Course Substitution Procedure

It is fairly common for student’s to request course substitutions in their major and these happen for a wide variety of reasons. Some of the most common types of requests are as follows.

  • The substitution of a course from another institutions (i.e. summer courses),
  • The substitution of a course from an international program (i.e. study abroad),
  • The substitution of one Gustavus course for another Gustavus course (usually within MCS).
  • The waiving or substitution of degree requirements due to advanced placement or other advanced work.

The faculty of the MCS Department are responsible for overseeing these substitutions as they relate to the majors and minors in the department. This document describes the steps that you need to complete if you believe that a course substitution is appropriate for your major or minor.

For MCS Majors

Course substitutions or waivers for any MCS major can only be made by students who have declared a major in the MCS Department and have an MCS faculty advisor. So if you have not yet declared a major or minor in this department do that first.

Course substitutions cannot be approved directly by the academic advisor or the Department Chair but must be approved by a vote of the MCS Department. The process for gaining approval of a course substitution is described below.

  1. If you wish to waive a requirement or make a course substitution for a major requirement, you should work directly with your major advisor to determine the necessity of the substitution, the rationale for the substitution, and the details of the substitution. If your advisor is unavailable (due to sabbatical for example), then you should contact the Department Chair who will work with you or assign you to a member of the department in the appropriate discipline.
  2. At the conclusion of this discussion, you need to write a formal petition. This petition should 
    1. begin with the details of the substitution (i.e. what course or courses are substituting for what major requirements),
    2. address the other two items listed in 1 above, and
    3. be shared with your advisor.
  3. Once you share the petition with your advisor, they will share the petition with the Department Chair to begin the approval process. The Chair will initiate a discussion and review process at the conclusion which the department will vote to approve (possibly with modifications) or deny the petition.
  4. After the department has voted or requested additional information, you will be contacted by your advisor to inform you of the outcome or ask for additional material if requested. 
  5. If the petition is approved, you will complete the course substitution form on the Registrar’s website. You are responsible for completing the form, collecting the necessary signatures, and submitting the form to the Registrar’s Office.

For MCS Minors

Course substitutions or waivers for any MCS minor can only be made by students who have declared a minor in the MCS Department.

Course substitutions cannot be approved directly by the academic advisor or the Department Chair but must be approved by a vote of the MCS Department. 

If you wish to request a course substitution for a minor requirement, you should contact the MCS Department Chair. The Chair will either work with the student or assign them to a member of the department in the appropriate discipline.

The remainder of the process is identical to that described above for major requirements.

Summer Courses

If you are planning on taking a summer course at an institution other than Gustavus to fulfill a major or minor requirement you should not register for a course until it has been approved by the MCS faculty. We do not want you paying for a course that does not fulfill the requirement. If you are considering a summer class at another institution, please begin the process of identifying potential courses early in the spring semester so that the approval process can be completed prior to registration.

Study Abroad

If you are spending a semester abroad you may need to register for classes once you have arrived at the host institution. For this reason, it is often impossible to know course substitutions prior to departure. You should work with your MCS advisor to identify courses that equate to Gustavus courses in your major or minor. Keep in mind that studying abroad provides you with the opportunity to broaden your horizons personally and academically. If you wish to take discipline specific courses on topics not covered by our curriculum you are encouraged to do so and work with your to make reasonable substitutions. When you have registered for classes you should contact your advisor to inform them of your course selections. Your advisor is then responsible for initiating the approval process. You can submit the paperwork to the Registrar once you have returned to campus.