Prerequisites

Prerequisites ensure that students are fully prepared to understand the subject matter of a course and prepare students for success in the course. Use these resources to navigate the prerequisites of PSC, CGS, PHI, and STS courses.

Schedule Builder will pull from your academic record to see if you have completed the prerequisites for a course to allow registration. However, there may be cases in which you will need to submit a prerequisite petition to register for the course. Situations include:

  • You are taking or took the course at another university and the transcript hasn’t been sent or processed yet
  • You took the course at another university, and it was approved as equivalent to the prerequisite needed by the corresponding department (for example, a physics class from UCLA is evaluated by the physics department to be equivalent to PHY 7A), but it’s not reflected in the academic record
  • You took an approved substitution for the prerequisite (for example, SOC 46 is an approved substitution for PSC 41), which Schedule Builder won’t recognize

How to Complete a Prerequisite Petition

  • When you try to register for the course, you will be prompted to submit a prerequisite petition in Schedule Builder if it doesn’t detect the prerequisite courses. It will say “Click here to create a prerequisite petition.” 

  • Open the petition. You can upload files and leave comments.

    • Upload unofficial transcripts or the course syllabus
    • Write about the institution and term when the course was taken, the course number and title, and the grade you earned
  • Submit the prerequisite petition. This will allow you register for the course. In the meantime, the instructor will review the petitions and take one of the following actions
    • Deny it which will drop you
    • Approve it which will keep you enrolled
    • Take no action which will also keep you enrolled

Examples of Prerequisite Petitions

Refer to these examples to guide how you would fill out your own Prerequisite Petitions.

  • Example 1 - You completed the prerequisite at another institution but the course hasn't been uploaded into your Academic Record yet
  • "I completed PSYCH 7 Research Methods (B grade) at Woodland Community College in, which transfers as PSC 41 according to Assist.org. The course has not been uploaded into my record yet. I uploaded a screenshot of the articulation on Assist and I uploaded a copy of my unofficial transcript"
  • Example 2 - You believe you completed a course that is similar to the prerequisite
  • "I completed PH 160 Reason & Argument (B- grade) at Boston University. This course covers the same topics as the prerequisite course, like syntax, semantics, and proofs. See the attached syllabus."
  • Example 3 - You have not completed the prerequisites, but believe you are prepared in other ways to complete the course
  • "I have not taken the exact prerequisites, but I believe I can be successful in this course. I have taken lots of biology and chemistry courses, which I think has prepared me to handle the topics of this course."

What you'll see in Schedule Builder

Screenshot of prerequisite petition message
Screenshot of prerequisite petition