General Education Course Substitutions

Substituting approved General Education Courses is when students use a non Gen Ed University of Arizona course to satisfy a General Education requirement. 

Please note, as stated in the Substitutions policy, substitutions are not advised and are rarely approved. There are many ways to complete Gen Ed requirements utilizing approved U of A Gen Ed courses, approved transfer credit, and credit-by-exam (e.g. AP credit). Students are encouraged to work with their Academic Advisor to satisfy their General Education requirements by completing approved General Education courses. 

Students may request a substitution by first meeting with their Academic Advisor. Important reminders before meeting with your Academic Advisor to discuss a request for a substitution: 

• Students who require accommodations based on disability should first contact the Disability Resource Center. 
• Requests for a substitution are NOT the evaluation of transfer coursework (courses completed at a different institution) to satisfy General Education requirements. 
• Submitting a request does not mean that a substitution will be granted.
• Requests are reviewed during the fall and spring terms only and are typically reviewed within 4-6 weeks. 

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1. Students must first review the Substitutions for Approved General Education Courses policy and the Guidelines for General Education Course Substitutions. If the student believes they have a valid reason to request a substitution, they should meet with their Academic Advisor to discuss their request.
2. The Academic Advisor will work with the student to ensure the substitution request is valid, adheres to the policy, and the stated guidelines, outlined below. If valid, the Academic Advisor can then forward the request to the College Director of Advising.
3. The College specific Director of Advising is responsible for submitting the request to the Office of General Education AND communicating with the student about the submission.
4. Requests are received by the Office of General Education from the College Director of Advising and are reviewed to ensure validity of the request, adherence to policy, and rationale for substitution.
   1. If the request received is not a valid reason for a substitution request, the request is automatically denied. The Office of General Education notifies the student, their advisor, and the Office of the Registrar.
   2. If the request received is a valid request for a substitution review, the request is forwarded to a review committee comprised of faculty with expertise in the General Education curriculum.
5. The committee reviews the request and makes a recommendation to approve or deny the substitution. The committee notifies the Director of General Education of their recommendation.

6. The Director of General Education decides to approve or deny the substitution.  

   1. If approved, the Office of General Education notifies the student, their advisor, and the Office of the Registrar. 
   2. If a substitution is denied, the Office of General Education notifies the student, their advisor, and the Office of the Registrar. 

    

The following guidelines will be used to determine valid reasons for requests for substitutions and the process by which the Office of General Education will review requests:

Foundational Approach Upon Substitution Request by Student  

• Upon a student's request for substitution, every effort will be made by the Office of General Education, working with the offering department(s) and the student's advisor, to add a seat in a modality necessary for the student to fulfill the General Education requirement in question.  

Invalid reasons for a student to request a substitution for an approved General Education course  

• A U of A course to substitute a Foundations Course or Requirement that is not an approved Foundations Course (this includes UNIV 101 and UNIV 301)  
• A House Numbered course, such as an Independent Study, Special Topics, Internship, Preceptorship, or Thesis/Capstone course to satisfy a General Education Course Category or Requirement (Foundations, EP, BC, CI)  
• A U of A course that is less than 3 units to count as satisfying the entire General Education Course Category or Requirement

Student-Specific Cases for Consideration (Extraordinary Circumstance)  

• Requests for a substitution for an individual student will be considered in extraordinary circumstances, as determined by the faculty review committee.  

GE Course Category is Course Catalog/Term-Specific

• The following principle should be used when evaluating requests for a substitution for an approved General Education course for a continuing status student: Approved General Education Courses satisfy the Course Category that it was approved for at the time in which the student took the course. 

These guidelines were endorsed by UWGEC on 4/22/2026 and approved by the Vice Provost for Academic Affairs on 5/22/2026.