Admission Process for Electrical Engineering
First-Year (Freshman) Admission
The process of admission into the Electrical Engineering major consists of two steps. First, engineering students are accepted in pre-major status into the College of Engineering, where they will take math, physics, and chemistry courses common to all of Penn State’s engineering programs. To enroll in the College of Engineering, applicants must have graduated from an accredited secondary school and completed at least 15 preparatory units: 3 of English, 3 of math (algebra, plane geometry, trigonometry), 1 of science, and 8 in other subjects. Acceptance into Penn State’s College of Engineering is based primarily on high school GPA and SAT scores.
Once a student is accepted into the College of Engineering, application to the major of Electrical Engineering is done once the student has earned more than 29 creidts. To be eligible for consideration for entrance into Electrical Engineering, a student must have completed the following Penn State courses (or their equivalent), with a grade of C or better, by the end of their second year:
- CHEM 110 – freshman chemistry for scientists and engineers
- MATH 140 – Calculus I for scientists and engineers
- MATH 141 – Calculus II for scientists and engineers
- MATH 250 – Differential equations
- PHYS 211 – Mechanics (calculus-based)
- PHYS 212 – Electromagnetics (calculus-based)
In addition, Penn State requires a minimum Penn State GPA of 2.6 to qualify for admission into electrical engineering.
For more information on first-year admission, please visit Undergraduate Admissions Information.
Advanced Standing (Transfer) Admission
Transfer students from other institutions are considered for the Penn State BSEE program on a space-available basis. As a minimum, an institutional GPA > 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) is needed. A GPA of 3.0 does not guarantee admission into our program, however. Furthermore, students must have a C or better in the following courses (actual titles may vary from school to school):
- Chemistry I for scientists and engineers
- Calculus I for scientists and engineers
- Calculus II for scientists and engineers
- Differential equations
- Physics I (Mechanics, must be calculus-based)
- Physics II (Electromagnetics, must be calculus-based)
For more information on transfer student admission, please visit Transfer Admission Information.
Application Procedures/How to Apply
Undergraduate application to Penn State (first-year and transfer students) is done through a centralized office, not through individual departments.
Please visit Undergraduate Admissions to begin the on-line application process and get information about financial aid. You may also request an application via mail or telephone by contacting:
Undergraduate Admissions Office
The Pennsylvania State University
201 Shields Building Box 3000
University Park, PA 16802-1294
814-865-5471
