Students may repeat courses in which they receive a N, "C-", or lower to improve their UC GPA. The policies on repeating courses can be found in the UCSB General Catalog. Below is a summary of what students should know and frequently asked questions regarding the policy.
Grade Limitation. Only courses in which you received a NP, C- or lower can be repeated.
16 units of Letter Grade Repeat Limit. Your GPA is calculated using the most recent grade for the first 16 repeated units. After that, you can still repeat courses, however, the grades for all attempts of the course iarecalculated into your GPA.
All grades are recorded on your transcript. Repeated courses do not “replace” your grade on your transcript. All grades are recorded on your transcript, however, the most recent grade will be calculated into your GPA.
Only 1 repeat is allowed per course. You may only repeat a course once. To repeat a course more than once, you need to request a “Second Repeat” by petitioning the college using the “Credit and Enrollment Clarification” petition.
Credit/units will only be earned once. You will only get credit/units for a course once. You will not get additional credits for taking a course twice.
You may repeat courses at other UC Campuses. You will need approval from your college before repeating a UCSB course at another UC campus by submitting the “Credit and Enrollment Clarification” petition. This petition requires your major department’s endorsement/signature.
Indicate the repeated course when registering. You will need to indicate that you are “repeating a course for a better grade” when registering or adding the course on GOLD.
Frequently Asked Questions
If I get lower than a C in a course, do I have to repeat it?
Not necessarily. At the time of graduation, you must have earned a minimum UC grade-point average of 2.0 in three categories: 1) all UC courses, 2) your major courses, and 3) your upper-division major courses. You will earn credit for any grade above an F or NP. You may choose to keep the grade since you earned credit and then, moving forward can focus on earning better grades in new courses to raise your GPA to the required level.
You will need to repeat a course in the following circumstances:
- You must repeat Writing 1 until you earn a grade of C or better to satisfy the Entry Level Writing Requirement.
- You must repeat a course that you have failed if it is specifically required for graduation.
- You must repeat any course in which your grade does not meet the minimum requirement in your major.
- You must repeat a course if your grade is not high enough to fulfill the prerequisite for another course that you wish to take.
If my grade is lower the second time I take a class, can I choose to keep the first, higher grade?
The most recent grade is the grade used to calculate your GPA. In this case, the lower grade will be used in your GPA calculation and cannot be changed.
When I repeat a course, do I have to use the same grading option I chose the first time?
You can choose the “P/NP” or “Letter” grading option when repeating a course but remember a “Letter” grade is required for courses you intend to apply to your major.
If I repeat a course as an excess what happens to my GPA?
Once you've repeated 16 letter-graded units, all attempts of each subsequently repeated course are used to calculate your GPA.
Go to Grade Point Average and Grade Point Balance to understand how repeating courses can affect your GPA and GPB.