Petitioning Courses and Course Pre-Approval

You may wish to take courses outside of the University for a variety of reasons. You must complete the majority of your upper division requirements at UC San Diego, but it is possible to transfer both upper and lower division requirements from another two-year or four-year institution. A syllabus is required for each course, as is a separate petition form. Courses from departments outside Psychology must be petitioned with their corresponding department (for example, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Math, Philosophy, or Computer Science).

To pre-approve courses before taking them elsewhere (required for students going abroad or taking courses not listed on assist.org):

• Obtain a copy of a past syllabus for the course you wish to take (typically from the professor or department at the institution where you plan to take courses).
• Print a copy of the Psychology Pre-Approval form, found on our Undergraduate Forms page.
• Fill out your name, PID, and other identifying information.
• Check that all required elements are included in your syllabus.
• Attach the syllabus to the form and drop off your form at the Undergraduate Advising Office during our normal office hours.
• Submit a separate pre-approval for each course.

To fill out the Petition form for a Psychology or Statistics course:

• Confirm that your course is showing on your TritonLink Academic History.
• Print a copy of the Undergraduate Student Petition form, found on our Undergraduate Forms page.
• Check "Departmental Exception."
• Fill out your name, PID, and other identifying information.
• Leave blank the "UCSD Course" section.
• Under "Request," indicate the course name and number, institution, and type of requirement that you wish to fulfill using this course.
• Sign and date your petition form.
• Include a copy of the course syllabus (not a course description), stapled to the back of the form.
• Submit a separate petition form for each course.

All course syllabi must include the following in order for the course to be evaluated:;

• Required Readings/textbooks used
• Weekly topics to be covered/discussed in course
• Evaluation criteria for course (i.e. exams, papers, projects)

Petitions and pre-approvals must be submitted in person except in extreme circumstances (approved by the department). Petitions and pre-approvals may take 2-4 weeks for review. You will be informed of the decision via Virtual Advising Center.