Petitions & Forms
With the exception of OSD requests, all other petitions, forms, and documents needing the review and/or signature of a Physics instructor and/or the Physics Department Chair and/or the Physics Undergraduate Advising Team must be submitted through our Physics Department Document Submission Portal. Document/request types:
- Physics Course Equivalency
- Physics A-Level Exemption
- Exception to the Physics Major Requirements/Regulations (for current physics majors, only)
- Exception to the Physics Minor Requirements (for current physics minors, only)
- Financial Aid (SAP) Appeal
- University Exception (eg. Retroactive Withdrawal from a PHYS course)
- Readmission Proposal
- Double Major Packet (DMP)
- Review of Qtr-by-Qtr Plan I Drafted
- None of the above (for other document types)
The portal will guide you in properly submitting your material. If you get stuck at any point in the submission process, you can contact Physics through the Virtual Advising Center (VAC) for assistance (non-UCSD students will email advising@physics.ucsd.edu).
Once your documents have been submitted, a confirmation page will pop up so that you know your material has been received by our department. Completed requests and documents will be routed to the required Physics reviewers/signers and you will be contacted through VAC once your documents have been processed. Incomplete requests will not be processed (we will contact you through VAC to let you know what changes need to be made to your submission).
If you need to make a change to documents you've already submitted but have not yet been processed, please alert PHYSICS through the VAC so we can cancel your earlier submission and process the new one once you've submitted it.
Our Document Processing Timeline
Documents/Requests are typically processed within 5-6 weeks, so please plan to submit your documents/requests well in advance of when you need them processed.
Please also keep the following in mind:
- Due to the high volume of documents and requests received, we are unable to offer rush processing of documents and requests at this time.
- UCSD students will be notified about the status of their documents and requests through VAC; non-UCSD students will be notified about the status of their documents and requests via email.
- Document processing time excludes all school breaks, closures, and weekends.
Frequently Asked Questions about Petitions and Forms
What do I do if I need help filling out my documents?
Please contact us through VAC so we can assist you.
Can my document be signed/processed "on the spot"?
To ensure the appropriate processing of your material, we do not review/sign/process documents on the spot. Please refer to our Document Processing Timeline information, above.
Do I need to make an appointment to have my document signed/processed?
No, we do not use appointments for having documents signed/processed. Please follow the procedure outlined above to have your document processed.
I no longer have the syllabus for the physics courses I took. What should I do?
Contact the instructor and dept. at the school where you took the course to request this material (most schools save copies of syllabi because they know students who transfer will need this material). You may also find success by contacting students who took the courses with you. If you still are unable to retrieve this material, please contact us through VAC so we can provide next steps.
My friend took the same course at the same school as I did. Can I have the same equivalencies my friend was awarded?
Potentially! Please contact us through VAC so we can look into this.
My equivalency request was denied. How do I appeal the decision?
Contact us through VAC for advice on your specific case.
I want to take a course without the prereq. Should I submit an Undergraduate Student Petition?
No. Course clearance requests are processed through the university's Enrollment Authorization System (EASy). However, please note that we strictly enforce the listed prereqs for our courses. If you are missing one/more prereqs you will not be cleared to enroll. Instead, you must complete the listed prereq in advance of taking our course, as outlined in our prereq policy information.
I am away from campus. Can I email you my petition?
We do not accept petitions via email. You must submit your material through the Physics Department Document Submission Portal.
I emailed my petition to the Physics Advising Team but have not heard back. What should I do?
As per the bounce notification you received when you sent your email, your message was not received. You must submit your material through the Physics Department Document Submission Portal.