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GENERAL INFORMATION
All students who are admitted to the College of Engineering as first-semester students
(and some as change of major or transfer students) are placed in a common year (or pre-major) status called
ENGR. Students in ENGR status have until the end of the spring semester of their second year, also identified
as their pool semester, to qualify for a major. Although students may use
the pool semester to complete the courses required for entrance to a major, the actual administrative process
of determining each student's choice of major with subsequent conditional placement in a major is done during
the spring semester of the student's second year, the pool semester. Therefore, the studentss cumulative
grade point average (GPA) at that time, the beginning of the pool semester, is used to determine eligibility
for a major.
Only those students who are qualified and eligible at the time of
the entrance-to-major process are considered for a major. To be qualified for a College
of Engineering major offered at University Park, a student must:
- Be enrolled in the University with the appropriate pool designation. In addition, eligibility for a major
that is under enrollment control is limited to students who are
registered in the College of Engineering (at any location) or in the Division of Undergraduate
Studies (DUS) by the deadline for indicating and confirming a major preference.
- Have a cumulative GPA of at least 2.0, or 3.0 for the engineering science major.
(For majors under enrollment control, a higher GPA will likely be needed).
- Have completed the following courses with a minimum grade of "C": MATH 140, MATH
141, and PHYS 211 for all majors; plus CHEM 110 for engineering majors or CMPSC 122 for the computer
science major. If a student has not completed these required courses prior to the pool semester, the
student must be registered in the missing course(s) during the pool semester to be considered
qualified. In that way, the student has a chance to earn a "C" by the end of the pool semester.
- Select and confirm on eLion three choices for major in
order of preference by the published deadline. Failure
to complete the confirmation process correctly on eLion
will be treated in the same manner as failing to meet
the deadline. Students who experience problems completing
their confirmation of major choices on eLion should
contact the Engineering Advising Center by either calling
814-863-1033 or e-mailing advisor@engr.psu.edu.
Students whose first-choice major is under enrollment
control but who do not have the cumulative GPA to guarantee
admission should carefully consider appropriate second
and third choices. Please click on the link for a list
of suggested alternative
majors.
All qualified and eligible students who, by the published deadline
during the pool semester, request a major in the College of Engineering that is not under
enrollment control, will be given a conditional admission to the major
of their choice. Students normally receive such notification during March. Of the majors in the College
of Engineering at University Park, agricultural and biological engineering, civil engineering, chemical
engineering, electrical engineering, engineering science, industrial engineering, and nuclear engineering do
not have limited enrollment. The special handling of entrance to architectural engineering, aerospace
engineering, bioengineering, computer engineering, computer science, and mechanical engineering that are
under enrollment control for students in the spring 2007 and 2008 pools is described below in Majors Under Enrollment Control.
For students offered conditional entrance to a major, entrance to that major will become
permanent after the pool semester is complete, if a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 (3.0 for engineering
science) has been maintained and the entrance-to-major course requirements have been successfully completed
with minimum grades of "C". If the minimum GPA is not maintained and/or any one of the entrance-to-major
courses is not completed with at least a "C", the offer of admission to the major will be withdrawn and
the student will need to seek a major in another college.
For information about the entrance-to-major requirements for the Electro-Mechanical Engineering Technology and
Surveying Engineering majors, please click on the
name. These two baccalaureate majors are part of the College of Engineering but are offered at commonwealth
campus locations and not at University Park.
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MAJORS UNDER ENROLLMENT CONTROL
Due to limited resources and a commitment to provide a quality program, some majors in the
College of Engineering are under enrollment control. That means that only
a limited number of students can be admitted to these majors. For students in the Spring
2008 pool, Aerospace Engineering (AERSP), Architectural Engineering (A E), Bioengineering (BIOE),
Computer Engineering (CMPEN), Computer Science (CMPSC), and Mechanical Engineering (M E) are under
enrollment control. For students in the Spring 2009 pool and later, Aerospace
Engineering (AERSP), Architectural Engineering (A E), Bioengineering (BIO E), Civil Engineering (C E), and
Mechanical Engineering (M E) are under enrollment control.
