The Arts & Sciences Requirement

Because the Bachelor of Arts degree is fundamentally an Arts and Sciences curriculum,  students are required to complete a minimum number of c.u. in the Arts & Sciences across the entire degree including General Education, Minor,  Major, and Elective requirements.

The number of Arts & Sciences c.u. required varies by major or major concentration. Students in dual degree programs will be required to take two fewer Arts & Sciences c.u.

In some cases, students may need additional c.u. beyond the major and Arts and Sciences in order to complete the total number of c.u. needed for the degree. In those cases, students can choose courses from across the University. 

Students can use the Degree Audit in Path@Penn to see how many Arts & Sciences courses they still need to take.

Arts & Sciences Courses

Courses in the Bachelor of Arts Degree are considered Arts and Sciences c.u. if they are:

• Courses offered by a department or program in the School of Arts and Sciences (with the exception of courses for the BAAS program)
• Courses in the Communication Program in the Annenberg School
• Advanced placement credits given by the above departments and programs
• Transfer and away credits given by the above departments and programs
• Non-Arts & Sciences courses used in the General Education requirements or non-Arts & Sciences courses that are cross listed with an Arts & Sciences undergraduate department or program.  They can be identified by the “College 16 CU (AU16)” attribute in Path@Penn. 

List of Arts & Sciences Course Codes

Students who are unclear as to whether a given course is in the College should consult with an assistant dean in the College Office.

Non-Arts & Sciences Courses

Non-Arts & Sciences courses are any courses not covered by the considerations above.

Things students should consider when taking non-Arts & Sciences courses:

• Students can take non-Arts & Sciences courses as long as they meet the prerequisites, co-requisites, and have met the criteria to enroll.
• Some non-Arts and Sciences courses may require a certain major, minor, or concentration in order to enroll in them.
• Some non-Arts and Sciences courses may not be taken on a pass/fail basis.

The College does not award credit for ROTC or Preceptorial courses.

Arts & Sciences Requirement for Design, Fine Art, and Architecture Majors

As part of the commitment to interdisciplinary programs, the School of Arts and Sciences has a partnership with the Weitzman School of Design to offer three majors to Arts & Sciences students, resulting in a Bachelor of Arts degree in either Design (DSGN), Fine Arts (FNAR), or Architecture (ARCH).

These majors require fewer overall Arts & Sciences c.u.

Courses that are DSGN, FNAR, or ARCH but are not cross listed with a course from the School of Arts & Sciences and/or do not have the "College 16 CU (AU16)" attribute in Path@Penn will not be counted toward the overall Arts & Sciences requirement need for each respective major whether they are inside or outside of the major.

Students in these three majors should consult with Path@Penn to monitor their Arts and Sciences course requirement as they complete their degree.