Student Petitions

Academic Petitions are requests by a student for an exception to an academic policy. The petitions below relate to academic policies regarding SMU's Common Curriculum requirements.

The Office of General Education facilitates petitions related to SMU's General Education and Graduation Requirements. We strongly recommend that you work with your academic advisor to complete the petition form successfully.

Some best practices when completing your petitions include selecting the appropriate petition form, reading every prompt thoroughly, writing out detailed paragraphs for the prompt questions, and obtaining a course syllabus versus a course description. Students can receive additional help when filling out their petitions by attending Zoom Office Hours  offered by the Office of General Education.


2 weeks

Once submitted, please allow up to two weeks for a decision. Decision timelines vary based on the number of reviewers.

my.SMU

After a petition is approved, please allow 2 - 5 business days for the approval to be reflected in my.SMU on your Degree Progress Report.

documents

Be sure to upload all requested documents with your petition. This is a common reason petitions are not approved.

Pre-Approval of Transfer Credit

These petitions enable students to request approval before taking courses at a different 4-year institute. These forms are to be used by SMU students on the Common Curriculum after matriculation to SMU.

Please determine which Pre-Approval of Transfer Credits best suits your academic needs.

Please be sure to attach the following documents to your petition in order for your petition to be considered complete:

  1. Course Syllabus: Syllabus must include university name, semester, year, instructor, student learning outcomes, course schedule, grading scale, and basic assignment details. 

 

Option 1 - Request transfer credit towards free elective credit.

Option 2 - Request transfer credit for departmental credit. 

Option 3 - Request transfer credit for one of the CC Breadth categories. 

 



Common Curriculum students can request permission to enroll in a second-language course from another 4-year institution in the United States, to fulfill part of the Second Language Requirement.

Please be sure to attach the following documents to your petition in order for your petition to be considered complete:

  1. Course Syllabus: Syllabus must include university name, semester, year, instructor, student learning outcomes, course schedule, grading scale, and basic assignment details.

 

 




Pre-Approval from an SMU Abroad Program

This petition enables Common Curriculum students to request approval for Breadth credit before taking courses through an SMU Abroad program.


Common Curriculum students may request pre-approval credit towards Breadth requirements from an SMU Abroad program.

Please be sure to attach the following document to your petition in order for your petition to be considered complete:

  1. Course Syllabus: Syllabus must include university name, semester, year, instructor, student learning outcomes, course schedule, grading scale, and basic assignment details. 

 

Transfer Credit

Common Curriculum students may request that transfer courses taken after high school graduation and prior to enrollment at SMU be considered for fulfillment of general education or departmental credit requirements.

Common Curriculum students may petition a dual-credit transfer course to satisfy the Foundation requirement of Quantitative Reasoning.

Please be sure to attach the following documents to your petition in order for your petition to be considered complete:

  1. Course Syllabus: Syllabus must include university name, semester, year, instructor, student learning outcomes, course schedule, grading scale, and basic assignment details.
  2. Transfer Evaluation Report: The current TER must have the course being petitioned listed with a C- or higher. Pass/fail is not eligible to be petitioned. Re-evaluation courses must not have an SMU Course Equivalency (i.e., course must have XX, YY, AA, etc. after the first two numbers).

 

 



Common Curriculum students may request transfer courses taken after high school graduation and prior to enrollment at SMU be considered for fulfillment of general education or departmental credit requirements.

Please be sure to attach the following documents to your petition in order for your petition to be considered complete:

  1. Course Syllabus: Syllabus must include university name, semester, year, instructor, student learning outcomes, course schedule, grading scale, and basic assignment details.
  2. Transfer Evaluation Report: The current TER must have the course being petitioned listed with a C- or higher. Pass/fail is not eligible to be petitioned. Re-evaluation courses must not have an SMU Course Equivalency (i.e., course must have XX, YY, AA, etc. after the first two numbers).

Option 1 - Request Foundation, Breadth, or Free-Elective Credit.

Option 2 - Request departmental credit (e.g., major or minor).

 



External Credit Breadth Requirement Swap

SMU Common Curriculum (CC) students on the Fall 2023 catalog or after may satisfy up to three Breadth requirements using external credit. External credit is test, dual, concurrent, or transfer credit.

SMU Common Curriculum (CC) students may satisfy up to three Breadth requirements using external credit.

External credit is test, dual, concurrent, or transfer credit. Suppose a student possesses pre-matriculation external credit for more than three Breadth requirements. In that case, a student may want to substitute one of the three satisfied Breadth requirements that were applied during admission processing for a different Breadth requirement.

