Petition for Degree Requirements

• Obtain from the college advising office (1117 Cheadle Hall) or your major department.
• Submit to the college advising office. In some cases, you must first obtain departmental or other recommendation, as noted below. However, the final decision rests with the dean.
• Check one of the following at the top:

1. General Education Requirements - to substitute a transfer course for a General Education Program requirement. Attach a syllabus for the course you are proposing. Major Department Requirements - to request an exception to published major requirements. You must obtain departmental recommendation before submitting this sort of request to the college advising office.
2. Major Department Requirements - to request an exception to published major requirements. You must obtain departmental recommendation before submitting this sort of request to the college advising office.
3. Repeat/Credit Clarification – for one of the following:
• Repeating a course for a second (or third) time. If the course is pertinent to your major, you must obtain departmental recommendation before submitting the petition to the college advising office.
• Asking that a course from another UC campus be accepted as a legal repeat of one of ours (or vice versa). In some cases, you will need departmental recommendation.
• Determining whether credit will be allowed for a UCSB course after completion of a course with a similar title or description elsewhere.

Click here for details about repeating courses.

4. Other – for one of the following:
• Concurrent enrollment (simultaneous enrollment at UCSB and another institution)
• Reclassification of units (as upper division) Departmental recommendation may be needed
• Exception to academic residence requirements.

View Petition for Degree Requirements (requires Acrobat Reader)

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Petition for Excess or Deficit Load

• Obtain from the college advising office (1117 Cheadle Hall).
• Submit to the college advising office. You need this petition if you wish to enroll in fewer than 12 units during a regular quarter (there is no minimum load during summer session).

When you request permission to register in a deficit load

• you must also submit a justification sheet.
• More than 21 units in a regular quarter while in good academic standing.
• More than 17 units in a regular quarter while on academic probation or reinstatement-probation.
• More than 16 units in summer session.

It is best to submit your petition before the start of the term in which you are seeking the exception. For details about fee implications, please consult the UCSB General Catalog.

View petition for Excess or Deficit Load

Education Abroad Program (EAP) Petition

• Obtain from the college advising office (1117 Cheadle Hall) or download.
• Submit to the college advising office after obtaining departmental recommendation. However, the final decision rests with the dean.

EAP petitions are used to substitute work completed through the University of California Education Abroad Program for major requirements.

You must list your EAP courses as they appear (or will appear) on the UCSB transcript. We strongly encourage you to retain all of your EAP course materials, as they may be needed for review by your department or the college.

If you study abroad independently or though a program not sponsored by the University of California, or if you wish to substitute UC EAP coursework for General Education requirements, please do not use an EAP petition. Instead, use a Petition for Degree Requirements to apply such coursework toward your degree.

View and download Education Abroad Program Petition

UC Extension Petition

• Obtain from the college advising office (1117 Cheadle Hall) or download.
• Submit to the college advising office. If requesting a substitution in your major, you must first obtain departmental recommendation. However, the final decision rests with the dean.

If you wish to apply a UC Extension course toward your degree, you must use this petition. To avoid disappointment, we strongly encourage you to file the petition before you invest time or money in a course. Be sure to list each course by its Extension course number and title (not the edp number that is also listed by University Extension). Please remember that:

• UC Extension work does not apply to academic residence requirements.
• UCSB courses completed by concurrent enrollment through Extension will apply to the UC GPA if taken after spring 2000, but no other UC Extension work applies to the GPA.
• Extension courses numbered 300 and higher are not acceptable toward the degree.

View and download UC Extension Petition

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Proposed Schedule for Graduation (PSG)

• Obtain from the college advising office (1117 Cheadle Hall).
• Submit to the college advising office (after obtaining departmental comments).

The PSG is a planning tool for students who want permission to complete more than 200 units prior to earning their degree. On the form, you must

• explain why you need additional units and time at UCSB.
• provide a quarter-by-quarter plan to fulfill your remaining requirements for graduation.
• obtain the endorsement of the departmental advisor in your major(s) and minor (if you are pursuing one).

View Proposed Schedule for Graduation

Credit by Examination

• Obtain from the Office of the Registrar.
• Submit to the college advising office (after obtaining approval of supervising instructor and department chair).

Credit by examination is an option for students who have prepared independently for the examination, not if they have received formal instruction. Further, to be eligible for credit by examination, you must be enrolled in a regular quarter (fall, winter, or spring) at UCSB. You must submit the petition to the college advising office (1117 Cheadle Hall) no later than three weeks before the examination is scheduled.

