Grades & Grading

If you believe your instructor submitted an incorrect grade because of a clerical (for example, computational) or procedural error, please speak directly with your instructor.

If you believe your instructor has used nonacademic criteria (for example, race, religion, gender, or politics) in assigning your grade, you can appeal the grade. Begin the process by speaking with your instructor and/or the Students Ombuds Office.

Your next step is to try to resolve the issue by speaking with the department chair. If you cannot resolve your dispute informally, you can follow a formal procedure outlined in the Berkeley Academic Guide under "Grade Appeal Process."

Note for Graduate Students: The method for replacing the I grade with a final grade will be determined by the Dean of the Graduate Division and the Graduate Council.

Resolving Incomplete Grades for Undergraduate Students*

Completion deadlines: All undergraduates must observe the following deadlines for replacing an I grade. At the instructor's discretion, a deadline for completing undergraduate student work can be imposed. If no such deadline is set by the instructor, the student must complete the required coursework at least 30 days prior to the deadline for replacing the I grade (see table below).

Graduating Seniors: All incompletes required for graduation must be finished by the last day of finals in the term you are graduating.

Note: The I grade has no effect on the GPA until it is converted into a letter grade.

*Deadlines and procedures for incomplete grades in Fall Program for Freshmen (FPF) classes differ from those at UC Berkeley. Please contact your FPF Advisor for more information. Incompletes earned in Summer 2016 and prior must be resolved via the Petition to Remove an Incomplete Form (PDF).

The student completion deadline is 30 days prior to the lapse date listed in CalCentral. The student must complete all coursework associated with the incomplete by the completion deadline, and the faculty must replace the I grade in CalCentral by the lapse date. If the incomplete grade is not replaced, it will lapse to an F or NP, depending on the original grading basis. Student completion deadlines and lapse dates only appear for undergraduates. Incomplete deadlines and procedures are different for students who took Fall Program for Freshmen (FPF) courses, and those questions should be directed to FPF advisors.

Students with a pending incomplete must resolve the I grade by the deadlines listed in the “Resolve an incomplete grade” section. The I grade will lapse or convert to an F grade (or NP if the course was taken for pass/no pass) if the I grade is not replaced on or before the lapse date. The F grade will be part of the term and cumulative GPA calculation. Please note, lapse dates will not appear in CalCentral until approximately 6 weeks after the end of the semester for which it is assigned. I grades will convert to F grades within 4 weeks following the lapse date.

Students with questions about the lapse date should open a case via Cal Student Central.

If you are unable to finish a course on time, you may submit a petition to extend an incomplete grade (PDF) from the Dean of your College or School prior to the completion deadline (see "Resolve an incomplete grade" above).

Once an approved extension request is forwarded to the Office of the Registrar from the Dean of your College or School, it will appear in CalCentral within 2 weeks.

If you cannot complete your work by the completion deadline, you may petition your college to permanently retain the incomplete grade on your transcript by "freezing" it. Students may not request to retain the incomplete grade if an extension has already been granted. Once an I grade is frozen, a notation indicating “frozen” will appear alongside the I in CalCentral.

Note: Please discuss this option with an advisor. Once the I grade is frozen, you cannot repeat the course, and you may not remove the grade by taking an equivalent course.

Students with VA Benefits: The VA will not pay for units assigned an I grade permanently (“frozen”) under VA Chapter 33 (Post 9/11) and 31 (VRE). Please contact veteransbenefits@berkeley.edu for more information before you submit this petition.

The following rules apply to both undergraduate and graduate students who wish or must repeat a course. For more specific guidelines about the Repetition of Courses for graduate students, please refer to the Berkeley Graduate Division page.

• Students may repeat a course only if they received a grade of D+, D, D-, F, or no pass (NP or U).
• If you earned a grade of D+, D, D-, or F and have taken the course only once, you must take the course for a letter grade because courses previously taken for a letter grade may only be repeated for a letter grade.
• After repeating a course, both grades will show on the transcript, but only the most recent grade will be calculated into your GPA. Generally, when repeating a course for the first time, it is the second attempt that counts. This applies only to the first 12 graded units of repeated courses.
• From A201.D.2: Repetition of a course more than once requires, in all instances, approval of the Dean of the College, School, or Division in which the student is enrolled at the time the course is repeated. Without this approval, a course repeated more than once will not be included in the grade-point average, but a passing grade in the repeated course will be accepted in satisfaction of unit requirements for the degree.
• If you earned an NP and have taken the course only once before, you may repeat the course for either a letter grade, if allowed in the course, or take the course on a pass/no pass basis.

To better illustrate the UC Berkeley repeat rules, we have created two documents with a series of repeat examples. One document shows the most frequent repeat scenarios (PDF), and the other provides an example of a student who has repeated more than 12 units (PDF).

Probation rules are determined by each college. At the end of a term, an undergraduate student may be placed on probation for one of the following reasons:

• Term GPA below a 2.0
• Term GPA below a 1.5
• Term GPA is equal to 0
• Overall GPA below a 2.0

A student who is on probation may not elect to take a course with the Pass/No Pass option. All classes must be taken for a letter grade unless the class is only offered Pass/No Pass or Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory.