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Entrance-to-Major (ETM) Process
All entering baccalaureate degree candidates are assigned a selection pool semester, normally the spring of their sophomore year. Students entering the University in the spring semester are generally in the pool for the following spring. The student’s college dean may designate an alternative selection pool for a student. Advanced standing students (students who transfer to Penn State from other institutions with 18 or more credits) are assigned a selection pool by the dean at the time of their admission to the college.
Students in a common-year status who wish to declare a Liberal Arts major and who have the minimum credits required to declare a major (>27.1) can request entrance to that major by filing a change of major form with the appropriate department (UP) or the appropriate academic advising center (at another Penn State campus) prior to the pool semester. Or, they may wait until their pool semester and follow the eLion entrance-to-major procedures. The request for entrance will be approved if the student meets the entrance requirements for the college and/or major. Note: Students desiring a Psychology major must fulfill the following entrance requirements to be eligible: 1) 2.00 minimum cumulative grade point average, 2) “C” average in courses already taken that are offered or required by the major, 3) Psy 002 completed with a grade of “C” or better, 4) Stat 200 or Psy 015 completed with a grade of “C” or better, 4) 3 credits of GQ (not including Stat 200) with a grade of “C” or better, and 5) 3 credits of GS (not including Psy 2) with a grade of “C” or better.
Students who want a major in another college must contact that college for details on which process to follow. Generally, students who want majors with administrative enrollment controls must apply for the major through the eLion ETM process.
The Process on eLion
Students who are not in majors before the beginning of their pool semester will be included in the group of applicants for the ETM process. Eligible students will receive a letter from their college (or DUS) in December with instructions about the process.
Students will be asked to declare three major preferences in order of interest by using the eLion module. Students have until the February deadline to submit or revise their choices. In addition to submitting a major choice, the student will also submit a campus choice (for those majors that are offered at more than one location). Students who do not submit their preferences will be sent three e-mail reminders. If the student does not submit major preferences by the February deadline, the student will be dropped from the ETM process. This can have serious consequences if the student wants a major for which the only entrance is via the ETM process.
Once the deadline to submit preferences has passed, each college will review the requests for their majors. This generally occurs in early March. Students who are eligible will be approved. Students who have courses in progress will be approved conditionally with a final review of spring grades occurring in mid-May. Students who are not eligible will be denied. If the student is denied or fails the ETM process for the first or second major, the student will be considered for the second and third major.
The student will receive an email notification once a decision has been reached. The notification indicates the decision and will indicate whether or not a location change has also been approved. Once the student has been approved, the student may seek advising in the approved major.
While the ETM process occurs in the spring semester, decisions are effective for the following summer semester.
ETM and Change of Campus
Not all students who participate in the ETM process will be moved to their graduation location via the ETM process. In order to be approved for a change of campus, students must have 43.1 credits earned at the end of the previous fall semester. Thus, it is possible for a student to be approved for the major but not for UP. Students who will have 57 credits earned at the end of spring and/or summer semesters and who were not automatically changed to UP via the ETM process, may apply for a change of campus via their campus Registrar’s Office. Students are cautioned not to make any housing or other arrangements at UP until they have received notification that their location change has been approved.