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UC Davis Open Campus Restrictions

Please review the enrollment limitations listed below before completing your enrollment form.

Unit Limitations

Open Campus students can take the following number of units per quarter without special arrangements:

  • Eight (8) quarter units of undergraduate work (course numbers 1-198)
  • Four (4) quarter units of graduate or professional work (course numbers 200 and above)
  • Five (5) quarter units of combined graduate, professional and undergraduate courses

If you plan to take courses that exceed the limits noted above, you must submit the Petition to Exceed Unit Maximum to the Open Campus office by the Deadline for petition to exceed unit maximum date. This petition is available on the Forms page of this Web site or from the Open Campus office at UC Davis Extension. The petition must be approved prior to registration in a class, or classes, that exceed the unit limitation. Students taking courses for readmission to UC Davis must attach an academic plan, approved by a UC Davis academic advisor, to the Petition to Exceed Unit Maximum.

Some colleges and universities may limit the number of transfer credits. It is important to contact the institution you plan to apply to prior to enrolling in Open Campus classes. Former UC Davis students taking Open Campus courses for credit toward readmission to UC Davis should consult with the academic advisor of their school or the dean's office of their college before enrolling in Open Campus courses.

Prospective graduate students are advised to contact the graduate program advisor before enrolling in courses to be applied to a graduate degree. UC Davis limits the use of Open Campus course work to 12 unit toward degree requirements, if taken prior to admission to a graduate program.

Course Limitations

Most UC Davis courses are open for enrollment on a space-available basis; however, please note the following limitations:

  1. Enrollment in the following courses requires two signatures (one from the instructor and one from the dean of the school or college or chair of the department):
    • Directed Group Study courses with numbers 98, 198, 298 or 398
    • Any course taken in the College of Engineering
    • MGT 11A and 11B (Elementary Accounting offered by the Graduate School of Management
  2. The following courses have specific requirements:
    • Chemistry—All students interested in enrolling in Chemistry 2A (General Chemistry) or 2AH (Honors General Chemistry) must pass both qualifying exams for Chemistry and Precalculus. (Please see the UC Davis General Catalog for additional information.)
    • Mathematics—Students interested in enrolling in MAT 12 (Precalculus), 16A (Short Calculus), 17A (Calculus for Biology and Medicine) and 21A (Calculus) must satisfy the mathematics placement requirement. (See UC Davis Math Placement information on the Useful Web Sites page for details well in advance of enrolling. Students who do not take the examination or do not receive a qualifying score must withdraw by the posted deadlines in order to receive a refund.)

  3. Additional limitations
    • Credit by examination is not available in the UC Davis Open Campus program.
    • Auditing of classes (i.e., sitting in) is allowed in the UC Davis Open Campus program only with payment of full course fees and submitting the Noncredit Grade form.

Courses Not Available

The following courses are not available to Open Campus students:

  • Special Study, Individual Study or Research courses with numbers 99, 199, 299 or 399
  • School of Medicine professional courses (any series 300 or 400 courses)
  • School of Veterinary Medicine professional courses (any series 300 or 400 courses)
  • Courses in the Law School and the Graduate School of Management (except MGT 11 A & B)
  • Select Mathematics courses: MAT B Elementary Algebra; MAT C Trigonometry; MAT D Intermediate Algebra
  • Applied Study of Music courses: MUS 130 and MUS 131

UC Davis Students

While courses taken in the Open Campus program can count toward a degree at UC Davis, those seeking a degree from this campus should contact an academic advisor in the school or college they plan to attend before enrolling in Open Campus. Former UC Davis students planning to use Open Campus courses towards readmission to UC Davis should consult with the academic advisor of their school or the dean's office of their college before enrolling in Open Campus courses.

UC Davis students on Planned Educational Leave and undergraduate students who have left UC Davis and not earned a degree cannot enroll in the Open Campus program until twelve months after the end of their last quarter of enrollment at UC Davis unless an exception letter from the dean's office of their college is sent to UC Davis Extension prior to enrolling in Open Campus courses.

The academic records of Open Campus students are separate from the student's UC Davis academic record. Applying credit for Open Campus courses towards a UC Davis degree is considered after a UC Davis Extension transcript, requested by the student, is received by the UC Davis Admissions office.