Welcome to the College of Arts and Sciences

Welcome to Penn and to the College of Arts and Sciences. Transferring to a new university can be an exciting but daunting process. Following the steps below will help you to make this transition as smoothly as possible.

Incoming transfer students will receive a welcome message in mid-June from the College, which will include directions for getting started and the name and contact information of their pre-major advisor. This message will be sent using the Hub, the College's online secure messaging application.

The College Curriculum    Advising and Support    Class Standing

First Steps

1. Set up your PennKey.
2. Create an SAS email account.
3. Reach out to your College Advisor to schedule a first appointment:  Your initial welcome message from the College in early June will provide the name of and the contact information for your College Advisor. 
4. Review Transfer Compass:  You will be added to the Transfer Compass Canvas course in early June. Transfer Compass is an orientation module for transfer students, which is set up like a course in Penn's learning management system, Canvas. It will provide a brief introduction to the College curriculum, course registration system, and credit-transfer process. You will not be able to access it before creating a PennKey and being added to the course. Please contact Dr. Poyourow at [email protected] if you have not been added to the course by June 15th.)
5. Complete the Transfer Advising Questionnaire (in Transfer Compass).
6. Schedule an Appointment with your College Advisor:  Once you have worked through Transfer Compass, created a cart of courses (a draft fall schedule), and completed the Transfer Advising Questionnaire, you will be able to meet with your pre-major advisor whose name you received in your initial Hub message and which is also visible in Path@Penn. 
7. Register for Classes:  Once you have met with your advisor in June and they have released your advising hold, you will be able to register for classes.

Credit Transfer resources:  

If you have already accepted your offer of admission, and created your Pennkey and email, you may begin putting your credit transfer requests in XCAT (External Course Approval Tool).

How to Submit an XCAT Request (PDF)  

How to Review and Update Your Submitted Request (PDF)  

Information Specifically for College Students on Using XCAT