Petitions & Forms

WINTER 2026 Submission Deadline: Fri. January 9, 2026

Students who wish to take more than 20 units in any quarter must submit a unit increase petition. The petition should include:

1. the proposed study list for the quarter of request,
2. the amount of units proposed, and
3. the reason why the student is requesting approval for the unit increase.

Petitions to enroll in over 22 units require a degree planner to demonstrate need. Your degree planner should reflect your entire degree time at UCLA – past, present, and future courses and/or requirements. These courses should match the listed requirements on your degree audit report. We recommend designing your planner so that it is readable and organized. Incorrect planners will not be considered and require resubmission. Sample degree planners can be viewed here.

Eligibility: To be eligible for excess units [exceed 20 units in a regular quarter (Fall, Winter, or Spring) or exceed 16 units in summer], you must meet ALL of the following conditions:

• Be in good academic standing
• Have earned a GPA of 3.0+ in the two quarters directly preceding the quarter of request
• Have established School of Music residency
  • Students entering UCLA as a first year student are eligible to petition for excess units after establishing three quarters of residency (e.g. Fall of 2nd year)
  • Students entering UCLA as a transfer student are eligible to petition for excess units after establishing one quarter of residency (e.g. Winter of 1st year)

Final grades from the quarter directly preceding the request must be officially posted before a unit increase request can be reviewed. We encourage students to submit requests as early as possible, to allow for enough time for review. Requests will remain “PENDING” until grades are posted.

If a request is APPROVED, students should be prepared to adjust their enrollment as needed before the enrollment deadlines. Once the add class deadline has passed, enrollment is not guaranteed even if you receive an approved unit increase. If a request is DENIED, students are responsible for adjusting their study list to be enrolled in courses needed for degree requirements and/or student eligibility (e.g. private lessons, ensemble, core major courses).

→ UNIT INCREASE PETITION

Students who wish to request academic requirement exceptions and substitutions should submit this form. Academic Petitions can be used for substitution requests for University, School, General Education, and School of Music major/minor requirements.

All requests MUST include:

1. Relevant course syllabi
   • If a course syllabus is not available, please include the course description and supporting materials (e.g. assignment examples, course site details). NOTE: review of the request may not be possible without a syllabus.
2. Justification for the academic substitution request

The justification should include thorough reasoning for why you think an academic exception or substitution should be made. This reasoning should be based on the course content (for the UCLA requirement AND the course you are petitioning for), criteria for the degree requirement, and/or your individual circumstances.

Students can submit previously completed, in-progress, or planned coursework for consideration. For previously completed coursework outside UCLA, students should submit their official transcripts to UCLA Admissions before submitting the petition. If you submit a petition for planned future coursework, you will only be eligible for provisional approval. Once you complete the course and your official transcripts are submitted to UCLA, you must follow up with the Office of Student Affairs for your record (DARS, petition status) to be updated.

If you submit more than 3 academic petitions at one time, your requests may take 15 – 20 business days to be reviewed.

Petitioning University, School, or General Education (GE) requirements:
Students can petition coursework taken outside of UCLA (transfer coursework) toward a University, School or General Education (GE) requirement [e.g. Writing II, Quantitative Reasoning, Social Analysis, etc.]. Transfer coursework constitutes as coursework that is/was taken elsewhere. Students CANNOT petition for UCLA courses that are not on the already approved list for the School of Music – such petitions will be automatically denied.

Petitioning Study Abroad Coursework:
Students who are planning to attend/have attended a study abroad program can submit petitions for abroad coursework to be reviewed toward UCLA requirements. A course syllabus is required. If you petition coursework before you go abroad, you will only be eligible for provisional approval.

We recommend referencing the College of Letters and Science’s College Advising Transfer Course Credit Database to find courses that have been petitioned at UCLA before. Please note, you will still need to petition courses found on the database with the School of Music, but you can use the database as a guide for submitting course petitions.