Qualified and eligible students (as described above) who select a major that is under
enrollment control are listed in descending order of cumulative GPA
based on at least two semesters of course work at Penn State. Beginning with the highest GPA, the students
are counted for each major until the enrollment limit is reached. Students with a GPA that falls below the
numerical limit are considered for their second-choice major. The lowest GPA included in the departmental
enrollment limit becomes the minimum GPA to qualify for that major for that year. Each pool year may be
different and it is impossible to predict the minimum GPA for any pool for the majors under enrollment
control. It depends on the demand and academic performance of the students wanting the major that year.
The enrollment limit is the number of students that can be offered admission to the major
during each pool semester. The enrollment limits for students in the Spring 2008 pool
are: 100 for AERSP, 100 for A E, 40 for BIOE, 190 combined for CMPEN and CMPSC without regard to the
distribution of students between these two majors, and 230 for M E. The enrollment limits for students
in the Spring 2009 pool and later are: 100 for AERSP, 100 for A E, 40 for BIO E,
175 for C E, and 230 for M E. There is a slight possibility that in any one year, the demand for a major
under enrollment control may be less than the space available. If that should happen, all qualified and
eligible students who wish the major will be offered admission.
Qualified and eligible students in the Spring 2008 pool whose
cumulative GPA at the beginning of the pool semester is at least 3.00 for AERSP, A E, CMPEN, CMPSC and
M E, and 3.30 for BIOE, and who make their request by the published deadline during the pool semester are
assured entrance to their first-choice major, regardless of the enrollment limit. For students in the
Spring 2009 pool, the guarantees are the same for AERSP, A E, BIO E, and M E;
and the guarantee GPA for C E is 3.00. This assurance of entry to a controlled major, based on the GPA,
is only valid in the situation that is described and does not apply to students who wish to change their
major from another college, change from a major within the college, or who make their request after the
deadline. The GPA AT THE END OF THE POOL SEMESTER IS NOT USED TO DETERMINE ENTRANCE TO A MAJOR unless it
falls below 2.0 (or 3.0 for Engineering Science) except as described for transfer students in Exceptions to the Regular Entrance-to-Major Process below. Students may not apply to
a major under enrollment control as a concurrent major after the deadline. Students who wish to have more
than one major must be eligible for, and request the one that is under enrollment control first, by the
published deadline. The additional major (which cannot also be under enrollment control) can then be
added afterward.
All admission offers to majors under enrollment control, as the result of the regular
entrance-to-major process, are conditional. Admission to the major will become permanent after the pool
semester is complete, if the cumulative GPA remains above 2.00 (3.00 for E SC) and the four entrance-to-major
courses have been completed with minimum grades of "C". If any of these conditions are not met, the offer
of admission to the major under enrollment control will be rescinded and the student will not be able to
qualify for the major again.
If space becomes available in a major under enrollment control as a result of rescinding
conditional offers of admission, students who were initially denied the major because their GPA fell below
the enrollment limit cutoff will automatically be considered again. Students on the original
list for the major will be considered in order of their GPA. The students who were initially denied the
major with the highest GPA, in descending order, will be asked if they wish to be considered again for the major,
until the enrollment limit is met. In such cases, the Office of Student Services will contact the students by
e-mail or phone.
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EXCEPTIONS TO THE REGULAR ENTRANCE-TO-MAJOR PROCESS
Transfer Students: Students who were admitted to ENGR with
advanced standing (transferred from another institution) and for whom the pool semester is only the second
semester (excluding summer) at Penn State, will be considered for a major under enrollment control in a
slightly different manner than described above. Those who select a major under enrollment control as their
first choice, will be considered only after the end of their pool semester, when they have finished two full
semesters at Penn State. Their cumulative GPA after their pool semester will be used to determine eligibility
for the majors under enrollment control, except for A E. A E is not available to students who were admitted
to Penn State with advanced standing (as transfer students).
