Exemption From Required Courses

MBA Course Exemption Criteria

With faculty approval, students may exempt out of required courses based on previous course work or experience. Exempted courses do not earn units and do not count towards the total units needed to graduate. Exempting a course does fulfill that course requirement and permits a student to take an elective course in its place.

Exemptions are granted by individual faculty members who may require evidence of appropriate previous work or demonstration of competency through an exam. The information below lists deadlines and procedures as designated by the faculty teaching the required courses. Note that required communications courses cannot be exempted.

Review Mini 3 and Mini 4 Exemption Criteria.

MSCF Course Exemption Criteria

MSCF candidates may petition individual faculty members to exempt required courses. Students do not earn units or grade points for exemptions; the exemption grade is only recorded on the student's unofficial transcript as "E". An exemption is not recorded on the student's official transcript but will be counted toward the degree requirements. Students are expected, but not required, to substitute exempted courses with relevant CMU elective courses, if available. Students may exempt no more than 3 courses (18 units).

The granting of the exemption is at the discretion of individual faculty members, who may require evidence of appropriate previous work or demonstration of competency in either a written or oral examination. Exemptions need to be completed by the Add/Drop deadline for the Mini the course is offered.

Contact the faculty directly and work with the Pittsburgh or New York Student Services offices to complete the exemption.

Exemption Process

1. Exemptions are due by the add/drop deadline for that mini. See the academic calendar for deadlines. Students are encouraged to process exemptions either before or immediately after the mini begins. This gives students the opportunity to register for an elective.
2. Pick up an exemption form from Student Services or download the exemption form.
3. Return the completed form with faculty signature or forward faculty approval email to a Student Services staff member.
4. The exempted course will be removed from your schedule (there will be a 1-2 business delay in updating the SIO and Blackboard) and students can add an elective or consult with Student Services for assistance.