Dual Degree Program

Students at partner institutions who are enrolled in a dual degree program (formerly 3-2 program) with the College of Engineering must submit an application for admission to the Undergraduate Admissions Office. Applicants who have at any time been admitted to degree status and taken courses at Penn State are not eligible to participate in this program and must apply for re-enrollment if they wish to return to Penn State.

A course check sheet has been developed for each partner institution as part of the dual degree articulation agreement. Students who are participating in this program should request this course check sheet from the designated official at their institution. Students should fill in the course check sheet as they progress through their program. The check sheet is a table that lists the courses that students should take, if available, at their institutions. These courses are equivalent or similar to the courses taken by engineering students at Penn State during the first two years of an engineering program. The check sheet is intended to be used as a guide to participating students and to advisers at Penn State so that appropriate courses can be scheduled once transfer to an engineering major occurs. Not all courses are available at all institutions. Penn State faculty advisers will work with their dual degree students to develop relevant course schedules that meet their students’ individual needs.

Qualifications for Admission

At the end of the fall semester of the third year, a student participating in a College of Engineering dual degree program becomes a candidate for transfer if he or she has attained the following:

• A minimum grade of “C” (2.00 grade points on a 4.00 scale) in Calculus I and II (8 credits), a calculus-based physics (4 credits, mechanics), and general chemistry (3 credits).
• A minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.00 (on a 4.00 scale). In all cases, the cumulative grade point average that will be used to determine eligibility for an engineering major will be calculated by the method used at Penn State. Original grades for courses that were repeated will be used in the calculation.
• Will have completed, at the participating institution, at least 76 transferable and applicable credits by the end of the third year.

Available Majors

With some exceptions, qualified students will be considered for admission with advanced standing directly to a College of Engineering major. There are, however, some majors that are under enrollment control. These are the majors that have an enrollment limit so that only a certain number of students are admitted to the major each year. Unfortunately, not all Penn State students who wish these majors may be accommodated. Therefore, no transfer applicants are admitted to the majors under enrollment control, with some exceptions for students from institutions that have a dual degree (formerly 3-2) agreement with the College of Engineering.

College of Engineering majors that are currently under enrollment control (and therefore not open to direct transfer applicants) are listed on the Undergraduate Admissions Office’s website at College of Engineering Transfer Requirements.

Application

Admissions applications with complete credentials must be filed by February 1 of the applicant’s third year at the dual degree institution. The completed application should include the following:

• A final high school record.
• Two copies of the official transcript from the participating institution that includes all grades earned through the fall semester or term of the third year.
• A schedule of courses for the remainder of the third year.
• A check sheet of the courses taken and planned as they relate to the Penn State courses listed for the requested engineering major. A copy of the check sheet must be retained by the student for his or her own record.

Applications with complete credentials must be filed with the Undergraduate Admissions Office by the deadline. The applications of those who qualify and who have filed complete applications on time will be forwarded to the office of the Assistant Dean for Academic Support and Global Programs for admission consideration. If the applicant meets the admissions requirements, he or she will be offered provisional admission to the available major selected, commencing with the following summer session or fall semester.

At the completion of the third year, two copies of the final official transcript of work taken at the participating institution must be forwarded to the Undergraduate Admissions Office. The applicant’s admission status will be changed from provisional to permanent if the student has maintained the minimum cumulative grade point average required for his or her selected major, is in good academic standing at the participating institution, and has fulfilled all conditions, if any, specified in the student’s provisional admission. Under normal circumstances, failure to meet the conditions of provisional admission will result in the voiding of the offer of admission for the student and in his or her ineligibility to participate in the dual degree program with the College of Engineering.