GPA less than 2.00: All students whose cumulative GPA was below
2.00 at the beginning of the pool semester and so could not be considered for conditional admission to a major
will automatically be reviewed at the end of the pool semester. At that time, if their GPA is at least 2.00
and the entry-to-major courses are successfully completed, they will be admitted to the major selected during
the entrance-to-major process, as long as the major is not under enrollment control.
Failure to meet Entrance-to-Major requirements by
deadline: Students
who do not meet the entrance-to-major requirements by the end of their pool semester may, under special
circumstances, be considered for an extension to qualify for a major that is not under enrollment control.
For a description of the conditions under which an extension may be granted and the process, go to Extension to Qualify for a Major. Requests for a summer extension must be
received by June 1 and requests for a fall extension must be received by July 1 immediately following the
pool semester. However, no extensions will be considered for students in the Spring 2008 pool to qualify
for Civil Engineering.
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EARLY ENTRY TO MAJOR
In addition to the regular time (during the pool semester) that students are considered for a
major, the College of Engineering will consider ENGR students for early entrance to a major. Students who wish
to be considered for early entrance to a major must indicate their desire for such consideration on the
Major Preference site of eLion during
April of their first year. A major preference must be indicated by all ENGR students, regardless of whether
they are interested in, or qualify for early entrance to a major. Students may update their major preference at
any time on eLion, but may only request early entry to
the major during April of their first year.
Students who are in ENGR status and wish to be considered for early entrance to a major must
have the following qualifications by the end of the Spring Semester of their first year: a minimum grade of "C"
in all entrance-to-major courses and have completed at least 30 credits toward their major. Students who wish to
be admitted to A E (ENGAE) after one year may be considered for entrance to that major with fewer of the course
requirements or credits, depending on the demand for the major. For more information about early entrance to
A E, go to Architectural Engineering or consult the
College of Engineering Undergraduate Programs Guide. Students admitted to
ENGAE must move to University Park for the fall semester of their second year, if their first year was spent
at a commonwealth campus.
It is extremely important that students who are interested in A E go on eLion and indicate their interest by the deadline.
Only those students who indicate their preference for A E by the deadline will be considered
for the special enrollment category of ENGAE. ENGAE status provides access to the special second-year
courses at UP. Students who are not offered ENGAE status and/or who decided after April of their first year
that they want A E, should request A E during the regular entrance-to-major process during their pool semester. They will be considered on a space-available basis if they are
qualified for a major. Qualified students whose cumulative GPA at the beginning of their pool semester is at least 3.00, are guaranteed admission to A E, as described
above in Majors Under Enrollment Control.
Qualified students who wish to be considered for early admission to majors under
enrollment control (except A E) will be considered according to the enrollment limit for the major. A maximum
of 50% of the spaces will be available for early entrance to the major. Therefore, the minimum GPA that
will be required for early entrance to one of these majors after one year will be higher than the guarantee
and will be based on the GPAs of students requesting the majors.
Students will only be considered for early entrance to a major if they indicate on the Major Preference site on eLion that they want to be considered. The exception is A E because all students who
indicate a preference for A E are automatically considered for ENGAE. Once a student has been offered early
entrance to a major, he or she is assured the major, unless the entrance-to-major requirements (including GPA)
are not met by the deadline.
All students in a pool must select or confirm their first three choices of major on
eLion during the spring semester of their second year
(pool semester). Even students who have early entrance to a major or are in
ENGAE MUST AFFIRM their choice during the entrance-to-major process during their
pool semester, or select another major (subject to enrollment controls).
Students who have early entrance to a major and are at campuses other than University Park
are expected to remain at their campus until they would normally be eligible for a change of campus. They will continue to get their academic advising from their
adviser at their location. University Park students who have early entrance to a major will be assigned to a
faculty adviser in their major. Their files will be sent from the Engineering Advising Center to their
major department.
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