Substitutions for Distribution Requirements

Sometimes students want to use courses not on the approved list to fulfill distribution requirements. To request permission to substitute non-approved courses for these requirements, download the Petition for Substitution of Distribution Requirements, check the appropriate box, and follow the accompanying instructions. In completing this form, you may find it helpful to refer to the detailed descriptions of the distribution areas.

Three types of substitutions are described below:

Substitutions involving pairs of courses. Most approved distribution substitutions fall into this category. Sometimes a student has taken two or more courses that appear to fit the description of a distribution requirement area, but these courses are not included on the approved distribution course list for that area. The student can petition for permission to substitute a pair of relevant courses for a single unit of the requirement. For example, a student who has taken several 300-level religion courses, but has completed only one approved course in Area V-Ethics and Values, may request permission to count two relevant religion courses not on the approved list, considered together, as completing the remaining Area V requirement.

As indicated on the petition form, certain types of courses may not be included in distribution substitutions. Among these are freshman seminars, senior thesis seminars, professional linkage seminars, and courses associated with field studies and internships.

Substitutions due to extreme schedule constraints. Courses can be placed on the approved distribution course list only after being proposed for inclusion by the department and then scrutinized and approved by the College's Curricular Review Committee. Thus, the situations in which a request to count a single non-approved course can be granted are extremely limited. These often involve showing that unusual circumstances prevent you from fulfilling the requirement with a regularly approved course. Any claim that you cannot fulfill the distribution requirements in the usual way must be accompanied by evidence that other required courses will fill all future spaces in your schedule. Courses that you are taking as electives, but not counting toward a specific requirement, do not count as required courses. In addition, because courses used to complete a second major, a minor, a certificate, or an elective internship are optional, they are not considered required courses for this purpose.

Substitutions involving courses approved for standard distribution credit after they were completed. Exceptions may also be made for students who took a course that was subsequently approved for distribution credit by the Curricular Review Committee. You can request such a substitution by using the standard Petition for Substitution of Distribution Requirements.

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