Policies Governing the Quantitative Data Analysis Requirement

Policies & Procedures|Policies Governing the Curriculum|Foundational Approaches
  • Students fulfill the Quantitative Data Analysis Requirement by taking a course from the list of approved courses.
  • The Quantitative Data Analysis Requirement can only be satisfied by courses taken at Penn. In some cases exceptions to the restriction on transfer credit may be made for transfer students.
  • Courses taken to satisfy the Quantitative Data Analysis Requirement must be taken for a letter grade, not pass/fail. Students must earn a minimum grade of C- in courses taken to fulfill the Quantitative Data Analysis Requirement.
  • A course used to satisfy the Quantitative Data Analysis Requirement may be double counted toward other requirements in the General Education Curriculum (except for the Writing and Foreign Language Requirements) as well as toward the Major.
Policies Governing Foundational Approaches
  • In most cases, the Foreign Language Requirement is fulfilled by completing the fourth-semester course in the language sequence or by demonstrating equivalent competency through language placement.
  • With the exception of the Foreign Language Requirement, none of these requirements may be satisfied with advanced placement credit (including A-Levels, I.B., and other similar credit based on external examination). In addition, credit awarded by departmental exam can also not be used to fulfill any Foundational Approach.
  • The same course cannot be used to satisfy more than one Foundational Approach. However, courses taken to satisfy Foundational Approaches may also be used to satisfy the Sector and/or Major Requirement.
  • Non-College courses approved for the Foundational Approaches are counted as College courses in calculating total credits needed for graduation.
  • Courses taken to satisfy these requirements must be taken for a letter grade, not pass/fail.
  • Each of the requirements that make up the Foundational Approaches is satisfied by taking a single course from a list of Requirement Courses, with the exception of the Foreign Language Requirement (which may require anywhere from 0 to 4 c.u. depending on the student's background in the given language).
Transfer Student Petitions for Quantitative Data Analysis Credit

A transfer student who wishes a course taken prior to matriculation at Penn to be count toward the Quantitative Data Analysis (QDA) Requirement may petition the committee. The committee turns down more petitions than it accepts. To file a petition, the student should:

  1. Read the criteria for QDA Requirement courses.
  2. Send an email to the chair of the Quantitative Data Analysis Education Committee (c/o Kent Peterman in the College Office) stating why, based on these criteria, you believe the course should qualify for QDA credit;
  3. Using attachments or links, include with your email as much relevant documentation as possible, including exams or assignments, that support your claim that the course is suitable for the requirement. The syllabus should already have been submitted with your request for basic course credit via XCAT.

 

Transfer students with credit for STAT 111, CHEM 053, or CHEM 054 will receive QDA credit without having to petition.

Departments evaluating courses from other institutions for transfer students assign these course numbers only if they meet the criteria for the QDA Requirement.