Taking a Course Pass/Fail

Undergraduate students may take a maximum of 3 courses as Pass/Fail. The Pass/Fail policy is as follows:

  • Only courses designated by a department are eligible for the Pass/Fail option.*
  • Courses used as free electives in a degree program can be taken as Pass/Fail.
  • Courses taken as an extra course which does not apply to the graduation requirements of a degree program can be taken as Pass/Fail.
  • Courses applied to a major program or minor program which are designated as eligible for Pass/Fail by the specific major or minor department can be taken as Pass/Fail.*
  • Instructors will not be notified about those students who are taking a course for Pass/Fail.
  • Upon completion of the course, instructors will issue final grades of A, B, C, D, or E. Grade of A, B, C, or D will convert to a grade of S for Pass. Students will receive the credit; however, the grade of S will not be used in GPA calculations. Grades of E will remain as entered by the instructor and will be used in GPA calculations.
  • A course taken initially as Pass/Fail only can be repeated using the Pass/Fail grading option.

*Additional restrictions on the Pass/Fail option vary according to the major department. Not all courses with the Pass/Fail attribute can be taken as Pass/Fail by all majors. A student must contact their major department concerning restrictions and check here for additional information.

Note: The Spring 2020 mandatory Pass/Fail policy and the Fall 2020 opt-in Pass/Fail policy do not apply to the 3 course maximum.

Student Procedure

Students interested in taking a course under the Pass/Fail grading option must first register for an eligible course. Once a student is registered, then the student must submit a Pass/Fail Request Form. This request must be made by the last day to add/drop classes as indicated on the Academic Calendar.

To see a list of eligible courses, students may perform the following steps in the Illinois Tech Portal:

  1. Enter "Registration Dashboard" in the search bar.
  2. Click on the Browse Classes link and then select the appropriate term.
  3. Click on the Advanced Search link.
  4. Leave the Subject field empty. Then scroll down the page to the Attribute field and select "Eligible Pass/Fail Course."
  5. Click on the Search button to see the list of eligible courses for Pass/Fail.

Questions regarding the Pass/Fail grading option should be directed to the Office of Undergraduate Academic Affairs at ugaa@iit.edu or 312.567.3300.

Fill out your Pass/Fail request here.