Requirement Waivers & Substitutions

Petitioning for a Quantitative Reasoning (QR) Requirement Substitution

A student may petition the Academic Standards Board to be allowed to satisfy the QR requirement with a class that was either taken at another institution or that was taken in another college or school in the University.

Petitioning for a Race & Ethnicity (R&E) Requirement Substitution

A student may petition the Academic Standards Board to be allowed to satisfy the R&E requirement with a class that was either taken at another institution or that was taken in the College but has not been officially designated as R&E.

Petitioning for a Distribution Substitution

A student may petition the Academic Standards Board to use an undesignated course for distribution credit. The Board does not overturn or change existing designations.

Special Arrangements for First-Year Writing Requirement

Transfer students who have taken a writing course at another college or university may be able to use that course to satisfy the First-Year Writing Requirement. Transfer students should consult the list of approved courses from other schools, as well as the list of courses that are not approved, to see whether the course satisfies the First-Year Writing Requirement at UM.

If your school or course is not listed on either the approved or not approved list, and you wish to have it considered for First-Year Writing Requirement credit, you will need to fill out the "Petition for Transfer Course Credit" form.

Special Arrangements for Upper-Level Writing Requirement

Students who:

  • are completing an honors thesis and wish it to count toward their ULWR can fill out an Honors Thesis Intent Form and submit it to the Honors Office, 1330 Mason Hall.
  • have a minimum of 100 completed credits and want to take a non-approved course to fulfill their ULWR can consult with an instructor, fill out an Individual Arrangement Petition, and submit it to Teri Ford in 1310 North Quad.
  • took and received a C- or better in a Sweetland-approved ULWR course during a previous term but are not listed as having completed their ULWR can fill out a Retroactive Grade Report and submit it to SWC.