Chapter 6. Student Program of Studies

6.1 Number of Courses.

6.1.1 During a regular quarter of enrollment, an undergraduate student is considered to be in full-time status when registered and enrolled in at least 12 credit hours. Between quarters, a student is considered to be pursuing a full-time course of instruction if they were enrolled as a regular student in the previous regular quarter and has fulfilled the provisions of SCR 6.2.2 defining minimum progress toward a degree. (Am 25 Feb 70 EI, 9 Oct 85, 12 Feb 92; CC 31 Aug 98; EC 1 Sept 77, 31 Aug 16)

6.1.2 An undergraduate student is permitted to carry less than 15 credit hours only after obtaining approval from the college provost or the provost’s designee. Such approval does not confer full-time status on the student who does not meet the requirements of SCR 6.1.1. The privilege of carrying more than 19 credit hours is in general reserved for students with a 2.5 GPA or greater and otherwise requires approval from the provost of the college or the provost’s designee. (Am 21 Feb 68, 9 Oct 85, 12 Feb 92, 30 Nov 22; CC 31 Aug 98; EC 1 Sept 77, 31 Aug 16)

6.1.3 A student is permitted to drop any course not later than the date specified in the academic calendar. (En 30 Apr 69; Am 26 May 71, 21 May 04; EC 1 Aug 77)

6.1.4 A student who is making minimum progress is permitted to withdraw from any course by the end of the sixth week of instruction. (En 29 May 96, effective 1 Sept 97; Am 30 May 01, 21 May 04)

6.1.5 Students may not add courses after the end of the third week of instruction except by a petition approved by the instructor and the course sponsoring unit until the end of the ninth week of instruction. Approval of the provost of the college or the provost’s designee must be obtained if required by SCR 6.1.2. [See also SCR 6.7.] (En 30 Apr 69; Am 26 May 71, 9 Jan 19; CC 29 May 96, 31 Aug 98)g 98)

6.2 Class Levels; Minimum Progress; and Denial of Enrollment.

6.2.1 Determination of undergraduate class level is made at the end of each quarter. A student advances from freshman to sophomore standing after passing 44.9 credit hours, from sophomore to junior standing after passing 89.9 credit hours, from junior to senior standing after passing 134.9 credit hours. (Am 22 Jan 69, 25 Feb 70 EI, 18 Nov 81, 12 Feb 92; EC 1 Aug 77)

6.2.2.1 For undergraduate students entering UCSC fall 2001 and after: Undergraduate students are required to make Minimum Progress toward their degree by maintaining total earned credits equal to or greater than the cumulative total of (a) 35 credits for the first academic year of fulltime enrollment, (b) 72 credits for the first two academic years of full-time enrollment (c ) 36 credits for each additional year of full-time enrollment, and (d) four-fifths of the credits attempted in part-time enrollment. Credit transferred from other institutions upon enrollment at the University of California, Santa Cruz, is not included in Minimum Progress calculations. Satisfaction of Minimum Progress is assessed at least once each year. Continued registration of a student who does not satisfy the Minimum Progress requirement is at the discretion of the faculty of the student’s college or their agents and is subject to such conditions as they may impose. (En 8 Mar 06; Am 17 May 19) 

6.2.2.2 For undergraduate students who entered UCSC before fall 2001:  A full-time undergraduate student is considered to be making minimum progress toward a degree if they are progressing toward a degree as indicated in the chart below and has passed with grade P, A, B, or C at least 30 credit hours in the three most recent quarters, or if an exception has been approved in writing by the Faculty of the student's college. (EC 31 Aug 16)

Part-time students are held accountable to the same standard of minimum progress as are full-time students, except that each 15 credit hours they attempt constitute one full-time quarter.1
For purposes of computing minimum progress, credit for work transferred from another institution upon admission to the University of California, Santa Cruz, will not be included. Therefore, all students entering the University of California, Santa Cruz, for the first time will begin the determination of minimum progress from Quarter 1. Credit for work transferred from another institution upon admission will be used, however, to determine the total number of quarters allowed for completion of the degree.

Minimum Number of UCSC Credit Hours Completed
Quarter (includes post-admission transfer credit)
1      5
2     15
3     30
4     40
5     50
6     65
7     75
8     85
9    100
10  110
11  125
12  140
13  150
14  165
15  180
(Am 22 Jan 69, 25 Feb 70 EI, 9 Oct 85, 12 Feb 92, 30 May 01, 8 Mar 06; CC 31 Aug 06; EC 1 Aug 77)

6.2.3 A full-time undergraduate student will be expected to complete all requirements for a degree in no more than 15 quarters of enrollment. A part-time student will have the equivalent of 15 full-time quarters of enrollment to complete all requirements for a degree, with each 15 credit hours attempted counting as one full-time quarter. A student who enters the University of California, Santa Cruz, with transfer credit from another institution or who transfers credit to the University of California, Santa Cruz, after entrance will be allowed an equivalent period of time for completion of all degree requirements based upon the total number of credit hours of transfer credit, with each 15 credit hours counting as one quarter. [SCR 10.1.6] (En 9 Oct 85; Am 12 Feb 92; CC 31 Aug 98; EC 31 Aug 06)

6.2.4 Undergraduate students who have both passed 180 or more credit hours and accumulated 12 or more quarters toward completion of their degrees may be denied permission to enroll again at the University of California, Santa Cruz, by the provost of their college or the provost’s designee. Upon the recommendation of the college Faculty or a department's Faculty, the provost or the provost’s designee may make exceptions for transfer students or for students pursuing programs which require them to complete more than 180 credit hours. (En 4 June 69; Am 9 Oct 85, 12 Feb 92; CC 31 Aug 98; EC 1 Aug 77, 31 Aug 06, 31 Aug 16)

6.3 University Extension Courses. University Extension courses in the 1 through 199 series are acceptable for transfer credit, while courses in the 300 and 400 series are not acceptable. Students resident at the University of California, Santa Cruz, who wish to receive credit for University Extension courses 1 - 199, either in class or by correspondence, taken concurrently with their regular University work, must obtain the permission of the Office of Admissions. Petitions for this purpose are available at the Office of Admissions. Applicability of an Extension course toward a major program is determined by the department in that discipline. Extension courses taken while on a leave of absence will be evaluated by the Office of Admissions in the same way as for courses from other institutions. Permission to take an Extension course in the 1 through 199 series concurrently with a reduced University of California, Santa Cruz, program must be obtained from the student's college. 300 and 400 series courses may be incorporated into an independent study (with additional work) with permission of the faculty sponsor. (Am 11 Mar 81; CC 31 Aug 98; EC 31 Aug 06, 31 Aug 09)

6.4 Withdrawal and Leave of Absence. (Am 26 May 71)

6.4.1 A student withdrawing before the end of a term may request a leave of absence, which must be approved by the provost of their college and certified by the Registrar, in which case the courses in which the student is enrolled are removed from the student's record. [SCR 6.4.3] (En 26 May 71; CC 1 Aug 76, 31 Aug 98; EC 1 Aug 76, 31 Aug 16)

6.4.2 A student who does not intend to continue registration following completion of a term may obtain from the provost of their college a statement authorizing readmission at a later date. [SCR 6.4.3] (En 26 May 71; CC 1 Aug 76, 31 Aug 98; EC 1 Aug 76, 31 Aug 16) 

6.4.3 For students departing under SCR 6.4.1 and 6.4.2, provosts are authorized, on recommendation of the college Faculty, to arrange for expected dates of readmission and to establish academic and other requirements which the students must meet in order to be readmitted [SCR 5.3]. The student must be informed by their college in writing of these requirements at the time leave or authorization is approved. (En 26 May 71; CC 1 Aug 76; EC 1 Aug 76, 31 Aug 16)

6.5.1 Special approval courses are courses whose curricula are not approved in advance by the Committee on Courses of Instruction.  These include, but are not limited to, independent or group studies (or tutorials), independent field studies or internships, senior thesis or project courses, individual research project courses, and recital preparation courses, and are subject to the definitions and limitations of this section. (Am 4 June 69, 21 Apr 71, 25 May 77, 20 May 09; CC 31 Aug 16; EC 31 Aug 09)

6.5.2 Determination of lower or upper division credit for special approval courses is based on the level of the work done and not on the class standing of the student. Upper division work is of truly advanced nature, and if upper division credit is requested, the application must provide evidence of competence in the subject-matter area within which the project lies. (Am 22 May 68, 21 Apr 71, 20 May 09)

6.5.3 Students wishing to take a special approval course of 2 or 5 credit hours should apply to the department, program of studies, or college sponsoring the course, outlining in reasonable detail the expected course of study. Deadlines for filing applications may be set by the sponsoring agency and included in the catalog description of that agency's course. Agencies may waive their own deadlines up to the final date for enrolling in courses. Applications must be approved by the instructor as proposing a worthwhile study which the instructor is capable of supervising and willing to supervise. The instructor must indicate on the application the number of credit hours to be granted upon successful completion of the work proposed. Applications also must be approved by the chair or provost (or senior curricular officer) of the agency sponsoring the course as being appropriate and in conformity with the educational policy of the agency. (Am 29 May 68, 4 June 69, 21 Apr 71, 12 Feb 92, 20 May 09; EC 12 May 97, 31 Aug 06)

A6.5.4 Students without declared majors may not take more than seven credit hours of special approval courses in a given quarter.  Students with declared majors must receive authorization from their major-sponsoring unit(s) to take more than seven credit hours of special approval courses in a given quarter. Before the authorization may be granted, the student must present to the major-sponsoring unit(s) the signatures of all instructors and chairs who approved the individual course applications, showing that they know that their course is part of an extended use of individual studies courses by the student. Authorization indicates that the above signatures have been obtained and that the courses are appropriate to the educational needs of the student. Authorization as described in this section is not needed if the seven or more credits of special approval courses are part of a regular curriculum that has been approved by the Committee on Educational Policy.  (En 21 Apr 71; Am 20 May 09; EC 31 Aug 17)

6.5.5 Independent field studies or internships are courses for which either: (a) the student's supervision is conducted by a regularly appointed officer of instruction by a means other than the usual supervision in person (e.g., the supervision is by email), or (b) the student does all or most of the course work off campus. The application for field studies courses must show evidence of suitable preparation and competence in the subject matter. Before credit may be assigned for the course, the student must file a written report (or paper) with the department, program of studies, or college sponsoring the course. Students taking independent field studies or internships will be officially registered and pay regular University of California fees. Such courses are not ordinarily available to first-year students and are not available for course credit by petition. (Am 21 Apr 71, 25 May 77, 20 May 09; CC 1 Aug 76, 31 Aug 98; EC 12 May 97, 31 Aug 06)

6.6 Study at Another Campus or Institution.

6.6.1 When credit is to be granted by another campus of the University of California or another institution, the student normally will apply for leave of absence from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and enroll and pay fees at the other campus or institution. (CC 31 Aug 98; EC 31 Aug 06)

6.6.2 Exceptions to SCR 6.6.1 may occur in cases in which an exchange agreement has been made between this campus or one of its colleges and another campus of the University of California or another institution. In such cases, it may be possible for the University of California, Santa Cruz, students and exchange students to remain registered at their respective home institutions. (CC 1 Aug 76, 31 Aug 98; EC 31 Aug 06, 31 Aug 09)

6.6.3 Exchange agreements must be approved by the Faculty of the student's college and the appropriate academic dean. Exchange students from other institutions must satisfy the admission requirements of the University of California. [SCR 5.1.3] (Am 6 Dec 67, 4 June 69; CC 31 Aug 98; EC 1 Aug 76, 1 Sept 77)

6.6.4 Course 197, institutional exchange program, is used by students formally enrolled full-time in classes at another institution with which an approved exchange agreement has been negotiated. The application for these 197 courses must include a list of proposed courses to be taken at the host institution and must be approved by the student's college. The college will designate a faculty sponsor who is responsible for assigning credit and filing an appropriate narrative evaluation [optional per SCR 9.2] upon receipt of the student's transcript of record from the host institution. Ordinarily, 197 courses are sponsored by the student's college. Students enrolled in 197 courses are officially registered at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and pay regular University of California fees. (En 26 May 76; CC 31 Aug 98, 31 Aug 10; EC 31 Aug 06, 31 Aug 09)

6.7 Course Credit by Petition. (Am 4 June 69, 25 May 77) Subject to the limitations herein stated, courses for which credit is earned by petition are equivalent to courses passed in the regular manner with respect to fulfillment of all requirements. (Am 4 June 69, 6 June 84, 23 Feb 00; EC 31 Aug 09) 6.7.1 A student may petition to obtain credit for a course by passing an appropriate examination or completing an appropriate body of work. (Am 4 June 69, 24 May 72, 25 May 77, 6 June 84; EC 1 Aug 76)

6.7.2 Certain courses may not be taken by petition. These courses include, but are not limited to, courses involving independent and field studies (e.g. 93, 99, 193, 198, 199); student-directed seminars; seminar presentations; group projects; and canceled courses. Sponsoring agencies (departments, colleges, and divisions) may designate other courses which may not be taken by petition. (En 4 June 69; Am 25 May 77, 6 June 84; EC 1 Aug 76, 12 May 97, 31 Aug 09)

6.7.3 The procedure for obtaining credit by petition is designed to meet the particular needs of individual students at the discretion of the instructor, and may not be used for groups or classes of students. (En 6 June 84)

