The Undergraduate Student Petition is used for course equivalency, A-Level course exemptions, requests for exceptions to major requirements, and requests for exceptions to campus policies (including the campus' repeat policy). These petitions are not used to request preauthorization/clearance to enroll (use EASy for that). Select a request type below to see petition instructions and associated timelines for review/processing.

Credit by Examination is an option that allows a student with prior mastery of ALL of the material taught in a UCSD course, but no credit, to take a single exam to demonstrate their mastery of the course material and earn credit for the course without sitting through it. Please note the following regarding Credit by Examination in Physics:

• You must show proof that you took our course outside of UCSD but were not permitted to transfer the course into UCSD (you cannot use Credit by Exam in physics to test out of a course you haven't taken).
• Exams take place during finals week, only.
• You can only attempt to test out of physics lecture courses.
• You can only attempt to test out of a physics course if you have already satisfied all of the pre-reqs for the course (you cannot test out of a course if you are currently taking the pre-reqs).
• You cannot have already received a grade or a W in the course you want to test out of.
• You cannot currently be enrolled in the course you want to test out of.
• You must be in good academic standing to attempt a course via Credit by Exam.
• You must request and attend a physics advising appointment no later than week 8 of the academic term to go over exam details and to process the required Credit by Exam form (we will provide the form, you do not need to download it). DO NOT attempt to sign-up for Credit by Exam for a physics course or fill out the Credit by Exam form with a physics instructor.
• Once your Credit by Exam form has been processed at your advising appointment, you must submit your form to your college for processing. Once your college has processed your Credit by Exam form you must submit your form to the Registrar's Office and they will enroll you in the course, listing on your record that your enrollment is via Credit by Exam. The deadline to submit Credit by Exam forms to the Registrar's Office is 4:30pm on Friday of week 10.

Please go to the Advising page and follow the listed instructions for requesting your advising appointment.

Non-Majors: If you are not currently a physics major, you must apply to the Physics Capped major before applying for a double major - click here for details.

Majors: If you are currently a physics major and want to add a major from another department as your second major, contact that department before you begin filling out your Double Major Packet. Download, print, and complete the Double Major Packet in accordance to the tips below. Refer to the Submission of Documents and Our Document Review Cycle information.

Tips for all documents in the Double Major Packet:

• Write in pen
• Keep all forms as clean as possible (avoid scribbles, skipped lines, dark eraser markings, crumpled/folded pages, etc.)
• Write neatly or type your forms
• Fill in all required information (do not leave blanks)

Tips for the Double Major Form:

• Use the Major Checklists to see the specific requirements for the physics major/specialization you wish to pursue. The checklist will also show other details you need to list on your form (i.e. the major code, the title of the major, etc.). If you are taking courses that are above/beyond the requirements for one/both majors, do not include them on your double major form.
• Spell out each specific lower division major requirement on the double major form. For example:

  1. PHYS 2A-B-C-D, 2CL-DL	3. CHEM 6A-B
  2. MATH 18; 20A-B-C-D-E	4. CSE 5A

• List each upper division major requirement on a separate line of the form and not skipping any lines. For example:
  1. PHYS 100A               
  2. PHYS 100B               
  3. PHYS 105A               
  4. PHYS 110A               
  5. PHYS 120                 
• Select specific courses for any pre-grad, lab, and elective physics major requirements (you will be permitted to change these courses later on, provided they are not shared with your other major)
• Make sure you do not double list any courses
• Check the "Quarter by Quarter Plan" and "Statement of Purpose" boxes on the double major form
• Sign and date the double major form
• Refer to the Submission of Documents and Our Document Review Cycle information

Tips for the Quarter by Quarter Plan:

• Use our Blank Qtr-by-Qtr Template or confirm that whatever document you are using for your quarterly plan includes all of the fields on our template.
• Starting at the top of the quarterly grid, list your current work-in-progress under the current term. Then proceed with listing all future terms. Do not list any past terms/courses on your plan.
• If you are taking courses that are above/beyond the requirements for one/both majors, include them on your plan (do not list them on your double major form).
• Fill in the last two digits of the academic year for each term. For example, for fall 2019, Fall 20__ would have "19" add in the blank, underlined space so that it reads Fall 2019.
• Make sure all required courses from the Double Major Form that are currently in progress or will be taken in future are listed on your plan
• Tally all of the following units:
  • By term
  • By academic year
  • Past terms (excluding AP/IB units)
  • Total at the time of graduation (make sure total does not exceed 240 units)

Tips for the Statement of Purpose:

• Indicate why you want to pursue both majors.
• Address anomalies in your quarterly plan (eg. terms with less than 12 units or more than 22 units; courses you are taking that are not required for one/both majors; etc.).
• Make sure your statement is 1-2 paragraphs long (not longer, unless you have extremely unique circumstances to address).

Use the Qtr-by-Qtr Form to create your own proposed plan for completing the physics major/minor. You must have this plan reviewed and approved by the Physics Advisor before you begin following it. Refer to the Submission of Documents and Our Document Review Cycle information.

Consult with the Programs Abroad Office and petition for all of your course equivalencies before filling out your EAP Academic Planning Form. Refer to the Submission of Documents and Our Document Review Cycle information.

Click here to learn about research opportunities in Physics and apply via EASy. Refer to the Submission of Documents and Our Document Review Cycle information.

Click here to learn about the Physics Honors Program and apply via EASy. Refer to the Submission of Documents and Our Document Review Cycle information.

Contact your college to discuss the maximum unit limitation and to obtain the Maximum Unity Appeal Forms. Refer to the Submission of Documents and Our Document Review Cycle information.

Contact the Financial Aid and Scholarships Office to discuss financial aid appeals and to obtain required forms. Refer to the Submission of Documents and Our Document Review Cycle information.

Contact your college to discuss the process to be readmitted to UC San Diego and to obtain the appropriate readmission form. Refer to the Submission of Documents and Our Document Review Cycle information.

Please see below for instructions on submitting documents as well as timelines for the review and processing of documents.

Where and how to Submit Documents

All petitions/forms needing the review and/or signature of a Physics instructor and/or the Physics Department Chair and/or the Physics Undergraduate Advisor MUST be converted into a single PDF packet submitted via our online document submission portal.
Do not submit petitions/forms directly to physics faculty members or to dept. staff via email; do not submit any documents in-person.

Our Document Review Cycle

There is a unique review cycle for each type of document submitted (see chart below). When submitting documents, please keep the following in mind:

• Do not submit original copies of supplementary documents if you need to retain them for any reason. Instead, make copies of the documents, give us the copies, and keep the original documents in your possession. After documents are fully processed by our office they are either securely shredded or sent to the next office needing to review them.
• Submit documents well in advance of our next review session for your document type so that, in the event that your documents are incomplete, you have time to revise and resubmit them before the review session. Only complete documents submitted on/by the day before the session will make it into the session.
• Incomplete documents will be returned to you, unprocessed.
• You will be kept informed through VAC about the status of your documents. Be sure to monitor VAC so you do not miss a notification!
• There are no review sessions scheduled during school breaks (i.e. winter break, spring break, the short breaks before and after summer session 1, 2). If you need to have a document reviewed during these periods please contact us through VAC for instructions on how to proceed.