Penn State students who wish to change to a
baccalaureate program in the College of Engineering from another academic unit must submit
a ‘Change of Major’ form to the Office of Student Services, 208 Hammond Bldg.,
University Park, PA 16802. This form is available at all academic administrative offices
at all locations.
Requests for a change to a baccalaureate program in the College of Engineering are
considered individually by the Assistant Dean for Student Services. A number of factors
are taken into account before a decision is made whether to approve or not approve a
request to change to the College of Engineering. Students may request to change directly
to a major or to the common year, pre-major (ENGR) status. For assistance and more
information, students should contact the Engineering
Advising Center.
Students in a baccalaureate degree program who request to change to the College of
Engineering before their pool semester (the spring semester of their second year) will
only be considered for the common year, pre-major status, called ENGR. For approval,
students must be in good academic standing, be in a position to qualify for a major by the
end of their pool semester, perform adequately on the admission to major courses, and show
by their grades in other relevant courses that they have the potential to succeed in a
College of Engineering major.
Information about the admission to major requirements is in the Student Actions section, part C, Admission to
Major. Adequate performance usually means a minimum grade of ‘C’ and relevant
courses usually means math, physics and chemistry courses.
In special cases, students who are beyond their pool semester will be admitted to ENGR
status. This would only happen under very special circumstances and if the student
applying to change was not qualified for a major in the College.
Requests to Change to a Major
Students may request to change to a College of Engineering major after their pool
semester. Students will be considered for the change if they qualify for a major (see
Admission to Major in Student
Actions), are in good academic standing, show potential to succeed in the major
by having adequate grades in relevant courses, and if there is space in the major. If any
of these is lacking, the request to change to a major will be denied. For further
information, contact the Office of Student
Services.
Students may not change to the following majors that are under enrollment control:
Architectural Engineering, Bioengineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, and Mechanical Engineering. These majors are
not available to any student who is in another major, regardless of grades.
