Welcome to the College of Arts & Sciences at Penn! We are delighted you have chosen a kind of education with a unique value today. The habits of mind you’ll master in a broad education in the arts and sciences will prepare you well for any future, including futures that don’t exist yet. With the pace of change accelerating and narrow skill sets becoming obsolete at a dizzying speed, what the College will teach you has no expiration date. New worlds will open for you as you join a conversation on the great ideas that have been drivers of human curiosity across the ages.
We are writing to tell you about the next practical steps for getting started in this conversation and preparing for your first semester at the College.
First, we invite you to start moving through Compass. Compass will answer many of your initial questions and present new ideas that you may want to incorporate into your academic plans. Steps for accessing Compass are at the end of this email.
As you move through the Compass learning modules, you will be prompted to complete some tasks between now and July 14. These include:
- Filling out an advising questionnaire
- Taking online math and chemistry diagnostics (if you are interested in
- studying in the STEM fields, including economics)
- Exploring potential course selections
- Speaking directly with your pre-major advisor
IMPORTANT: The fall course selection process requires you to complete all of these tasks before July 14.
In mid-June, you will receive another email from the College Office with information about meeting with your peer and pre-major advisors. Your peer advisor will be able to give you the student perspective on academic life in the College and at Penn. Your pre-major advisor will help you plan your academic path this summer and over the next two years, and clear you for fall registration.
Be assured that your advisors and the College Office will be here to help as you start to shape your time in the College this summer.
Once again, welcome to the College of Arts and Sciences! We genuinely look forward to working with you in the coming years. We will be back in touch in mid-June. Until then, take care.
Sincerely yours,
Peter Struck
Dean of the College, Professor of Classical Studies
Carolyn Ureña
Director of Academic Advising
Accessing Compass
- Compass is located within Canvas, a learning platform you will eventually use for your classes.
- You should have an invitation to join Compass in your email inbox. The sender is “Penn Canvas” and the subject line is “Course invitation.” Please accept the invitation to join.
- If you do not have an invitation in your inbox, go to Canvas and log in with your PennKey, choose "Courses" on the left-hand menu, choose "College Compass – Class of 2029," and then accept the invitation to join.
If you have any questions, including those that pertain to Compass, please email the College Office at college@sas.upenn.edu.