Exemptions
A student who believes that they have already mastered material contained in a specific required course may petition the PhD Program Director (serving as the representative of the PhD Program Committee) for exemption from that course along with a plan for substitution by another relevant course.

Under exceptional circumstances in which a student must take a leave of absence during the first year in the program, the student may petition the PhD Program Committee for a special individualized set of examinations on the content of the first-year coursework at the time the courses are completed.

If a student takes and successfully passes the Oral General Examination no later than the second week of a quarter, the student may register for SocWL 800 during that quarter and have it count towards the 3 required quarters. Under these circumstances, if the student receives approval from the Supervisory Committee Chair and the Program Director, the student may register for SocWL 800 before the date of the scheduled General Exam. If the committee feels the student needs to do more work to pass the Oral Exam, the student must drop SocWL 800 and register for SocWL 600. The student is responsible for any late fees.

Audits

Social Welfare students are encouraged to audit courses in other departments, subject to approval of the instructor. However, audits do not fulfill the cognate requirements.