One University Policy

Hi, I’m a hopeful application to Penn. I was wondering about the policy, are there any classes that you can’t take. I’m applying to CAS, by the way. Like if I wanted to take Management 100 at Wharton or something, or a graduate level math class, I can do that? Are there any restrictions, or hoops you have to jump through to take those higher level classes. Thank you!

For higher level classes, you just need to take the prerequisite. I don’t think you can take MGMT 100, but you should be able to take any other class from the various schools.

yes MGMT 100 is the one course that is exclusively for Wharton undergrads, but you can take any other course you like. You generally need to take the prerequisites but usually nobody is going to stop you if you haven’t taken them.

MGMT 100 doesn’t exist anymore, it’s called Wharton 101 (WH101) now. It’s only for Wharton undergrads.

@Brovak not true, there is a MGMT-100 course offered through Penn In Touch for spring 2018. Maybe they are thinking of renaming it in the following academic year?

Wharton rolls out major curriculum redesign, with four-year MGMT 100 and more focus on ethics

http://www.thedp.com/article/2016/04/wharton-curriculum-redesign

The transition from the old to the new curriculum will take place over a course of five years, with the Wharton Class of 2021 being the first class to experience all of the changes.

I did read about how they were introducing MGMT 101 but on the website right now, it doesn’t have the additional comment saying that it’s only reserved for just Wharton kids. Should I just talk about a different Wharton class then instead of taking the risk of sounding like I didn’t do my research correctly?

@WhiteDragon MGMT 100 is the one that is only reserved for wharton kids. MGMT 101 is open to all i think.

Don’t talk about MGMT 100 at all. Maybe you can talk about MGMT 101, but I honestly don’t know how accessible Wharton classes are to the rest of the college. It’s pretty weirdly exclusive that way. What major are you applying to, specifically? If you are looking for an econ major, talk about the PPE program or Econ. Or, if you want to do a coordinated dual degree between College and Wharton, apply for LSM. But honestly I have no clue if college kids can take Wharton specific classes.

Also, to add on above: I know College students cannot get a major in Wharton. So taking one class or talking about taking one class might be very pointless, even if it is possible. I know you can minor in stats from Wharton, though. But you definitely cannot get a BS Economics major + concentrations unless you are in Wharton or a dual degree program.

For the most part you can take whatever you want. I took classes in Wharton, the Grad School of Arts and Sciences, the Law School, etc. Often it was as easy as signing up on Penn in Touch (the course selection website). Some classes will require you to request permission from the instructor and their decision is largely based on whether an undergraduate will actually benefit from the course (graduate work can be very different than undergrad work and sometimes serves to build different skills than those an undergrad needs to hone in the immediate) and whether they have the resources to make the class work with your additional presence in the room. I’m sure some classes in some schools are off limits – but in my experience that was the exception, not the rule.

Good luck with your apps-- feel free to reach out if you have any other questions about Penn in general or The College specifically.

@Brovak I’m applying as a math major. And that was my question in the start. I didn’t completely know how accessible grad level classes or Wharton classes were. I was going to talk about the interdisciplinary nature of the school and how even though I’m applying to CAS, I can take classes at Wharton. I mentioned the management classes because I talked about how I could take the experiences I learned through the class and apply it to jobs in the real world, because the class taught leadership and communication, which could be applied to not just business.

@Brovak All Penn students can take as many Wharton classes as they want (can fit into their schedule). With the college curriculum being usually around 4 credits a semestr that leaves a lot of room for extra classes. Plus people have the option of applying for a dual degree with wharton at some point before the end of their sophomore year.

This is one of the unique aspects of being at Penn. You are in general free to take any class you want regardless of your major, even may grad school classes, and you have very easy access to them. @WhiteDragon is correct to want to emphasize this in their application.

The concept of being able to use your free elective schedule space to enroll in any course within the university is not unique to Penn.

The practical difference between different courses is that if a course is enrolled beyond its capacity, it may have to prioritize admission to students who need it for their majors or some such. If Penn is committed to maintaining or increasing capacity to meet demand in every course (which may mean increasing class size or number of sections), then that could be an advantage of Penn over some other university where some desirable courses do not have the capacity for non-majors to enroll in them. But that may need to be assessed on a school-by-school and course-by-course basis.

i am not saying unique in the sense that you cannot take classes outside your major in other schools. i would say unique or at least very rare in terms of how easy it is to do so. you do not need to get department approval, sign papers etc and you can take classes in the graduate schools as an undergrad with minimal fuss/effort etc. In my experience the capacity issue is rare. Also for many of the really popular classes there are cross-listed sections to increase capacity.