On the petition, you must indicate how you have prepared for the exam and the grading option you wish. Before submitting the petition, you must obtain approval from both the supervising faculty member and the chair of the department that offers the course.

If your request is approved, you will be assigned whatever grade the instructor reports as a result of the examination. Coursework completed by examination does not apply to academic residence requirements.

View Credit by Examination Petition

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Exceptions to Deadlines to Adjust Your Program (Late Add, Late/Retroactive Withdrawal)

• Obtain from the college advising office (1117 Cheadle Hall) or download.
• Submit to the college advising office.

Exceptions to the published deadline to add and drop courses are granted only in very unusual and compelling circumstances. An instructor statement and documentation of hardship must accompany your request.

Petition to Take a Graduate Course

• Obtain from the Office of the Registrar.
• Submit to the Office of the Registrar (after obtaining approval of the course instructor and department chair).

If you are an upper-division student with a very strong academic record and you may request permission to enroll in a graduate-level course.

View Petition to take a Graduate Course

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Petition for Incomplete Grade

• Obtain from the Office of the Registrar.
• Submit to the Office of the Registrar by the last working day of the quarter in which the course is taken.
• Incomplete grades from fall quarter must be made up in the immediately following winter quarter.
• Incomplete grades from winter quarter must be made up in the immediately following spring quarter.
• Incomplete grades from spring quarter and summer session must be made up in the immediately following fall quarter.

These deadlines apply whether or not you are registered and whether or not the course is offered in the deadline quarter. Failure to meet the deadline will result in a recorded grade of F or NP, depending on the grading option you have chosen. However, if the deadline is unrealistic for your needs, you may request a separate extension from your instructor.

Occasionally, students are unable to complete the petition for an Incomplete by the end of the quarter of enrollment. In that case, you may request a retroactive Incomplete grade. The steps are the same as noted above, except that the petition must be submitted to the college advising office (1117 Cheadle Hall) for the dean’s consideration. Note that the dean will not approve an Incomplete if you were failing the course. If you wish to submit a petition for retroactive Incomplete later than the quarter immediately following enrollment, you must include a separate approval for extension of the deadline.

View Petition for Incomplete Grade

Change of Major

• Obtain from the college advising office (1117 Cheadle Hall) or your major department.
• Submit to the department or college advising office, as noted below.

In most cases, the department’s approval is all you need. However, you will also need the approval of the dean of undergraduate studies if

• you are attempting to change your major after completion of 155 units.
• you are changing to or from another college (Engineering or Creative Studies).
• you are proposing a double major. In this case, your petition must be accompanied by a memo of understanding (see next).

View Change of Major petition

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Memo of Understanding for Double Major Proposals

• Obtain from the college advising office (1117 Cheadle Hall).
• Submit to the college advising office.

If both the majors you propose are offered by the College of Letters and Science, you must provide your identification, an estimate of the term in which you will graduate, and the number of units you will have earned at that time; one side of the memo provides a worksheet to assist you in making your estimate. If you propose to complete one major in the College of Letters and Science and another in a different college (Engineering or Creative Studies), you will need to provide a quarterly plan to fulfill all degree requirements.

View Memo (requires Acrobat Reader)

Independent Study Courses (98/99, 198, 199, 199AA-ZZ)

• Obtain a proposal form from the department office.
• Obtain a petition for exception to regulations noted below from the college advising office (1117 Cheadle Hall).
• Submit to the department if no exception is sought, to the college advising office if an exception is sought.

To engage in independent study for credit, you must obtain approval from the faculty member who will guide you and from the chair of the department in which credit is sought.
Please note the following limitations:

1. You must have completed at least 84 units to register in upper-division independent study courses.
2. No more than 5 units of independent study may be undertaken in a single quarter or summer session.
3. No more than 15 units of independent study may be undertaken in an academic year.
4. No more than 30 units of independent study will be accepted toward the bachelor’s degree.

A separate petition is used for exceptions to the first three limitates noted above. No exception can be made to the limit of 30 total units of independent study. The form requires a recommendation from your faculty sponsor(s) and the chair of each department, along with a copy of your proposal for each independent study course proposed. You may download the petition or obtain a copy from the college advising office (1117 Cheadle Hall).

View and download Request for Exception to Independent Study Regulations

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