Pass/No Pass Option
Students in good academic standing may request to take specific courses on a Pass/No Pass basis up to the ninth week of instruction. Students receive a P (Pass) for work that is performed at C level or better. Work performed at below a C level receives a notation of NP on the student’s transcript, and no academic credit is awarded for the course. Requests for Pass/No Pass grading must be submitted and confirmed by the Grade Option deadline printed in the Academic and Administrative Calendar. If you request P/NP grading in a course and you are later placed on academic probation, your P/NP grading request will be canceled.
No more than 25 percent of the UCSC credits applied toward graduation may be graded on a Pass/No Pass basis.* This includes any credits completed in the Education Abroad Program or on another UC campus in an intercampus exchange program, but does not include transfer work from community colleges or other institutions.
Students must be careful about the use of the Pass/No Pass option. Some courses may only be taken Pass/No Pass, and therefore count against the 25 percent Pass/No Pass limit. Several majors require all or most major requirements to be taken for a letter grade; read the major requirements section carefully before using the Pass/No Pass option for any course in a major you are considering.
The following courses are not available for a letter grade:
As of July 2026, the following undergraduate courses are offered pass/no pass only:
AM 180 Reading Research Papers in Applied Mathematics
AM 178A Learning Assistant Training for AM 10
ANTH 151S Workshop in Ethnography Abroad
ARTG 176 Game Design Collaborative
BIOE 197 Summer Intensive Research in EEB
BIOL 21 Genetics Preparatory Course
BIOL 25 Frosh/Soph Seminar in Neuroscience
BIOL 26 Frosh/Soph Seminar in Molecular & Cell Biology
BME 55 Introduction to Lab Groups
CHEM 8N Honors Organic Chemistry Lab
CHEM 110N Honors Organic Chemistry Lab
CLNI 1A Introduction to University Life and Learning
CMMU 12 Field Study Placement
COWL 10 How to Win at College
COWL 1A Introduction to University Life and Learning
CRES 45 Pilipinx Historical Dialogue
CRES 70B Black Radical University?
CRES 70U (Un)docu Studies
CRSN 1A Introduction to University Life and Learning
CRWN 1A Introduction to University Life and Learning
CSE 196A Summer Drone-Intensive Training, Innovation, Entrepreneurship and STEAM Careers
EART 96 Earth Sciences Orientation
EART 190 Earth Sciences Mentorship
ECON 191 Economics Teaching Practicum
ECON 193 Field Study
ECON 193F Field Study
ENVS 83 Environmental Studies Internship
ENVS 84 Environmental Studies Internship
ENVS 183 Environmental Studies Internship
FILM 198 Independent Field Study
FILM 198F Independent Field Study
HAVC 198 Independent Field Study
HAVC 198F Independent Field Study
JRLC 1A Introduction to University Life and Learning
KRSG 1A Introduction to University Life and Learning
KRSG 1T Introduction to Transfer Life and Learning
LALS 95 Undergraduate Research Seminar
LALS 190G LALS Global Internship
LGST 188A Introduction to the Legal Profession and Legal Aid Work
LING 190 Senior Research
MERR 5 WORD: Writing Originating from Reading and Discussion.
MERR 1A Introduction to University Life and Learning
OAKS 1A Introduction to University Life and Learning
OAKS 188A Introduction to the Legal Profession and Legal Aid Work
PBS 198 Summer Undergraduate Research in Science and Technology
PBS 199 Summer Research Experience in Science
PHYE ## (All Physical Education courses are P/NP only)
PHYS 197 Summer Intensive Research in Physics
PRTR 1A Introduction to University Life and Learning
PSYC 193 Field Study
PSYC 193I International Field Study
PSYC 193S Field Study
STEV 10 Skills for College and Beyond
STEV 1A Introduction to University Life and Learning
WRIT 180 Seminar in Editing and Publishing
WRIT 191D Internship in Broadcasting
* Exceptions granted for 2019-2022 courses due to special circumstances: the Committee on Educational Policy has excluded Pass grades from the percent calculation for graduation (Spring 2020, Summer 2020, Fall 2020, Winter 2021, Spring 2021, Summer 2021, Fall 2022), due to emergency circumstances. In addition, UCSC courses graded P when a letter grade was requested by the student will not be included in the calculation of the 25 percent maximum P grades allowed for graduation.