The Grainger College of Engineering
Undergraduate Academic Advising

Prerequisite Enforcement

The Grainger College of Engineering enforces prerequisites and concurrent registration requirements through the Enterprise/Self-Service System in addition to checks that each department conducts.  It is up to the discretion of the College and departments which courses will have prerequisites enforced via Enterprise/Self-Service.

Enforcement of prerequisites falls within the boundaries of the Student Code and The Office of the Registrar's policies. Please note that all courses with cross-listed courses will have prerequisites enforced. The College and departments highly recommend planning a few semesters ahead, by using departmental maps and Course Explorer to check prerequisites, in addition to semester meetings with departmental academic advisor to ensure  appropriate course sequences.

Courses with enforced prerequisites

The list of current courses in which prerequisites are enforced via Self-Service is below:

  • AE 202, 311, 312, 321, 323, 352, 353
  • BIOE 201, 202, 205, 206, 210, 302, 303, 306, 310, 360, 380, 414, 415, 420, 435, 436, 460, 476, 479, 487
  • CEE 201, 202, 300, 310, 320, 330, 340, 350, 360, 380
  • CS 101, 128, 173, 210, 211, 222, 225, 233, 277, 307, 340, 341, 357, 361, 374, 409, 410, 411, 412, 414, 415, 418, 420, 421, 422, 423, 424, 425, 426, 427, 433, 435, 436, 438, 440, 442, 443, 444, 446, 447, 448, 461, 464, 465, 469, 470, 473, 474, 475, 476, 477, 484
  • ECE 205, 206, 210, 211, 220, 304, 307, 310, 311, 313, 314, 329, 330, 333, 340, 342, 343, 350, 365, 374, 380, 385, 391, 395, 414, 415, 428, 435, 438, 444, 448, 449
  • IE 300, 310, 361, 370
  • ME 200, 270, 310, 320, 330, 340, 360, 370, 371
  • MSE 206, 280, 304, 307, 308, 401
  • NPRE 200, 201, 247, 321
  • PHYS 211, 212, 213, 214, 225, 246, 325, 326, 370, 371, 401, 402, 403, 404, 427, 435, 436, 485, 486, 487
  • SE 310, 311, 312, 320
  • TAM 210, 211, 212, 251, 252, 270, 324, 335

Attempts to register for courses without having met prerequisites will yield the following message “Course Prerequisite and/or Test Score Error – Contact Course Department."

Request for override

  1. Check Course Explorer (https://courses.illinois.edu/) to ensure prerequisite(s) are met. If students have not taken the prerequisite course(s), they should contact their home department academic advisor  to discuss an academic plan that will satisfy the prerequisite(s) in the upcoming semester.
  2. Request an override via the online petition that goes to the department offering the course. Students should click on the link for the department offering the course (See table below). For example, a CS student requesting a prerequisite override for an ECE course should click on the ECE orange box below. When submitting the request, students will need to sign in using their Illinois login and select Prerequisite Override Request in the Petition Type drop down menu. Acceptable reasons to request an override include:
    • Taking prerequisite course not at the University of Illinois
    • Taking prerequisite course over winter OR summer break
    •  Already took the prerequisite course but it isn’t yet transferred or showing up in the University of Illinois system yet
    •  Received written curriculum modification approval for one or more of the selected course prerequisites from the offering department.
    • Taking or already took prerequisite course while studying abroad.
AE
BIOE
CEE
CDS
ECE
ISE
MatSE
ME/TAM
NPRE
PHYS

Important notes

  • Students will receive communication from the department offering the course typically within 5 business days with either an approval or denial. If approved, students can register for the course.  
  • Students may only submit ONE course per request, but they may submit several requests for the same semester.
  • Students can not submit a petition for the same course in the same semester until a decision is made on the original request.
  • If students are requesting an override for a course that is either in progress at another University or will be taken over winter or summer break at another University, they MUST submit documentation (screenshot is sufficient, see bullet below for details) of successful course completion to the course offering department who originally provided the override. Students should submit this at least 7 days before the start of the next semester. This is a necessary step because transfer courses might take several weeks to show up on a student's University of Illinois record. Failure to submit a screenshot of necessary documentation will result in a student being dropped from the course.
  • If  submitting a screenshot for documentation, students should include their full name, registration in the course, as well as the institution.
  • Students taking a course this semester that fulfills a prerequisite for a course in which they plan to take next semester will be allowed to register for that course. For example, students who register for MATH 241 during the summer term at UIUC will be able to register for a course in which MATH 241 is a prerequisites for in the fall. NO override is needed. However, if students don't pass the prerequisite course in the summer, they will be removed from the course in which prerequisites weren't met prior to the start of the semester. In the event students are removed from a prerequisite course, it is their responsibility to adjust their semester accordingly within the 10-day add-drop period at the beginning of the term, while maintaining at least 12 credit hours.
  •  Incomplete grade(s) in a prerequisite course must be resolved before prerequisite overrides are granted. Exceptions may be made for cases where a passing final course grade is certain at the time of the request.