Graduate students may file a petition requesting a waiver of an academic policy or requirement. The student should use the Petition to the Graduate School (general form).

On the petition the student must state the exception being requested and a detailed explanation for why the student is seeking the exception. The petition must also have supporting statements from the student's adviser and head of the academic department.

Once the petition has been reviewed by the student's academic department, the petition is then submitted to the Graduate School for review. The Graduate School reviews the exception being requested within the context of the educational purpose that the regulation in question was developed to serve. Petitions are seldom granted if the only reason given is to save the student from inconvenience or expense.