6.7.4 A student, during any regular term in which they are enrolled, may petition by the Registrar's deadline to obtain credit for a course which the student would otherwise be eligible to take for credit on a regular basis. (En 6 June 84, 31 Aug 16)

6.7.5 Effective for any student admitted fall 1984 and thereafter, no more than 15 credit hours of credit by petition may count toward the 180 credit hours required for graduation. A student's provost or provost’s designee may grant exceptions under unusual circumstances. (En 4 June 69; Am 25 May 77, 6 June 84, 12 Feb 92; EC 31 Aug 09)

6.7.6 The petition must be signed by a regular instructor of the course, by the chair of the department, or provost of the college, or dean of the division which sponsors the course and the provost (or academic/senior preceptor) of the student's college.

The instructor's signature certifies that they are willing to administer the examination or review the student's course work within the current term.

The signature of the chair, provost, or dean verifies that the faculty member signing as instructor is a regular instructor in the course and that the course is appropriate for the awarding of credit by the proposed examination or course work procedures.

The provost's (preceptor's) signature certifies that the extra work involved represents a reasonable program of study for the student considering the student's academic record. (En 6 June 84; EC 12 May 97, 31 Aug 16) 

6.7.7 The instructor establishes the procedure or procedures which comprise the examination or body of course work required. (Am 4 June 69, 25 May 77) 6.7.8 To receive credit by petition, a student must pass the examination or satisfactorily complete the course work by the last day of the current term. A final grade must be reported to the Registrar by the deadline for submitting course reports. A narrative evaluation, if written, must be submitted by the filing deadline stated in SCR 9.2.2. (Am 4 June 69, 25 May 77, 6 June 84, 23 Feb 00; CC 31 Aug 10)

6.7.9 The University of California requirement in American History and Institutions may be satisfied by examination without enrollment in a course. The Departments of Politics and History will make the examination available at least once each academic year. (Am 6 Dec 67, 4 June 69; CC 31 Aug 98; EC 12 May 97; EC 31 Aug 07)

6.8 Apprentice Teaching. (En 22 Jan 69)

6.8.1 A junior, senior, or a graduate student may be authorized by their college or by a department to give a lower division seminar as an apprentice teacher. Such a seminar shall carry the number 192 for the apprentice teacher and 42 for the students enrolled. Enrollment may be limited. A college-sponsored seminar may be restricted to students of the college. (Am 30 Apr 69, 20 Oct 71 EW, 28 Jan 72, 25 May 77; EC 1 Aug 76, 4 Aug 87, 12 May 97, 31 Aug 16)

6.8.2 Courses 42/192 shall be supervised by an instructor qualified in terms of SR 750(A). Supervision shall involve the attendance of that instructor at meetings of the seminar. Grading and instructor-optional written evaluations for courses 42/192 shall be the responsibility of the supervising instructor. (Am 25 May 77; CC 31 Aug 99, 31 Aug 99)

6.8.3 An upper division or graduate student who wishes to offer a course 42 shall petition their college or department not later than the deadline set by the sponsoring agency in accordance with course approval deadlines announced by the Committee on Courses of Instruction and the Registrar. Such a petition must be accompanied by a full statement of the nature and content of the course and of the reading to be required of students enrolled. The petition must be supported by the supervising instructor of the proposed course and by the student's adviser. (Am 28 Jan 72, 25 May 77; CC 28 Jan 81; EC 4 Aug 87, 12 May 97, 31 Aug 09, 31 Aug 16)

6.8.4 The college Faculty or department, through a designated committee, shall decide to approve or disapprove the course prior to the established course approval deadline for the term in which the course is to be offered. The college or department must be satisfied that the apprentice teacher is a superior student who will profit from instruction under guidance, and that the course is so designed as to safeguard the proper interests of those who enroll in it. (Am 28 Jan 72, 25 May 77; EC 12 May 97, 31 Aug 09)

6.8.5 The apprentice teacher shall submit to the supervising instructor a report on their experience of teaching the seminar. Each student enrolled in the seminar shall make a report on the seminar to the supervising instructor. The sponsoring agency shall compile the following report materials and forward them to the Committee on Educational Policy no later than thirty days after the last day of the term in which the seminar was offered: (a) the apprentice teacher's report to the supervising instructor; (b) the supervising instructor's evaluation of the apprentice teacher (course 192 evaluation); (c) the students' evaluations of the course; (d) the narrative evaluations of the work done by each of the enrolled students [optional per SCR 9.2.1] (course 42 evaluations). (Am 25 May 77; CC 28 Jan 81, 31 Aug 10; EC 31 Aug 09, 31 Aug 16)