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This policy was updated effective for courses repeated during the Fall 2025 term. For courses repeated prior to Fall 2025, please refer to the Repeating a Course & Grade Replacement policy in the 2024-2025 University Catalog.

Repeating a Course & Grading for Repeated Courses

Repeating a Course

Students may attempt the same course at the University no more than three times. Courses that may be repeated include:

  • Courses completed with a passing or failing grade (i.e., C, D, E, S, P, F, I, or MG grades)

  • Courses that were audited or withdrawn from (i.e., O, W, WC, E, WO, XO grades). Thus, a student who drops a course any time after the drop deadline has attempted that course. Courses cancelled by the offering department are excluded from the count of attempts.

Certain courses are designated as repeatable for credit; credit for these courses can be earned multiple times as indicated in the course catalog.

Certain courses may not be repeated:

The opportunity to repeat a course depends on course availability; students are not guaranteed the ability to repeat courses.

Undergraduate Grading for Repeated Courses

When undergraduate students repeat Regular Graded undergraduate courses, the student's grade-point-average (GPA) reflects only the highest grade earned in the repeated course. Credit is earned only for the completion that is included in the GPA.

All grades earned in the course remain on the academic record; grades from each attempt on a course may be taken into consideration for students applying to competitive majors or graduate programs at the University of Arizona or other institutions.

The student's cumulative units and GPA are adjusted when the final grade for the repeat attempt has been posted. Only grades of A, B, C, D or E are reflected in the GPA; when a repeat attempt results in a grade of S, P, F, I, O, W, WC, WO, or XO, the GPA and earned units will reflect the regular grade of the previous attempt.

  • For courses with an original earned grade of C, D, or E, the GPA will reflect the highest grade earned.

  • For courses designated as repeatable for credit with an original earned grade of E, the GPA will reflect the grade of the second attempt if higher than E.

  • For courses designated as repeatable for credit with an original earned grade of C or D, the second attempt will earn additional credit and the GPA will reflect the grades of both enrollments. Students may petition to have the GPA reflect the higher grade of the second attempt instead of earning additional credit for repeat.

  • Grades earned through Credit by Exam are permanent and their inclusion in the GPA cannot be altered by course repeats.

Graduate & Professional Grading for Repeated Courses

For graduate and professional (Law, Medicine, Pharmacy, and Veterinary Medicine) courses, when a completed course with a passing or failing grade is repeated, the cumulative grade-point-average (GPA) will reflect the grades earned in all attempts. Credit will be applied only once to the degree program, unless the course is designated as Repeatable for Credit.

The Grade Replacement Opportunity (GRO) offers students the limited ability to replace an earned grade by repeating the course. Grades earned using the GRO will replace one previous grade for the course in the calculation of the grade-point-average (GPA), even if the grade from the repeated attempt is lower than the first attempt. Both the original grade and the grade from the repeated attempt remain on the academic record. Credit is earned for the GRO attempt only.

  • Graduate students may attempt GRO for 1 course with an original earned grade of C, D, or E, with program approval.

  • Students in the Juris Doctorate program may attempt GRO for 3 courses (maximum 10 total units) with original earned grades of C- or lower.

  • GRO is not available to undergraduate students enrolled in graduate courses, or to students in Medicine, Pharmacy, or Veterinary Medicine programs.

Related Guidelines & Policies:

Related Policies: