Petitions

Petitions FAQ

UPDATE (10/01/2021): Starting Fall 2021, petitions must be submitted electronically.

Major, Pre-major, Minor, Specialization, or College

Please email petitions to ugrad[at]math.ucla.edu. SEE DROPDOWNS FOR REQUIRED FORM(S).

STEP 1: Title your email subject and petition with LastName, FirstName UID Program Change.

  • Example: Bruin, Joe 000000000 Program Change

STEP 2: Include in the email body your current program and proposed program.

  • Example: I am a pre-applied math major and would like to declare the applied math major.

STEP 3: Attach the required form(s). See the dropdowns below for relevant forms. We will accept your email as a digital signature, so there is no need to scan, print, or convert your PDFs.


It typically takes 2-3 weeks to process your petition. 

Attach this Undergraduate Program Change Petition to your email for a change of major, pre-major, minor, specialization. Changes to an undergraduate program are normally not permitted if the student is on probation or has begun their last term.

In addition to meeting pre-major, major, or minor requirements, all students must complete at least one academic quarter (fall, winter, or spring) at UCLA before declaring into a pre-major, major, or minor. If it is your first academic quarter at UCLA, you can submit your petition during Finals Week. Your petition will be processed 1-3 weeks after all your grades for the quarter have been posted.

Students petitioning into Pre-Data Theory or Data Theory need to submit BOTH forms: Undergraduate Program Change Petition and Degree Plan Contract.

  1. To see what classes you need for the major, model your DARS as a Data Theory major under the catalog term in which you are taking your LAST pre-Data Theory courses.
    • For instructions on modeling your DARS, see “How do I plan my courses for a major I plan to declare or switch into?” in the FAQ at the bottom of this page.
  2. Use DARS and the table below to fill out your DPC.
    • Include courses from the CURRENT TERM in which you’re enrolled and any remaining terms you have left at UCLA.
    • Make sure to consider the prerequisites to each course (click on the course on DARS to see prereqs).
    • You do not need to check mark “Type of Contract.”
  3. See the blue box at the top for instructions on where to send your contract and what to title your email.

11 Pre-major Courses

Course Typically Offered in the following quarters
Math 31A
Math 31B
Math 32A
Math 32B
Math 33A
Stats 10
PIC 10A
Math 115A
Stats 20		 Fall, Winter, Spring
Math 42
Stats 21		 Fall and Spring
16 Major Courses
Course Typically Offered in the following quarters
Math 131A
Math 156
Math 170E or Stats 100A
Math 170S or Stats 100B		 Fall, Winter, Spring
Math 118 Fall and Winter
Stats 101A
Stats 102B		 Spring
Stats 101C Fall
Stats 102A
Math or Stats M148
Stats 147
Stats 184		 Winter

1 Upper Div Math Elective (Math UD)

  • Recommended Math 164 (prereq of Math 156)

1 Upper Div Stats Elective (Stats UD)
2 Upper Div Math/Stats Electives (Math/Stats UD)

 Varies depending on which courses you choose

Departmental Approval for Double Major/Minor and Degree Plan Contract. Use these forms to add a secondary major/minor.

  1. Obtain signatures from both major/minor departments.
    • See Math Student Services email in blue box at the top.
    • Check the website of your other major department to find their preferred communication platform.
  2. Once you get approval signatures from both major departments, send your forms to the College through Message Center for final approval. 

Read more about the double major petition process with College of Letters & Science here.

 

Students outside of the College of Letters & Sciences (eg. HSSEAS, School of Music, etc.)

Undergraduate Program Change Petition and Degree Plan Contract. Use these forms to change from a different College/School into the College of Letters and Sciences. 

Example: You want to switch out of the School of Engineering and into the College of Letters and Sciences.

First, obtain signatures from the Math Department (see email in blue box at the top). Once you get an approval signatures from Math Student Services, send your forms to the College through Message Center for final approval. 

Read more about the process for switching into the College of Letters & Science here.

Course Equivalency

Please email petitions to ugrad[at]math.ucla.edu. SEE BELOW FOR REQUIRED FORM.

