Student Life
Academic Flexibility Petitions
Students who would like exceptions to the normal academic regulations of the College (as outlined in the Haverford College Catalog) need to seek Committee on Student Standing and Programs (CSSP)'s approval. Students also need the Committee's approval if they would like to do any of the following:
- graduate in six semesters or more than eight semesters
- pursue an independent major or an interdepartmental major
- receive academic credit for non-academic work
- pursue an extended academic program (typically a BA/MA program offered in conjunction with Bryn Mawr College)
2024-2025 Deadlines
Fall Semester: October 4 & November 8
Spring Semester: February 21 & March 28
Please submit your petition before the deadlines established in the Haverford College Course Catalog.
Petitions should consist of the following elements:
- a letter, countersigned by your dean, describing what you would like permission to do and your reasons for wanting permission to do it; this letter should also identify the passages from the Haverford College Catalog that relate most directly to your request
- an unofficial copy of your transcript
- letters of support from any relevant Haverford or Bryn Mawr department chair
- any other relevant supporting material
Completed flexibility petitions should be submitted via the academic petition form. Students will be notified by letter regarding the decision of CSSP on their petitions. If you think you are going to have difficulty meeting the established deadlines, or if you have missed them, please contact hc-cssp [at] haverfrod.edu as soon as possible. There is no guarantee, however, that late petitions will receive timely consideration.
Please note: failure to provide the required information and documentation may compel the Committee to deny a petition or to decline to consider it.
Students interested in the possibility of pursuing an independent major should read the memo entitled "Designing an Independent Major," consult with their Advising Dean and intended major advisers, and then submit their petitions to the committee by the deadlines established above.
When students petition for permission to participate in off-campus programs not already approved for academic credit they are asking CSSP to provide a degree of scrutiny of the program proportional in some degree to the seriousness with which the Existing Curriculum Committee scrutinizes additions to the regular Haverford curriculum. In order to facilitate this scrutiny the petitioning student must assume the responsibility for providing the Committee with sufficient documentation to enable the Committee to judge the suitability of the proposed program. Students should provide a description of the program in question that is somewhat more detailed than the abbreviated course descriptions in the Haverford College Catalog.