Senior: Graduation Eligibility

Students are responsible for fulfilling all the requirements of their curriculum. read more >>

See credits needed for graduation by major >>

The total number of credit units ("c.u.," or "credits") needed for graduation varies between 32 and 36 depending on the number of credits required in the major. Each major specifies a certain number of credits that must be completed, but never less than 12. In addition to the major, students must normally complete 20 credits outside the major. No more than 36 credits will be required for graduation. Those whose majors require more than 16 credits may take correspondingly fewer than 20 outside the major.

The 20 credits taken outside the major will include courses taken to fulfill General Education requirements and Free Electives. Some of the general education courses will also count toward the major (see Policies for the particular requirement). In this case students will take additional Free Electives. Since the College confers a bachelor of arts degree, 16 of the 20 credits outside the major must be Arts and Sciences courses. This means that most students may count as many as 4 courses from schools outside Arts and Sciences towards the degree. Students who wish to take more than the minimum number of credits for graduation may take even more than 4 from other schools. If a major requires more than 16 credits, correspondingly fewer than 4 courses from other schools may be counted toward the degree.

Students are expected to finish their degree in eight semesters. If this is not possible, students must speak with an advisor in the College Office to discuss an academic plan for degree completion.

Students must maintain a 2.0 overall grade point average, and a 2.0 (or better, depending on the department) in major courses.

Each department, program or individualized major advisor will certify students as having met the requirements for the respective majors and minors.

Seniors should consult with an advisor in the department in which they wish to minor, to confirm that the minor has been certified on the Academic Planning Worksheet and posted to the student’s transcript.

Because the value of the Penn experience lies not only in courses taken but also in participation in the life of the University community both in and outside the classroom, at least four semesters of full-time study must be completed in Philadelphia while enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania. Students must also be registered for their last two semesters at the University, including registration through its approved programs for study abroad. Students with less than 3 c.u. to complete for graduation may request permission from the College graduation coordinator to finish those credits elsewhere, though such permission will only be granted in cases with extenuating circumstances.

No student may graduate with a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania unless he or she has completed at Penn at least one-half of the total number of required credit units. He or she must also complete at Penn at least one-half of the courses required for his or her major (though some major programs may require more than this number).

Any courses taken on a pass/fail basis that are certified by the department or program as being part of a major or minor will be uncovered upon graduation.

An Application for Graduation (emailed to seniors by the College Office) must be submitted early in the semester of expected graduation. Seniors must adhere to a graduation schedule prepared each year by the College Office. A late fee will be charged for failure to apply for graduation by the date specified. Check the application timeline for May, August and December graduation.

All courses taken for credit at the University of Pennsylvania before a student receives an undergraduate degree are recorded on the student's undergraduate transcript. At the date of graduation, the transcript is closed, i.e., no changes may be made thereafter.

In order to graduate, students must pay all of their bills. That is, all financial obligations, library books, student telephone services phone bills, etc. must be cleared and resolved before graduation.

College students are expected to be enrolled on a full-time basis. Bills are not normally adjusted when a student takes less than a full load of courses.

Seniors who need fewer than 3 c.u. in their final semester to complete their degree requirements may consider declaring part-time status. Students who are considering part-time status must first meet with their major advisor and then with an assistant dean for advising in the College. These advisors will verify that the student needs only one or two credits to graduate and make the adjustment. Simply registering for one or two courses is NOT sufficient to become part-time; the student must follow the above procedure in order to make the status change official.

Part-time status must be declared before the first day of the term in question. Students are advised to take care of this by the end of the preceding semester (that is, usually by December of the fall semester).

Some students may have special issues related to part-time status:

• Athletes must wait until their previous semester’s grades are posted (normally, in early January) before they can officially declare part-time status.

• Students with financial aid should check with the Student Financial Services office, since changing their enrollment status may change their aid status.

• International students should be aware that their visa requires them to maintain full-time status. International students with questions about exceptions to this rule are advised to speak with a staff member at the International Student and Scholar Services office.