Title your email subject with LastName, FirstName UID Course Equivalency Petition.

  • Example: Bruin, Joe 000000000 Course Equivalency Petition

It typically takes 2-3 weeks to process your petition.

The Course Equivalency Petition (CEP) used to petition courses from outside of the Math Department (within or outside of UCLA) that you believe are equivalent to our mathematics or programming in computing (PIC) courses.

Attach the following to your email:

  1. Course Equivalency Petition
  2. Any documents that give us as much information about your course as possible*: course description, detailed syllabus with a breakdown of topics covered every week, and textbook used. 
*If you only have the course description, please reach out to an instructor of the course for a detailed syllabus. We typically cannot evaluate a course based on the description alone.

Q: How do I know who is instructing the course?
A: Each institution has a website that shows the instructors for a given quarter as well as a page that includes their email for contact.

Q: Does the syllabus have to be from the instructor that I took the course with/am planning to take the course with?

A: No. The syllabus can be from any instructor of that course who is teaching within the same school year.

Summer Session

Please email Summer Session petitions to info[at]summer.ucla.edu.

A Late Add Petition can only be used after Week 2 when all waitlisted students have been enrolled.

Petitions FAQ

Program Change Petitions

All Math Pre-Majors, Majors, Minors, & Specialization
  • Students must be in good academic standing at the time of their declaration and must have completed at least one full academic quarter (fall, winter, or spring with a minimum of 12.0 units) at UCLA before declaring into a program (pre-major, major, minor, & specialization).
  • ALL courses toward the program be taken for letter grades.
  • Declare by 160.0 units (excluding AP and IB credit). This is a soft deadline. If you are progressing in your major and can graduate within your Time to Degree (TTD), then you should be able to declare the major. However, all students who are over 150.0 units in the “Minimum 180 UC Units for a UCLA Degree” section on DARS will have to have final approval of the College in order to declare.
All Math Majors (Except the Three Specified Below)
  • Mathematics preparation (pre-major) courses for mathematics majors must be passed with a “C” or better and an overall pre-major GPA of 2.5. Non-math pre-major courses can be finished after declaring.
Data Theory
  • All pre-major courses must be passed with a “C” or better and an minimum pre-major GPA of 3.3. Math 115A is included as a pre-major course and must be passed with a “C” or better.
  • Students who are admitted as transfers must complete ALL pre-major coursework by the end of their 3rd academic quarter (spring quarter) at UCLA.
  • Students who are admitted as freshmen must complete ALL pre-major coursework by the end of their 7th academic quarter (fall quarter of third year) at UCLA.
Financial Actuarial Mathematics
  • Each pre-major course must be passed with a “C” or better. Pre-major GPAs for mathematics and economics courses are calculated separately, and both pre-major GPAs must meet a minimum 2.5.
Mathematics/Economics
  • Each pre-major course must be passed with a “C” or better. Pre-major GPAs for mathematics and economics courses are calculated separately, and both pre-major GPAs must meet a minimum 2.7.
Double Majors
  • Complete all pre-major coursework for both majors
  • Complete at least two upper division courses exclusive to each major
Minors
  • Complete a minimum of 12.0 units of math courses at UCLA* with a “C” or better and a minimum 2.0 GPA in the minor. Of the 12.0 math units, at least one course must be an upper division course.
    *Non-math courses (eg: Stats 100AB) do not count toward the minor.
    *Math courses from other institutions can be used toward a math minor, but student must still complete a minimum of 12.0 math courses AT UCLA before declaring.
Specialization in Computing
  • Complete PIC 10A and 10B or CS 31 and 32 with a “C-” or better in each course and minimum 2.0 GPA in the specialization.

Submit your petition on any day of the end of the quarter (Finals Week) in which you’re completing your last minimum pre-major requirements. Your petition will stay in the queue, and it will be processed 2-3 weeks AFTER all your grades for the quarter have been posted.

In addition to meeting minimum course requirements for your program, all students must complete at least one academic quarter (fall, winter, or spring) at UCLA before declaring into a pre-major, major, or minor. If it is currently your first academic quarter at UCLA, submit your petition during Finals Week. 

Students who are in progress for their first academic quarter at UCLA OR in progress for their last pre-major requirements will be denied the petition if it submitted before Finals Week. 

If you are over 150.0 units of UCLA, transferred, and AP coursework in the “MINIMUM 180 UNITS FOR A UCLA DEGREE” section of DARS, your math advisor will submit a 150.0+ Petition on your behalf to the College of Letters & Sciences. This is for the College to check your non-major related requirements to make sure you are on track to graduate.

The 150.0+ Petition with the College can take an additional 15 business days on top of the Math Department’s processing time.

It typically takes 2-3 weeks for the Math Department to process your petition.

If you are submitting your petition during finals week because you are currently taking your last pre-major courses, your petition will be processed 2-3 weeks AFTER your final grades for the quarter have been posted because we need to see your grade. 

If you have 150.0 or more earned and in progress units in the “MINIMUM 180 UC UNITS FOR A UCLA DEGREE” section of your DARS, your petition will have go through a final approval from your College advising unit. This process is required in order for your college to make sure you will graduate on time. This process takes up to 15 business days, and there’s nothing you need to do on your end. Once the College finishes processing your petition and makes a decision, you will be able to find the status on MyUCLA under the Petitions tab. We will also notify you via email regarding your petition status.

About CURRENT and COMING SOON PDF’s in MAJORS, MINORS & SPECIALIZATIONS:

Course requirements in the COMING SOON catalogs have yet to be implemented, and our department has not finalized an implementation date. Once the date is finalized in the future, it will be posted on the Majors, Minors & Specializations page as well as in our new department handbooks (See bottom of the Majors, Minors, and Specializations page).

If you are already officially declared into a math major (not pre-major), you are locked into the old requirements that you declared into. 

If you are pre-major at the time the department implements new catalog requirements, you will have one academic year to declare into a major under the “old” requirements before we enforce the new requirements.

1. Model Your DARS
  1. Go to DARS.
  2. Click Run Audit.
  3. Click “Select a Different Program.” 
  4. Select “College of Letters and Science – LS” and the term in which you plan to declare.
  5. Select your prospective program. This is called “modeling your DARS.” You can model three different majors and two minors to compare different major requirements all at once.
  6. Click Run Different Program. This will show you your pre-major and major course requirements. You can click on the courses to see its description and prerequisites.
2. Check the Tentative Schedule
  • Use our Tentative Schedule to see when we plan to offer each course. We try to keep our offerings as consistent as possible each year. Use the current school year’s tentative schedule as a soft guide to plan every quarter, but please remember that things may change based on our resources.
3. Fill Out the Degree Plan Contract
  • Fill in the Degree Plan Contract (DPC), using the list of courses from DARS and the tentative schedule. Remember to keep in mind that some courses have prerequisites and are offered in specific quarters.
    • List specific course numbers if the course is EXPLICITLY listed for your major.
      • E.g., Math 115A and 131A are specifically listed for every major. Math students should explicitly list Math 115A and 131A in their plan.
      • If you are listing a specific class, make sure you know what the prerequisites are. You can find prerequisites by clicking on the class name. A course catalog will pop up in a new window with details on the prerequisites and course description.
    • Upper division electives just need to be listed as “[Subject] UD.”
      • E.g., The math of computation major requires “6 upper division math electives” and “3 upper division computer science electives.” Math of Comp students should just list “Math UD” 6 times and “CS UD” 3 times in their plan.
4. Have an Advisor Review Your Plan

COURSE EQUIvALENCY PETITIONS

Please check Assist.org* or Transferology.com** to see if the course at the other institution is listed as transferable to UCLA. Assist and Transferology have an 80-95% accuracy rate. This means there is a high chance your class will transfer in as intended. If your prospective course is listed as transferable and you want more certainty that the courses are similar in content, you can submit a Course Equivalency Petition (See the forms and directions for submitting a Course Equivalency section above).

*Assist: This site is the official course transfer and articulation system for California’s public community college and university systems. Assist.org lists transferable California community college courses which may help you determine the types of courses that are UC transferable and satisfy requirements. 