Before continuing, you will be asked to attach the following documents to your petition:

  1. Degree Progress Report: Please attach a PDF copy of your Degree Progress Report (DPR). Go to: my.SMU > Academics > Degree Progress Report > View PDF

 

 


Proficiencies & Experiences

Common Curriculum students may request credit for transfer courses, individual activities, or experiences completed after high school graduation be considered for fulfillment of graduation requirements.

Common Curriculum students are strongly recommended to request pre-approval for transfer courses or experiences that will be completed after high school graduation and prior to enrollment at SMU in order to be considered for fulfillment of Graduation Requirements.

Depending on how the Proficiency and Experience will be fulfilled, different documentation will be required. Gather these items before entering the forms platform:

Transfer (Non-SMU) Course: Be prepared to provide with your petition - 

  1. A supporting statement, , that clearly explains how the course will meet the Student Learning Outcome, Supporting Skills, and Course Criteria for the requested graduation requirement.
  2. A current, complete syllabus that includes the name of the instructor, the title of the course, class schedule, assigned readings, assignments, and grade breakdown.

Individual Activity: Use this option to propose an individual activity plan. Please upload the following:

  1. A supporting statement, , that clearly explains how the individual activity will meet the Student Learning Outcome, Supporting Skills, and Experience Criteria for the requested graduation requirement.

 






Common Curriculum students may request credit for transfer courses or experiences completed after high school graduation and prior to enrollment at SMU be considered for fulfillment of Graduation Requirements.

Depending on how the Proficiency and Experience was fulfilled, different documentation is required. Gather these items before entering the forms platform.

Individual Activity (pre or post matriculation to SMU):

  1. A summary of the individual activity completed. 

  2. A supporting statement, , that clearly explains how the activity met the Learning Outcome, Supporting Skills, and Experience Criteria for the requirement. 

  3. Independent verification that you have completed the experience. May include letters from supervisors, organization advisors, screen shot of volunteer hour-tracking platform, etc.

  4. Written reflection meeting prompt criteria (lengths, questions, etc.) or work completed for this requirement. 

Pre-Approved Programs or Organizations: 

  1. Provide required materials as specified by your pre-approved program or organization. Contact the program advisor for additional details if you are unsure. For example:

  1. Engage Dallas: A screenshot of the Canvas Course showing all submitted assignments. 

  1. Mustang Heroes: Your experience reflection meeting the word length and addressing prompts. 

SMU Course:

  1. A full syllabus, including grading breakdown and details of assigned readings, classwork, and homework.

  2. A copy of your Degree Progress Report (DPR). Go to: my.SMU > Academics > Degree Progress > View PDF

  3. A supporting statement, , that clearly explains how the course met the Learning Outcome, Supporting Skills, and Course Criteria for the graduation requirement. 

  4. Copies of work completed in the course that demonstrates the skills learned in the course (i.e., essays, problem sets, research papers, oral presentations).

Transfer (non-SMU) Course:

  1. A full syllabus, including grading breakdown and details of assigned readings, classwork, and homework.

  1. A copy of your Transfer Evaluation Report (TER). Go to: my.SMU > Academics > Request Transfer Evaluation 

  1. A supporting statement, , that clearly explains how the course met the Learning Outcome, Supporting Skills, and Course Criteria for the requirement. 

 

 




International Students

We understand and support international students whose visa statuses need to be considered when fulfilling Common Curriculum requirements. These petitions are for international students requesting advance approval of general education requirements. These petitions should only be used by students after matriculation to SMU.

Determine which of the three petitions you need to complete, based on if you are requesting: (1) free-elective credit, (2) departmental credit toward majors/minors, (3) to fulfill a Common Curriculum Breath requirement.

Common Curriculum international students may request approval for free-elective credit at a university outside the U.S.

Please be sure to attach the following documents to your petition in order for your petition to be considered complete:

  1. Course Syllabus: Syllabus must include university name, semester, year, instructor, student learning outcomes, course schedule, grading scale, and basic assignment details.

 

 



Common Curriculum international students may request approval for departmental credit toward their major(s) and/or minor(s) at a university outside the U.S.

Please be sure to attach the following documents to your petition in order for your petition to be considered complete:

  1. Course Syllabus: Syllabus must include university name, semester, year, instructor, student learning outcomes, course schedule, grading scale, and basic assignment details.

 

 



Common Curriculum international students may request approval for credit toward one of the Breadth categories at a university outside the U.S.

Please be sure to attach the following documents to your petition in order for your petition to be considered complete:

  1. Course Syllabus: Syllabus must include university name, semester, year, instructor, student learning outcomes, course schedule, grading scale, and basic assignment details.