Petitions for Exceptions

Campuswide Honors students who have unexpected or unusual academic planning problems that do not allow them to follow/complete the normal honors curriculum plan, or those who need an exception to stated honors requirements or policy, may file a petition for special consideration.  Some examples of petitions include: conflict with required major course, study abroad for a quarter, etc.

Petitions are not guaranteed to be approved. Petitions will not be granted based on failure to register for an honors course or departure from the honors curriculum requirements without approval

Please read carefully, make note of our process and deadlines, and plan ahead!

ALTERNATIVES
Before moving forward with a petition, please consider whether taking another honors course would resolve your issue. Please note that Social Science Core and Science Core can be taken in any order, and are NOT sequenced (vs. Humanities Core, which IS sequenced). Please also note that Campuswide Honors students may use only ONE total honors seminar for their entire time at UCI to automatically substitute for a maximum of ONE total QUARTER of an honors core course as designated by Campuswide Honors. See http://honors.uci.edu/academics/curriculum for more information on the honors courses.

Most declared science majors and some minors (Engineering, Biological Sciences, Physical Sciences majors and some health sciences majors) DO NOT need to petition out of Honors Science Core. Former science majors who have completed one or more quarters of science courses at UCI may petition to substitute those quarters for part or all of the honors science core.

WEEK 8 DEADLINE
You should petition in advance for any exception related to waiving, postponing, or substituting a required honors class.  Petitions should be submitted no later than the end of week 8 of the quarter PRIOR to when your proposed change will take effect. For example, a petition dealing with winter quarter must be submitted no later than the end of week 8 of fall quarter. The “petition window” occurs between Weeks 6-8 because this time is after the Schedule of Classes comes out and before enrollment windows open.

PETITION PROCESS
All petitions will be submitted online using the Campuswide Honors Petition for Exception and must contain the following:

1. A statement of your request and explanation of your circumstances, detailing what you are asking for and why
2. A copy of your currently filed course plan
3. A proposed course plan (which indicates the classes you will take if the petition is approved and when you will take them, if applicable)

It may take at least ten business days for a petition to be resolved.  The outcome of your petition will be emailed to your UCI email address.

Tips:

• Prepare your petition carefully, as it may be delayed or denied if it lacks necessary detail.
  Describe your circumstances and the rationale for your request:  Why is this a sound academic request for you? If you are asking for a waiver of a particular honors course requirement, and this course would have helped you satisfy a certain area of General Education (GE), explain how you will meet the GE requirement.
• All course-related petitions need to include a proposed alternative course plan that shows all courses planned from now through graduation (assuming that the petition gets approved). Include the alternate class(es) you plan to take to satisfy your GE requirements (if petitioning to waive) or when you propose to complete the honors courses (if petitioning to postpone).
• You might also want to meet with your school academic counselor if your petition relates to a conflict between an honors class and something “required” for your major. Sometimes there is flexibility regarding when you can take certain courses for your school/major requirements.
• Remember, petitions are only accepted for exceptional circumstances and are subject to the review and approval of the Director of the Program. The Director will consider your academic record as well as the rationale for your request, and also will take into account the goals and spirit of honors education when reviewing petitions.
• The Campuswide Honors staff may contact you with questions about your petition, feedback, requests for supplemental information, requests for appointments, etc. You will need to respond within 24 hours, unless a different deadline is given.

OPTIONAL MEETING WITH CAMPUSWIDE HONORS ADVISOR
If you wish to meet with a Campuswide Honors advisor to discuss a draft of your petition, visit https://appointments.web.uci.edu/ to schedule an appointment with an honors advisor, preferably prior to week 8 of the quarter.  Bring your completed petition and proposed course plan to the meeting.  If you have any questions about the outcome of your petition, please contact an Honors advisor as soon as possible.