Students seeking to petition for exceptions to A&S College academic policies may use the online petition form for A&S primary courses and other general requests, or use the paper/pdf form for requests that involve non-A&S courses. For the paper/pdf form, please e-mail your completed portion along with your statement to as-studentservices@cornell.edu, with cc's to your faculty advisor, advising dean and instructor (if you are making an enrollment change request with your petition).
In order for your petition to be completed and reviewed by the college, please request that your faculty advisor, and instructor if applicable, reply with their responses to your petition to as-studentservices@cornell.edu.
Overhours
Petitions for Overhours can be submitted starting with the regular course add/drop period for a semester. Requests will not be reviewed or approved prior to this, or for the purposes of pre-enrollment.
You must petition for Overhours if you are
- Not in good academic standing in the previous semester and you wish to take more than 18 credits
- Requesting to take more than 22 credits
Overhours is determined by the total number of credits, including PE, support and repeated courses.
Please note that requests for enrolling in more than 22 credits will only be approved in cases of extenuating circumstances (i.e. for a senior who requires the credits in order to graduate on time).
Late Add
You must petition for Late Add if you
- Wish to add course(s) after the add deadline. See Academic Calendar & Deadlines for add deadline
- Note: Do not submit this petition if you wish to late add an independent study/undergraduate research course. Follow these instructions to add a research or independent study course.
Withdrawing from a Course
You must petition to withdraw from a course if you
- Wish to drop a course during the withdraw period. See Academic Calendar & Deadlines for withdraw period
- Note: All withdrawals will result in a W on your transcript and may impact your academic standing
Change Grade Option After Deadline
You can petition to change grade option from S/U to graded (A-F) after the deadline if you wish to count the course towards your major.
Foreign Language Exemption
You may petition for an exemption to the language requirement if:
- you believe that your language competency in a foreign language is at the same level we would expect our entering freshmen to have in English, and
- the language you are speaking is not taught at Cornell and if you cannot be tested in that language at Cornell
- Note: include in your petition statement answers to the Foreign Language Exemption Questionnaire, as indicated on the Foreign Language Exemption online petition form.
Do not submit this petition for languages taught at Cornell; instead contact an appropriate Department to schedule an examination.
Study Abroad
You may petition for an exemption from a requirement for College approval in order to Study Abroad. See A&S Study Abroad for a full listing of Arts and Sciences study abroad policies.
If you have questions regarding your petition request, please contact your College Study Abroad Advisor at as_studyabroad@cornell.edu.
Other Petitions
If you have any questions about petition types or the process for submitting a petition, please contact A&S Student Services and they will be happy to assist you.
If you have questions about planning your course of study and to discuss possible exceptions please contact Advising.