Our policies provide guidance to faculty and staff and work in conjunction with the official university regulations published in the Student Code. Students with questions should consult staff members in the FAA Office of Undergraduate Academic Affairs.
Monday–Friday
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110 Architecture Building
608 East Lorado Taft Drive
217.333.6061
faa-uaa@illinois.edu
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Find your advisor: Departmental Advising Contacts
This quick reference lists academic contacts and common campus resources that can provide you with guidance and support to accomplish your degree.
All degree-seeking students must be registered in the College of Fine and Applied Arts for at least two semesters.
Students who need to complete prerequisites before they are eligible to change majors may submit a student petition for a transition semester. Generally, only one transition semester is allowed. You can submit paperwork to change majors at any time. If approval isn't given until after the tenth day of classes, the change will not become effective until the following semester.
Consult the official list of minors to see the options and requirements. All students are eligible to select a minor at the end of their freshman year. To declare a minor you should fill out the statement of intent to pursue a minor, have it signed by the program advisor, and turn it in to the FAA Office of Undergraduate Academic Affairs. If your circumstances change and you are no longer pursuing that minor, complete and submit the minor's modification form.
If you intend to pursue two degrees you must meet the following requirements:
If you are seeking a degree within FAA you must complete the dual degree request form. This form requests the following information:
If you are a current FAA student seeking a degree in another college, you will need to contact your program of interest to identify the appropriate form for that college. You will need to obtain signatures from both departmental advisors and the signature of an assistant or associate dean from the other college.
If you are a continuing student, you will be provided with a registration time ticket that indicates the first date that you may register for the following semester. All students are encouraged to review the Degree Audit System and schedule a meeting with a departmental advisor to discuss program requirements, goals, and future coursework before registration.
A normal FAA course load is no more than 18 credit hours and no fewer than 12 credit hours.
An overload is available only to students who have a 3.0 or higher GPA. If you wish to enroll in classes for more than 18 credit hours, request permission by email from the FAA Office of Undergraduate Academic Affairs (faa-uaa@illinois.edu) with these details:
Students enrolled in fewer than 12 credit hours are part-time students. Part-time enrollment may affect financial aid, visas, and progress toward a degree. If you must attend the university part-time for more than one semester, you must submit a student petition that includes the reason for part-time enrollment.
If you plan to take a course at another institution, you should first determine if the credits are transferable by taking these steps:
Many off-campus courses have been evaluated for transfer credit. If a course has not been evaluated before you enroll, save all course material—such as the syllabus, reading list, exams, quizzes, and papers—and bring it to the FAA Office of Undergraduate Academic Affairs.
Reviews are conducted on completed courses only after a transcript has been sent to the University of Illinois.
If you wish to cancel your registration and thus avoid payment of tuition and fee charges, you must drop all of your courses except the last one from Student Self-Service no later than 11:59 p.m. CST on the last day before classes begin and complete the Classic Registration/Cancel Registration step in Student Self-Service.
Once a term has begun, you must contact the FAA Office of Undergraduate Academic Affairs to withdraw from your classes.
Medical Withdrawal
Medical withdrawals are rare and reserved for students who require time away from campus for the treatment of a physical or mental health condition that significantly impacts their ability to function safely or successfully on campus. A student who believes that a medical withdrawal may be appropriate should contact the Office of the Dean of Students for more information.
Retroactive Withdrawal
A retroactive withdrawal—a withdrawal requested after the semester has ended—is appropriate only under extreme circumstances that can be documented. Any student who wishes to seek a retroactive withdrawal should contact the FAA Office of Undergraduate Academic Affairs or a departmental advisor.
A student in good academic standing is making satisfactory progress toward a degree, is taking the appropriate courses, and has at least the minimum required GPA. Students who do not meet these standards are either put on probation or have drop status. Probation and drop rules are based on semester and cumulative GPAs.
Probation is a warning that unless your grades improve you may be dropped from the university. If you are on probation you may not register for fewer than 12 credit hours or more than 18 credit hours without permission from an FAA academic dean. Written notification of probationary status is generally sent by the FAA Office of Undergraduate Academic Affairs. You may be required to complete an academic contract with your departmental advisor before your probationary semester begins.
The college may choose to drop a student for the following reasons:
Detailed information on the university's drop policies can be found in section 3-110 of the Student Code.
If you leave the university with good academic standing or while on probation, you are eligible to return to the university with your same major by contacting the FAA Office of Undergraduate Academic Affairs to reactivate your netid and receive a time ticket for registration. If you were majoring in dance, music, or theatre and have been away from the university for more than one academic year, you may need to audition again.
