthy wait time, as it will go through several stages and must be reviewed by the Council for Educational Policy (CEP).