Visual Arts Petitions

Lower-division coursework completed at a community college may be petitioned to satisfy lower-division major/minor requirements. 

Please note, some California community college courses have already been pre-approved on www.assist.org, and do not require a petition.

1. Before petitioning, check to see if your community college course is already pre-approved by searching for an Articulation Agreement on Assist.org. Make sure to select the correct Articulation Agreement between your community college and UCSD, based on the academic term in which the transfer course was taken. Once you select the Academic Year and Institution, you may filter the results by UCSD department (VIS).
   
   Pre-approved transfer courses are listed next to their UCSD approximations. If there is an approximation listed, please confirm that it is correctly displayed on your Degree Audit (and let us know if any updates are needed). If there is no approximation listed, you will need to follow Steps 2-5 to submit a petition.
2. For each major/minor course requirement that you are petitioning to fulfill, complete one Undergraduate Student Petition form. Please note: you may petition for 1-2 transfer courses to satisfy each major/minor requirement. One transfer course cannot satisfy multiple requirements at once.
   1. Select “Departmental Exception” at the top of the form for all Visual Arts major/minor petitions.
   2. Leave the “If UC San Diego course” section blank, if you are submitting a petition for community college coursework.
   3. In the "Request" section, state the number/title of the course you have taken and one UCSD course/requirement it satisfies. Example: "I am requesting to use [CC course taken] to satisfy [UCSD course/requirement] for my [major/minor]."
   4. In the “Reason for Request” section, you may choose to provide additional context or justification for your request.
3. Attach required documentation to the PDF: Please attach an official syllabus or course outline from the course(s) you have taken to the same PDF as the petition form. This is required by the faculty, to interpret whether that course may satisfy the UCSD requirement. If you do not have a copy of this, you may reach out to your former department or instructor, as they should have a syllabus/course outline on file. If you have a work sample, you may also attach it in the same PDF.
4. Please combine all petition materials into one PDF per petition, and submit via email to vis-ug@ucsd.edu. Submitted PDFs will be forwarded by our advising office to the appropriate faculty for final petition approval/disapproval. Any information included separately will not be reviewed. Please allow 3-4 weeks for petitions to be reviewed.

Approval is not guaranteed, and is contingent on the successful transfer of outside coursework. For instructions related to transferring coursework, please refer to UCSD’s How to Transfer Courses webpage.

Coursework completed at another 4-year postsecondary institution may be petitioned to satisfy lower- and/or upper-division Visual Arts major/minor requirements.

1. For each major/minor course requirement that you are petitioning to fulfill, complete one Undergraduate Student Petition form. Please note: you may petition for 1-2 transfer courses to satisfy each major/minor requirement. One transfer course cannot satisfy multiple requirements at once.
   1. Select “Departmental Exception” at the top of the form for all Visual Arts major/minor petitions.
   2. Leave the “If UC San Diego course” section blank, if you are submitting a petition for coursework taken at another postsecondary institution.
   3. In the "Request" section, state the number/title of the course you have taken and one UCSD course/requirement it satisfies. Example: "I am requesting to use [transfer course taken] to satisfy [UCSD course/requirement] for my [major/minor]." 
   4. In the “Reason for Request” section, you may choose to provide additional context or justification for your request.
2. Attach required documentation to the PDF: Please attach an official syllabus or course outline from the course(s) you have taken to the same PDF as the petition form. This is required by the faculty, to interpret whether that course may satisfy the UCSD requirement. If you do not have a copy of this, you may reach out to your former department or instructor, as they should have a syllabus/course outline on file. If you have a work sample, you may also attach it in the same PDF.
3. Please combine all petition materials into one PDF per petition, and submit via email to vis-ug@ucsd.edu. Submitted PDFs will be forwarded by our advising office to the appropriate faculty for final petition approval/disapproval. Any information included separately will not be reviewed. Please allow 3-4 weeks for petitions to be reviewed.

Approval is not guaranteed, and is contingent on the successful transfer of outside coursework. For instructions related to transferring coursework, please refer to UCSD’s How to Transfer Courses webpage.

UCSD courses from outside of the Visual Arts department may be petitioned to satisfy Visual Arts major/minor requirements.

1. For each major/minor course requirement that you are petitioning to fulfill, complete one Undergraduate Student Petition form. Please note: you may petition for 1-2 courses to satisfy each major/minor requirement. One course cannot satisfy multiple requirements at once.
   1. Select “Departmental Exception” at the top of the form for all Visual Arts major/minor petitions.
   2. In the “If UC San Diego course” section, include details about the course you have taken (e.g. Subject: COGS, Course #: 18, Grade Option: Letter, Units: 4.0, Section ID: A00, Term: FA26)
   3. In the "Request" section, state the number/title of the course you have taken and one UCSD course/requirement it satisfies. Example: "I am requesting to use [non-VIS course taken] to satisfy [VIS course/requirement] for my [major/minor]." 
   4. In the “Reason for Request” section, you may choose to provide additional context or justification for your request.
2. Attach required documentation to the PDF: Please attach an official syllabus or course outline from the course(s) you have taken to the same PDF as the petition form. This is required by the faculty, to interpret whether that course may fulfill the UCSD requirement. If you do not have a copy of this, you may reach out to the department or instructor, as they should have a syllabus/course outline on file. If you have a work sample, you may also attach it in the same PDF.
3. Please combine all petition materials into one PDF per petition, and submit via email to vis-ug@ucsd.edu. Submitted PDFs will be forwarded by our advising office to the appropriate faculty for final petition approval/disapproval. Any information included separately will not be reviewed. Please allow 3-4 weeks for petitions to be reviewed. 

Approval is not guaranteed, and is contingent on the successful completion of the course with a passing grade (“C-” or better for major/minor courses, or “P” for minor courses).

All courses taken for Visual Arts major requirements must be taken for a letter grade, and only a passing grade of “C-” of better will be accepted. 

On a case-by-case basis, students with extenuating circumstances may request an exception to accept a “P” grade towards a major requirement. This is a one-time exception that may only be granted if there are no other alternative options. Students are encouraged to contact a Visual Arts Advisor before petitioning.

1. To request an exception, complete one Undergraduate Student Petition form.
   1. Select “Departmental Exception” at the top of the form for all Visual Arts major/minor petitions.
   2. In the “If UC San Diego course” section, include details about the course you have taken (e.g. Subject: VIS, Course #: 1, Grade Option: P/NP, Units: 4.0, Section ID: A00, Term: FA26)
   3. In the "Request" section, state that you are requesting an exception to use a “P/NP” grading option for a major/minor requirement. Please include the number/title of the course you have taken, the requirement it satisfies, and the grade you received in the course.
   4. In the “Reason for Request” section, please provide additional context or justification for your request.
2. Submit one PDF per petition, via email to vis-ug@ucsd.edu. Submitted PDFs will be forwarded by our advising office to the appropriate faculty for final petition approval/disapproval. Any information included separately will not be reviewed. Please allow 3-4 weeks for petitions to be reviewed.

Approval is not guaranteed, and exceptions to the letter grade requirement are uncommon. If approval is granted, students will be allowed only one exception for their Visual Arts major/minor requirements.

Students may appeal a previous petition decision by re-submitting their petition form with additional clarification/documentation. Final petition decisions may only be appealed once.

To submit an appeal, combine all petition materials into one PDF per petition and submit via email to vis-ug@ucsd.edu. Submitted PDFs will be forwarded by our advising office to the appropriate faculty for final petition approval/disapproval. Any information included separately will not be reviewed. Please allow 3-4 weeks for petitions to be reviewed.