If you were dropped by the university, you must submit a drop status petition/petition to re-enter. Petitions are due to the FAA Office of Undergraduate Academic Affairs by November 30 for readmission during the spring semester, April 30 for the summer semester, and July 31 for the fall semester.
A grade of incomplete allows you to have additional time beyond the end of the semester to finish assignments. This extension is granted to assist you under specific circumstances—a lengthy illness for example—and is not intended to provide extra time to improve your work on assigned material. An incomplete grade is given only with the instructor's approval. A qualifying student should submit the I grade request form to the FAA Office of Undergraduate Academic Affairs.
Under certain circumstances you can repeat a course to replace a low grade. Please note that a replacement grade does not remove the previous grade from your transcript. It changes your cumulative GPA only. You may replace up to 10 hours of credit or four courses. Check section 3-309 of the Student Code for more information. If you wish to use the grade replacement option, you must meet with an advisor or academic dean to discuss grade replacement. You then must file a grade replacement form during the first half of the term in which you are repeating the course. For example, you must indicate your desire to use the grade replacement option by the eighth week for a full-semester course or by the fourth week for a half-session course.
Courses may be added only during the first two weeks of the semester or during the first week of summer session 2. If you want to enroll in courses after the deadline, you must obtain approval from the department offering the course and submit the late course change form to the FAA Office of Undergraduate Academic Affairs.
If you are in good academic standing, you may select the credit/no credit grading option for electives. You must submit the credit/no credit option form with an advisor's signature to the FAA Office of Undergraduate Academic Affairs during the first eight weeks of the semester. Detailed information on the process is available in section 3-105 of the Student Code.
You may drop courses until the midpoint of the semester without academic penalty, but a change in credit hours may impact financial aid, visas, or progress toward a degree. Each student considering dropping a course should meet with an advisor.
Only in rare instances will you be permitted to drop a class after the published academic deadline. You must be able to demonstrate that extraordinary extenuating circumstances, particularly those after the official academic deadline, have impacted your academic ability. A bad grade is not a valid reason to drop a course late in the semester. If you would like to drop a course after the academic deadline, you must submit a student petition to request a late drop.
For full consideration, you must submit all of the required information along with your student petition:
Special topic courses and open seminar courses—most often sections of 199 courses—generally count as elective credit toward a degree. If you wish to substitute credit from a special topic course for a required class, you must submit a student petition. Only 12 hours of credit from these courses may be used to fulfill graduation requirements.
The College of Fine and Applied Arts is committed to fostering an open and honest educational community. Each person should be treated with respect and have the freedom to learn, express opinions, and search for truth.
All students are expected to adhere to the highest standards of integrity in their work in classrooms, studios, performance spaces, and all other areas of their intellectual and creative life on campus. Academic integrity infractions include but are not limited to
Students who violate university policy may receive a warning, have a grade lowered, or be dismissed. The full academic integrity policy is available in section 1-402 of the Student Code.
To request an exception to a college requirement, you may submit a student petition. The form should state the exact nature of the request and include any appropriate supporting documentation. You will be notified by email or letter when the final decision has been reached.
A student petition should be used for the following situations:
Any student may ask for reconsideration of a college decision or an exception to unit, college, or university academic policies. To make an appeal, you should submit the academic decision appeal form. The appeal should provide additional or clarifying information. Restating a plea or submitting multiple requests with no new information will not change the original decision. Only one appeal will be considered for each petition.
If you have a conflict about an academic matter and feel you have been treated unfairly, you are entitled to file a grievance—a formal complaint—with the college. First consult with your advisor or an academic dean so that you can determine your best course of action. If you decide to file a grievance, submit a formal statement outlining the problem to the FAA Office of Undergraduate Academic Affairs. All grievances will be addressed promptly.
Capricious grading is one example of a situation that might lead to a formal grievance. If you feel you were held to more difficult or demanding standards than other students in the same class on an assignment or for the entire course, you may wish to submit a complaint. See section 3-107 of the Student Code for an overview of the general grievance process. Consult with an advisor or academic dean about capricious grading and your rights.
Be sure to complete all the steps on this checklist during the semester you intend to graduate. Download the FAA commencement guide for more information and to find contact information for your unit's convocation ceremony.
For details about graduation activities, see the Commencement at Illinois website.
For questions about your diploma, see the information from the Office of the Registrar.
College of Fine + Applied Arts
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 
