Students in single-degree programs should address their petitions to their home schools. Dual- and joint-degree students should address their petitions for degree requirement exceptions to the school(s) whose degree requirements are affected; in some cases, a petition to both schools will be required.

Requirements for the Degree

To be eligible to receive the degree of Bachelor of Science in Economics, students must satisfactorily complete the 37 course units of the Wharton curriculum and meet the curricular requirements described in this guide.  Students must have a cumulative GPA of at least 2.0 in the 37 courses that are being counted towards the graduation requirements. Students must earn a 2.5 GPA in the four courses counted towards the concentration. If a student has declared more than one concentration, he or she must earn a 2.5 in each concentration.

No more than eight courses in any one department may be taken for credit towards graduation. All NRs, GRs, and Is must be changed to a letter grade or be otherwise cleared from a student’s record in order to graduate.

Once a student has graduated from the University, no further changes to the transcript are permitted. It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that the transcript is correct at the time of graduation. Unofficial transcripts may be checked by accessing Penn InTouch at https://sentry.isc.upenn.edu/intouch.

Academic Progress

To maintain satisfactory progress at Wharton, students are expected to do the following:

 — Maintain a minimum semester GPA of 2.0,

 — Maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0, and

 — Have no more than two I, NR, or GR grades for the academic term.

Wharton classifies its students based on the number of semesters spent at Penn (for external transfer students, semesters spent at other higher education institutions are counted).  The Registrar of the University of Pennsylvania, however, determines class status or standing by the number of course units earned.  This may cause problems in registration for courses that are limited to certain class years.

First-year students may not take more than five courses (including Mgmt 100) during the first semester. Students may take up to six courses in subsequent semesters provided they have maintained at least a 3.0 cumulative GPA and have received no incomplete or no-credit grades (for example, I, F, GR, or NR).

Academic Standing

Wharton’s Academic Standing Committee monitors the academic performance of all

Probation: If a student’s semester GPA is below 2.0, the Academic Standing Committee will place the student on Probation. Once placed on probation, the student must take four courses in the following semester, must earn at least a 2.0 term GPA with no I, F, W or GR grades and may lose the ability to participate in School-based co-curricular activities. If placed on probation, it is important for a student to meet regularly with an academic advisor in the Undergraduate Division.

Drop Warning: Students may be placed on Drop Warning if they fall significantly below the level of academic performance required to make progress toward graduation, if they have two consecutive semesters with a GPA below 2.0 or if they have one semester with a GPA below 1.50. Once placed on drop warning, students must take four courses in the following semester, must earn at least a 2.0 term GPA with no I, F, W or GR grades and may lose the ability to participate in School-based co-curricular activities. This action is intended to provide students with an opportunity to show improvement in their academic course work.

First Drop: If a student continues to do failing work or otherwise performs very poorly, showing no significant improvement, he or she will be dropped from the rolls of the University. The first drop action requires a minimum one-year mandatory leave from the University. During this period, the student may not enroll in another institution with the intent of transferring those credits to Penn. At the end of the one-year period, the student may apply to the Academic Standing Committee for reinstatement. The committee may require medical or employment documentation to assist in making its decision. If re-admitted, the student must maintain good academic standing through graduation or he or she will be dropped from the university without further warning, with no opportunity for readmission.

Students who feel that extenuating circumstances warrant continued enrollment may submit an appeal to the Academic Standing Committee to rescind its drop decision and permit them to continue their course of study without interruption.

Second Drop: A second drop action is permanent and irrevocable.