Undergraduate Course Repeat and Course Forgiveness
You may repeat a course and have only the new grade calculated into your grade point average. Even though the old grade stays on your record, it will not factor into your GPA.
- You may only register for the same course if you previously earned a grade of C- or lower.
- The same course can be repeated only one time for course forgiveness.
- Effective fall 2022, a maximum of 16 units is allowed for course forgiveness and course forgiveness can be applied to lower or upper division courses.
- You may not use course forgiveness for courses found to have been completed with academic dishonesty.
- Beginning fall 2018, course forgiveness is applied automatically to the first attempt of a repeated course up to the course forgiveness unit limit. If you wish to adjust a course forgiveness that was applied automatically, you will need to contact your advisor for assistance.
Course Repeat Petition
Requests for special consideration of the course repeat policy will be reviewed only by petition and if you have a serious and compelling reason that warrants an exception.
Make an appointment with your academic advisor to discuss the course repeat policy and find out if your circumstances warrant a petition.
In order to be eligible for approval of the course repeat petition, you must be able to register, e.g. have no registration holds. Time conflicts between classes are not permitted.
Be advised that financial aid may not cover the additional course attempt. Please contact the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships for more information.
Request for special consideration of repeating a course for the second time for:
| Semester | Submit Request Between |
|---|---|
| Summer 2023: S1 | March 21, 2023–May 30, 2023* |
| Summer 2023: S2 | March 21, 2023–July 12, 2023* |
| Summer 2023: T1 | March 21, 2023–June 1, 2023* |
| Fall 2023 | May 8, 2023–August 24, 2023* |
*We cannot guarantee the processing of a Course Repeat Petition received after the close of the submission period.
If your request is approved and you meet the criteria listed above, you will be notified and will be able to register yourself for the class (if there are open seats) or be added to the waitlist for that term. If the waitlist period has ended and you need a permission number, you will need to acquire that number and communicate it to the Office of the Registrar using the Contact Us Form. We cannot guarantee that you will be added to a course if this permission number is provided after the add/drop period has ended. If you wish to change to a different schedule number, you may change or adjust your enrollment in my.SDSU within the first five days of the add/drop period. If your request is denied or you were unable to get into the class via the waitlist, ensure you plan accordingly.
Course Forgiveness
Repeat a course and have only the new grade calculated into your grade point average. Even though the old grade stays on your record, it is not factored into your GPA.
- Students can only register for the same course if they previously earned a grade of C- or lower.
- A maximum of 16 units is allowed for course forgiveness as part of the 28-unit course repeat limit.
- The same course can be repeated only one time for course forgiveness.
- Only one upper division course can be used for course forgiveness.
- Students may not use course forgiveness for courses for which the original grade was the result of a finding of academic dishonesty.
- Exception for spring 2020 (COVID-19), courses with Credit (CR) grade earned from spring 2020 will not be included in the maximum 16 units of course forgiveness. More information is available on the Enrollment Services COVID-19 Updates web page.
Beginning fall 2018, course forgiveness will be applied automatically to the first attempt of a repeated course up to the course forgiveness unit limits. If you wish to apply a late course forgiveness for a course repeated prior to fall 2018, you can apply using the Contact Us Form. If you wish to adjust a course forgiveness that was applied automatically, you will need to contact the Office of the Registrar via the Contact Us Form.
Frequently Asked Questions
Courses can be repeated at any time prior to the conferral of your undergraduate degree.
Yes. Course forgiveness can only be applied to courses repeated at SDSU.
Yes. Course forgiveness may be extended to courses originally taken elsewhere and repeated at SDSU. Contact your advisor for assistance. Your advisor can issue a request on your behalf, or you can submit your request via the Registrar Contact Us Form.
Course forgiveness only applies to repeats of the same course; they must contain the same number, title, and (for Experimental Topics courses) same subtitle. You may repeat the course with a different instructor. In some cases, registration in a course may have become restricted due to impaction, limitation by major code, enforcement of prerequisites, or sequence requirements (e.g. mathematics and foreign language). In those cases, you are prohibited from repeating the course unless you meet the requirements.
No. The only courses that may be repeated Credit/No Credit are those in which you previously received No Credit. If a course was previously taken for a grade, you must repeat it for a letter grade. If not, the original grade will continue to be calculated into your grade point average.
Repeating courses in which the original grade was No Credit does not require you to fill out the Course Forgiveness form, nor does it subtract from the total forgivable repeat units permitted, since the No Credit grade does not affect your GPA.
Your advisor can assist you with questions regarding course forgiveness.
If you wish to adjust the course forgiveness applied to your record (e.g. move the course forgiveness to another course), then you should contact your advisor for assistance in determining the best course of action. Your advisor can then issue a request on your behalf, or you can submit your request via the Registrar Contact Us Form.