You need to do two, possibly three, things. First, keep on trying to sign up for the course. During the beginning of the term, students do a lot of dropping and adding of courses. A spot may open for the course you want when a student drops it. Second, you should contact and/or visit the departmental office of the department offering the course you want to take. Ask whether it’s possible to sign up for that course. Sometimes the course is not really full, it’s just that the department is controlling the enrollment manually and not allowing the computer system to handle it. Third, if the first two approaches do not work, speak to the professor teaching the course.

Although you may not get a section on a day and time you prefer, you are guaranteed to get into all required courses.

Please refer to our credit increase policy.

You should be following our sample curriculum- see below.

Students entering Fall 2020 or later, should follow the sample curriculum below:

BAS Sample Curriculum

BSE Sample Curriculum

Students entering Fall 2019 or earlier should follow the sample curriculum below:

BAS Sample Curriculum

BSE Sample Curriculum

Please ask someone in the Bioengineering Department for advice- your faculty advisor, or the Associate Director of Advising (Kacy- kacy@seas). Do not ask anyone outside of the BE Department. The departmental office is Skrikanich 240. Please also take the time to review the BE Undergraduate Program website.

The complete Penn Engineering Undergraduate Student Handbook is online.

Yes, you can take courses at another school, but the credits will not necessarily transfer and appear on your Penn transcript. To find out whether you will receive transfer credit for these courses (i.e. whether they will appear on your Penn transcript for credit), you must request pre-approval for a transfer of credit.  Transfer credit reduces the number of courses you have to take at Penn. Occasionally a student will take a course at another school, but will not receive transfer credit for it. Therefore, it is imperative that you check about the transferability of the course and credit BEFORE you take it.

First, you should speak with the Undergraduate Chair from that department, so that you can be sure that you are doing the right thing. Second, you need to fill out a form called the Request to Change/Add Curriculum form.

Both the BAS and BSE have the same requirements for the first two years, so this is not a major problem and it can be easily fixed. Just fill out a Request to Change/Add Curriculum form to make the change.

Although a computer is not required, it is very convenient to have your own computer, especially for reading e-mail, writing papers and experimenting with technology. Most students have their own computers. No single computer will meet all of your needs in your Engineering classes, so you should plan to use Engineering labs for at least part of your course work. If you are interested in buying a computer, we can help. See below.

If you choose not to purchase your own computer, you may use one of the many computer labs on campus, including labs at the Engineering buildings and labs in the College Houses. Labs are open from early in the morning to late at night, and some stay open around the clock. We have plenty of computer resources for you to use even if you do not have a computer.

Penn’s Computer Connection, the campus computer store, offers computers at special educational prices, preloaded with software you’ll need to connect to the network at Penn.

To save space in your room and to connect to the SEAS wireless network, consider buying a laptop rather than a desktop. A CD burner or external zip drive is useful for backing up your homework and projects. For your security, we advise you to purchase a lockdown kit.

Yes! For minimum standards and programs supported by the University, visit the Penn Computing website.

To find out about the requirements in the Social Science and Humanities (SSH) sector, visit the Engineering Undergraduate Student Handbook.

All premed students or students considering premed should go to Penn’s Pre-Health Advising Office for an orientation about applying to medical schools soon after matriculating at Penn. Also, take the time to visit the BE premed page and look at the requirements listed on the Premed Office site.

As a rule, premed students should not deviate from the premed requirements without consulting the Pre-Health Advising Office.

Undergraduate forms can be found online in PDF format.

If it is before the end of the fifth week of classes, drop the course on Penn InTouch.  If it’s after the fifth week of classes but before the end of the tenth week, you can withdraw from the course by filling out a course withdrawal form.  If you’re not sure what to do, please see either your faculty advisor or an advisor in RAS (Towne 109).

Before attempting to transfer, you should be aware of two things.

First, the transfer cannot be made until you have completed the spring semester of your freshman year. Second, you must have completed 8 CU at Penn and be in good academic standing. To request a transfer to the College, you need to meet with Ellen Eckert (215-898-4813) and complete a transfer application form.

After that is submitted, you will be advised by someone from the Office of Academic Programs (111 Towne), who will assist you in registering for courses. In order to make sure that you sign up for the right courses, you should speak with Ellen Eckert and the Undergraduate Chair in the department that you think you will eventually end up in. For more information, see the undergraduate handbook.