If you are reading this page, you are probably seeking a PTA number for one of my classes at UC Davis. You may be surprised to find out…
I don’t grant them. In fact, I cannot grant them.
First and foremost, you should know that I am not in charge of granting PTAs directly. This is CS department policy.
PTAs come from the CS Undergraduate Advising Office. My involvement is just saying yes or no if the department asks “should we give this student a PTA for your class?“.
Whether you will get a PTA depends on your situation.
You may be seeking a PTA for several reasons. Based on your situation, there are different potential outcomes. Please look for your situation below. If you don’t see it, please send me another email saying something like “I need a PTA number and my situation is not in the wiki!”.
Scenario A: I don’t have the prerequisites
You can submit a petition to the department to take the class without prerequisites. In a perfect world, I would be very much in favor of students exercising their agency to take classes they are interested in. However, there are a number of factors that make that difficult.
In general (as of WQ2024), students who do not meet the prerequisites will typically have their petition denied. If a student has an extenuating circumstance, the department will contact me to consult on the petition. Please consider whether your situation is truly extenuating before submitting your petition.
Department policies can be found here: https://cs.ucdavis.edu/prerequisites
What you should do:
- Fulfill the prereqs.
- You can try emailing the undergraduate advising office, but keep in mind that the department typically does not grant these petitions.
Scenario B: The class is full
Here is a message that was sent by CS Undergrad Advising to another student in this situation (Spring 2024):
The CS Department does not issue PTA numbers for any full ECS courses. All students, including students within our CS and CSE majors, must attempt to register for the courses on their own, or join the waitlist for any full classes they wish to try and take. At that point, the only way into an ECS course that has filled is to wait for students to drop from the class or if a course expansion/increase occurs. Course expansion decisions will only be decided after the 10th day of instruction.
Here is another message about undergrad advising’s ability to comment on course expansion (Fall 2024):
CS UG advisors do not have a say in course expansions. The department will make decisions on expansions around the 10th day of instruction. We do not know the chance of a course being expanded. We will not respond to email inquiries about course expansions at this time.
What you should do:
- Prepare for the possibility that you may not be able to take the class this quarter. If you are on the waitlist, you will get in if:
- the students ahead of you drop the class or
- the course is expanded.
Scenario C: I was in the class but I accidentally dropped, or got dropped for missed payment
I have seen a small number of such cases — the student is usually able to get a PTA number.
What you should do:
Send the details of your situation to the CS Undergrad Advising Office. If they ask me, I will most likely consent to bring you back into the class.
Scenario D: I’m a graduate student
I would be happy to have you in one of my classes. However, there is a lot of demand for CS classes at the undergraduate level. If there is room in the class, I would be happy to consent to your PTA request (email the department). If the class is full, it’s unlikely you will be able to join =(.
Scenario E: I’m an undergrad from a department outside CS
I would be happy to have you in one of my classes. However, there is a lot of demand for CS classes at the undergraduate level.
The PTA policy for the CS department might differ from your home department. You should know that I don’t grant the PTAs directly, you will have to contact csugadvising@ucdavis.edu.
If there is room in the class, I would be happy to consent to your PTA request (email the department). If the class is full, it’s unlikely you will be able to join =(.
Scenario F: I want to take this class and another class, and their schedules overlap
I have seen PTAs granted in these scenarios. This is a case where the department will usually ask me for my opinion.
In cases where the conflict is minor (usually this is overlapping discussions), I’m usually happy to consent to the PTA.
If the lecture times overlap, that’s more of an issue. I may be willing to accomodate this depending on your situation.
If the time conflict is minor:
- Email the CS Undergrad Advising Office and explain your situation, cc’ing me.
- CS Undergrad Advising will request my consent, and I will probably grant it.
If the time conflict is major (more than a discussion):
- Contact me first
Scenario G: I need to take your class as a repeat
I’m usually fine with this.
What you should do:
- Email the CS Undergrad Advising Office and explain your situation. They will email me to ask for my consent, and in most cases I will say yes. I may ask you for more information to make my decision.
Scenario Z: I am graduating soon and I need this class to graduate
I can emphathize with this situation, really. I would never wish to delay anyone’s graduation.
However, there is not really anything I can do here. There may be more people in this situation than there are seats in the class. To be fair to everyone, the department will let students in in the order of the course waitlist. See the note about course expansions below.
Course Expansions
If the course is still full around the 10th day of instruction, it may be expanded. The advising department is usually not able to predict whether this will be possible in advance, though you can email them and ask. This has happened in ~20-30% of classes that I’ve taught so far.