Graduation Requirements

The Importance and Responsibility of Course Selection

A student is responsible for meeting all requirements for graduation and must be in good standing. Faculty advisers may assist in planning majors, but the final responsibility for meeting graduation requirements rests with each student.

Course Substitutions

Any deviations from the major-specified courses must be documented in the Registrar's Office by an "Approval Form for Course Substitution/Equivalency" or other official document. To avoid scheduling difficulty and future graduation problems, the student should obtain appropriate signatures and submit the form prior to registering for the substitute course at Penn College or at any other institution. This form is available in each academic school office.

Degree-Specific Graduation Requirements

To successfully earn a degree/certificate from Penn College, students are expected to satisfy the degree-specific requirements* as denoted in this table:

Unfulfilled Credit Requirements (bachelor/associate/certificate majors only)

A student who has not earned all of the credits required at the end of the final semester may, with prior approval of the Chief Academic Officer (or designee), take courses from another accredited college/institution to fulfill requirements for a bachelor's degree, associate's degree, or certificate. Credit limits apply as follows: 16 credits for a bachelor's degree and 8 credits for an associate's degree or certificate. Such work must be completed within two years after the last semester in which the student attended classes at Penn College. After two years, the student must re-enroll. Only grades of 'C' (2.0) or better are acceptable for such transfer credit. (Grades for transfer credits are not included in the student's graduation grade-point average.)

Graduating with Multiple Degrees or Majors

A student can be enrolled in more than one major and may pursue more than one degree at the same time. The student may petition to graduation with these multiple degrees/majors, providing that he/she has satisfied the requirements of those degrees. Enrollment in Dual Majors/Dual Degrees must follow specified procedures and eligibility requirements. See Dual Majors/Dual Degrees for more information.

Graduating with Minors

A baccalaureate student may earn up to two minors; successfully completed minors will be indicated on the student's official transcript. The following requirements apply:

• A student must complete 12 of the 18 required credits at Penn College.
• Twelve of the 18 required credits must be taken at the 200 level or higher.
• A student may not enroll in a minor within the same (associate/baccalaureate) discipline as the declared major (including a dual major/degree).
• A minor can be declared no later than registration for the student's final semester.
• All course work applied to a minor must be completed with a grade of 'C' (2.0) or higher; pass/fail courses cannot be applied toward a minor.
• Bachelor-degree graduates may re-enroll up to two years after graduation to complete a minor.

Approved academic minors are listed in the College Catalog on the Bachelor's Degrees & Minors page. Each is discipline-specific, but may contain interdisciplinary courses.