→ ACADEMIC PETITION

Students should use this form to request various academic progress exceptions, including but not limited to:

• Adding a major or minor
• Extending time to degree
• Exceeding the 216 unit maximum (ONLY required if you are graduating beyond your degree expected term)

All requests must include an updated degree planner, unless it’s to extend IGETC completion or extend an incomplete grade. Your degree planner should reflect your entire degree time at UCLA – past, present, and future courses and/or requirements. These courses should match the listed requirements on your degree audit report. We recommend designing your planner so that it is readable and organized. Incorrect planners will not be considered and require resubmission. Sample degree planners can be viewed here.

1. Adding a major or minor:
   • For this request, a signature from the advisor of the program you are requesting to add is required. When beginning the petition, please input the name and email for the advisor of the program you are requesting to add. Submissions missing an advisor signature will not be considered. In no circumstances does your School of Music advisor need to sign your Progress Petition before submission.
   • If you are unable to enter the advisor of your proposed program in DocuSign, you are still responsible for obtaining an advisor signature on the Undergraduate Program Change Petition. Your proposed program advisor can sign the Undergraduate Program Change Petition separately, so you can attach the form to your submission of the Progress Petition
2. Extending time to degree:
   • A degree planner is required for this request. The degree plan should accurately list your remaining degree requirements, show what additional time you are requesting, AND what remaining course requirement(s) you are hoping to fulfill with additional degree time.
   • Students should utilize the petition justification to 1) contextualize their planner and 2) provide information about their circumstances that are not addressed by the planner.

     The deadline to request additional degree time for a specific term is the following:

     • Fall Quarter: August 15
     • Winter Quarter: November 25
     • Spring Quarter: February 25
3. Exceeding the 216 unit maximum
   • Students who expect to exceed the 216 unit maximum and are graduating beyond their Degree Expected Term (DET) must submit the Progress Petition to receive approval to do so.
   • Students who will exceed the unit maximum and will be graduating by their Degree Expected Term (DET) do NOT need to submit a petition. During their final term, students should email OSA@schoolofmusic.ucla.edu and their program advisor to request the 216 unit maximum warning be resolved on their degree audit report.

→ PROGRESS PETITION

Students should submit this form to receive approval and clearance for participation in a Study Abroad Program (e.g. UCEAP, UCLA Travel Study, external program). Clearance Form requests must include the following:

1. Student Information
2. Program Title, Institution, Country, and Quarter/Term of the Year of program
3. Proposed Study List, including:
   1. Dept Title and course # (e.g. SPAN 45)
   2. Course units
   3. Intended UCLA requirement. If you are not taking the course for a major, minor, or GE requirement, please select “N/A – No UCLA Requirement Intended”.

Please allow 10 – 15 business days for review. PLAN AHEAD and be aware of submission deadlines to ensure all Clearance Form materials can be reviewed prior.

You can check the status of your Clearance Form on the MyUCLA Petitions page, under the Academics tab. If you are cleared to Study Abroad, your Clearance Form will be signed and returned to you via email.

To petition for Study Abroad coursework to satisfy UCLA requirements, please submit an Academic Petition. Students can submit a petition before, during, or after attending the Study Abroad program. Approval is not guaranteed. Review of Study Abroad coursework can take longer than the 10 – 15 day review timeline, so please plan ahead accordingly. Students are encouraged to look at pre-approved GE courses for UCEAP listed in the College of Letters and Sciences’ College Advising Transfer Course Credit Database.

→ STUDY ABROAD CLEARANCE FORM

Students should use this form when requesting to EXIT their major in the School of Music. The instructions to request to Exit the School of Music can be found here under “Quarterly Registration, Withdrawals, and Readmission”. If planning to switch to the College of Letters and Science, students should check out ‘how to’ here.

If the student is switching into a major or pre-major outside of the School of Music, they must obtain a signature from an advisor in their intended Department/School before submitting this form to the School of Music. However, if the student is planning to go Undeclared in the College of Letters and Science, then they can submit the form without a departmental signature.

Note: If you are a current School of Music Student and you would like to ADD an additional degree program, please use the Progress Petition to request this.

→ UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM CHANGE PETITION