Pass/Fail Option Information
Undergraduate Students
Students may enroll in up to four courses pass/fail. No more than one course may be taken Pass/Fail during a single semester.
Grades of "pass" or "P" notation signifying that the student received a D- or above will not be used in computing grade point averages but will be considered by the Committee on Academic Standing when determining academic standing. A grade of an "E" or "fail" notation will be used in computing grade point averages.
To designate a class pass/fail, there are two steps, each with a deadline:
1) Selecting the pass/fail option for a course taken during the current semester.
2) "Covering" the grade with a "P" notation on your transcript for a course you selected pass/fail the previous semester.
To select the pass/fail option, students must go to the Office of the Registrar, 121 Kutz Hall, and complete the undergraduate pass/fail form prior to the deadline. Please note that this must be done in person and cannot be done via e-mail or on SAGE. The office is open Monday through Friday between 9 am-5 pm.
At the end of the semester your instructor will submit a letter grade which you can view on SAGE. You will then have until the following semester's pass/fail deadline to decide whether you'd like to keep the letter grade or "cover" the grade with a "P" notation. If you would like to cover the grade with a "P" notation, you must notify the Office of the Registrar either in person or by e-mailing passfail@brandeis.edu before the deadline. If you take no action, the letter grade will permanently remain on your transcript.
Classes showing a P (or E) can not count towards a major, minor, or general university requirements. For example, if you take a course pass/fail in sophomore year and choose to cover the letter grade with a "P" before the deadline, but decide as a junior or senior that you actually want to major/minor in that topic, you will not be able to use that class to count towards your major/minor. Thus, if you are considering taking a course pass/fail, you should first consider very carefully whether you think you may need it towards a possible major/minor or university requirement in the future. Additionally, please note that grades of "F" will be converted to grades of "E" and will be used in computing grade point average.