Petition Instructions

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Petition Types

Pre-Approval

Pre-approval petitions are designed for students who have not yet taken a course or are currently enrolled in a course (with pending or no grades yet on their Academic History), but wish for approval that it will apply toward their DSC requirements.

Note: Students who submit pre-approval petitions will only receive course pre-approvals. This means students must complete the course for 4 units with a minimum grade of C- or better for the course to be fully approved as meeting a DSC requirement. Upon completion of the course, students must notify the DSC department through the Virtual Advising Center so we can update their degree audit accordingly.

Course Substitution

Course substitution petitions are designed for students who have already successfully completed a course (with a grade of C- or better on their Academic History) and wish to use the course as a substitution for a DSC requirement.

Major Requirement Waiver

Major requirement waiver petitions are designed for students who are requesting to exempt themselves from a specific DSC major requirement.

Minor Requirement Waiver

Minor requirement waiver petitions are designed for students who are requesting to exempt themselves from a specific DSC minor requirement.

How to Submit Petitions:

Prepare supplemental information to support your petition: transcript of relevant course(s) and course syllabus/description. Students must complete all requested information. Incomplete petitions will delay the review process. Please follow the instructions below to submit your petition:

  1. Submit a petition through the Online Petition System.
  2. Select “DSC Department.”
  3. Select Petition Type: Pre-Approval, Course Substitution, or Major/Minor Requirement Waiver.
    1. Please submit individual petitions for each course.
  4. Attach supporting documents (e.g., a course description, an explanation of how the course is related to your domain of interest and, if available, a course syllabus, assignments, or website). Only include relevant information. When submitting a transcript, highlight (or add a box or arrow) to indicate the relevant course(s). If your transcript does not follow the UC San Diego 4.0 grading scale, please also highlight/upload a page on the conversion of the score (e.g. 3 out of 4, or 9 out of 10). Grades differ from country to country, so knowing the conversion to the 4.0 equivalent is important.
  5. For attachments, provide the transcript as your first document, and syllabus/syllabi as the second document. Also, if applicable, an Assist.org screenshot.
  6. Submit Petition.

Note: Students may not use the same course for multiple petitions. 

Additional Petition Information:

Petition Justification

For your petition justification, please specify:

  1. The relevant content of the course. Consider including an outline or bullet list.
  2. The grade you received.
  3. Please do not provide hyperlinks.

Domain of Interest Petition Information

  • Students can submit petitions (pre-approval or course substitutions) requesting to receive DSC major elective credit for courses that help build familiarity with an application area of data science. Courses should provide students with skills or domain context that they do not already build through core major requirements.
  • Courses do not need to be related to data science, nor do they need to be “technical” courses.
  • Students can only petition up to 8 units of upper-division courses related to their “domain” to apply toward their elective requirements outside of the approved electives list.

Please note:

  • Petitions can take up to 4-5 weeks to process. You can check the status of your petition through the Online Petition System. Students will be notified of a decision via the Virtual Advising Center.
  • Petitions cannot be guaranteed approval. Therefore, we recommend submitting petitions as early as possible and planning backup options in case petitions are not approved.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long will it take for my petition to be processed?

Petitions can take up to 4-5 weeks to process, so we encourage you to submit your petitions as early as possible. You can check the status of your petition through the Online Petition System. Students will be notified of a decision via the Virtual Advising Center.

Can the DSC Academic Advisors tell me the likelihood of my petition being approved?

We are unable to tell you the likelihood of your petition being approved as it is dependent upon instructor approval.

My petition to count a course toward DSC major requirements was approved. Why can't I enroll in the next course in the sequence on WebReg?

WebReg does not recognize prerequisite courses that are satisfied via petition approval. If your petition is approved, you must submit an EASy request to enroll in the next course in the sequence. You must attach your approved petition to your EASy request to show completion of the listed prerequisites for a course.

I have already taken a class that is equivalent through another department and I cannot get duplicate credit for taking both courses. What should I do?

We understand that some DSC courses are deemed equivalent in the General Catalog to courses offered through other departments. If you have previously completed 1 of these courses offered through other departments and want confirmation that it will be applied toward meeting your DSC requirements, you must submit a Course Substitution Petition for each individual course.

How can I cancel a previously submitted petition in order to count a different course toward the same petition category?

Please reach out to the DSC department via the Virtual Advising Center to inform us of your decision. You can then submit new petitions to count toward your DSC major requirements. Once the DSC department receives the new petitions, we will close your previously submitted petitions. Additionally, this change will not impact your overall GPA – it will only affect your major GPA.

Can I petition to overlap a GE course?

To determine whether or not you can overlap a GE course with your major requirements, you will have to contact your College. If you can overlap it, then you will need to submit a petition.