Provisional Students (Degree Seeking)

An applicant seeking to pursue a degree program and holding a high school diploma or its equivalent but without the criteria required for admission as a degree candidate may enroll at the University as a provisional student. A provisional student may enroll in credit courses if the following criteria are met:

1. The student is making satisfactory progress toward admission as a degree candidate. Progress is satisfactory if a student has completed 18 credits with a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 2.00 (on a 4.00 scale). If a student has completed 18 credits with less than a 2.00, then he or she is given a warning. A student who has completed 27 credits with a cumulative grade-point average of less than 2.00 will not be permitted to enroll as a provisional student in any subsequent semester, unless the student has earned more than a 2.0 grade-point average in the most recently completed semester. No student, regardless of cumulative grade-point average, who has completed 36 credits will be permitted to enroll as a provisional student in any subsequent semester.
2. There is space available after degree candidates have been accommodated.
3. The student has not been dropped for unsatisfactory scholarship from any college or university previously attended. If a provisional applicant attended another college or university and attempted 18 or more semester credits within the last four calendar years, the applicant must have at least a 2.0 (on a 4.0 scale) cumulative collegiate average. However, if it has been four or more calendar years since the applicant attended the other college or university and the cumulative grade-point average is less than 2.0, the applicant is eligible for provisional admission consideration.
4. The student has not been dismissed or suspended for nonacademic reasons from any college or university. An applicant not in good standing at another accredited college or university for disciplinary reasons must consult with the director of the Office of Judicial Affairs for admissions clearance.

NOTE: An applicant holding a baccalaureate degree or higher is not eligible to enroll as a provisional student. The applicant is referred to the graduate nondegree program.

OBTAINING AN APPLICATION--The application for admission is available on the Web. (Opens New Window) Web applications are preferred. A paper application can be obtained by writing to the Undergraduate Admissions Office, The Pennsylvania State University, 201 Shields Building, University Park, PA 16802-1294 (telephone: 814-865-5471), or by contacting an admissions officer at any University campus.

ADMISSION OF PROVISIONAL STUDENT AS A DEGREE CANDIDATE--A provisional student may apply for admission as a baccalaureate degree candidate with advanced standing to a college or school of the University, or to the Division of Undergraduate Studies, upon completion of at least 18 credits with at least a 2.00 cumulative grade-point average. All these credits must be earned at this University. To be eligible for admission, the provisional student must meet the academic requirements of the University and the college or school that are in effect at the time of application. An applicant who has completed at least the equivalent of two years of baccalaureate degree work before applying for admission as a baccalaureate degree candidate must have the approval of either the dean of the college or school of the University in which enrollment is desired or of the director of the Division of Undergraduate Studies if the student wants to enroll in that division. Under certain circumstances, the University may need to restrict admissions to degree candidacy in a particular college or school because of space limitations. Entrance to a major is an additional step beyond admission to a college or school and further limitations may apply. Provisional students should work with their advisers and utilize current information about college or school and major program academic requirements and restrictions in planning their programs of study toward admission to degree candidacy. After a student is admitted as a degree candidate, the dean of the college or school of enrollment decides which credits earned as a provisional student may be used to fulfill the degree requirements.

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