**Transferology: This site may help you determine if prior coursework is transferable from one UC campus to another or from a non-California institution to a UC. Note that courses listed on Transferology are not guaranteed to receive transfer credit from UCLA. 

We only evaluate math and program and computing (PIC) petitions. If you need your course or AP Exam score evaluated for other subjects (eg. statistics, economics, physics, chemistry, etc.), you will need to contact the respective departments. 

If you are petitioning:
  • CS 31, 32, and 33 or 35L for PIC 10A, 10B and 10C
    • We will accept CS 31, 32, and 33 or 35L in lieu of PIC 10A, 10B, and 10C, respectively. You don’t need to submit a petition. If you need PIC 10ABC for your math major or specialization, these course substitutions will be applied to your DARS by Friday of Week 7 of your LAST quarter at UCLA. Please run a new DARS audit on Monday of Week 8 and visit us virtually or in person if these course substitutions have not been applied.

If your petition is approved, a math advisor will add a note to your Record of Interview (ROI).

Please keep in mind that having a CEP approved is only a preliminary approval. The course can only officially count as a replacement for a UCLA course once you send your transcript to UCLA Admissions and it is processed with unit credits.


Transcripts should be sent to:
UCLA Undergraduate Admission
1147 Murphy Hall
Box 951436 
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1436

For more information, see Transferring Credits to UCLA.


For students who are in the Math Department: Course substitutions will be applied to your DARS by Friday of Week 7 of your LAST quarter at UCLA. Please run a new DARS audit on Monday of Week 8 and visit us virtually or in person if these course substitutions have not been applied.

For students who are non-math majors: Changes to your DARS is up to your departmental advisor. Please ask them when they will apply your course substitutions.

DEGREE AUDIT REPORT SYSTEM (DARS)

I took…
  1. CS 31, 32, and 33 in lieu of PIC 10A, 10B, and 10C, respectively
  2. Math 170E and 170S in lieu of Math 170A and 170B, respectively
  3. PIC 16B for the specialization in computing
  4. An IB Math exam and have written approval (via email or Message Center) that I will be waived from Math 31A and/or Math 31B.
  5. An equivalent course to one of the Math/PIC courses. My Course Equivalency Petition was approved (in writing, via email, or Message Center) for that course.
  6. A graduate course in lieu of an upper division math course for the major. My Course Equivalency Petition was approved (in writing, through email or via Message Center) for that course.
  7. AP Physics “C” Mechanics, AP Stats, and/or AP Chemistry exam(s) and received a 4 or 5. I contacted the respective departments to get credit for Physics 1A, Stats 10, and/or Chem 20A.
  8. An equivalent course to one of the non-Math/PIC courses. My Course Equivalency Petition was approved (in writing, via email, or Message Center) for that course by the department that oversees that course.

If any of the above applies to you, we will update your DARS by Friday of Week 7 of your LAST quarter at UCLA. Please run a new audit in Week 8 and visit us if there are still any discrepancies.

 

Q: Will these “missing classes” on DARS affect my ability to declare a math program?

  • For Cases 1-6: Math advisors are aware of these course substitutions and account for them when reviewing your petition.
  • For Case 7 or 8: Please make sure the advisor of that department makes a note on your Record of Interview (ROI) about these approvals so that math advisors can account for them when reviewing your petition.

I took upper division courses for my non-math minor, but DARS is using these courses for my upper division math major. I need 20.0 exclusive units to the stats minor.

We will update your DARS by Friday of Week 7 of your LAST quarter at UCLA by excluding the courses that should be exclusive to your minor. E.g. If you are a stats minor, we will exclude 20.0 units of stats courses from your upper division math coursework.

Please run a new audit in Week 8 and visit us if there are still any discrepancies.

I can have 20.0 units of overlapping courses, but DARS is overlapping too many math courses between my majors.

We will update your DARS by Friday of Week 7 of your LAST quarter at UCLA by excluding some of your upper division courses from your math major. 

Please run a new audit in Week 8 and visit us if there are still any discrepancies.