Entrance to Major Requirements for students entering Penn State starting SU18, FA18 or SP19

Students admitted to the Smeal College of Business are in pre-major status (BA PMAJ) while completing entrance requirements for one of the nine majors available.  These entrance requirements are a combination of overall and specific grade point averages in courses at Penn State along with completion of business foundation and supporting courses.  

Applying for a major, known around campus as the Entrance to Major process, occurs within a defined window of completed cumulative credits at Penn State.  This occurs traditionally during the student’s second year of study.

Students may apply for a Smeal College major in the semester in which they are in the credit window, have attained the specified overall cumulative grade point average and have completed or have in progress the necessary entrance to major courses.  Students who do not start the summer sessions in the credit window will need to wait to request a major in the fall.  This process must be completed within the specified window of completed cumulative credits, so all students must plan accordingly. 

In order to receive final approval for a Smeal major, students must maintain the initial criteria through the completion of the required business foundation and supporting courses. .

Requirements for Conditional Approval into a Smeal major

Students apply for their major of choice upon meeting the following:

1. Must be enrolled at Penn State as a pre-major student in the Smeal College of Business (BA PMAJ) or in the Division of Undergraduate Studies (DUS PMAJ).
2. Complete or be currently enrolled in all Entrance to Major courses, including obtaining grades of “C” or better in specified courses.
3. Attain a cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of 3.20 or higher for Accounting (ACCTG), Actuarial Science (ACTSC), Marketing (MKTG) and Supply Chain & Information Systems (SCIS), a 3.50 or higher for Finance (FIN) and a 3.00 for Corporate Innovation & Entrepreneurship (CIENT), Management (MGMT), Management Information Systems (MIS), and Risk Management (RM). This CGPA must also be met at the conclusion of the entrance to major process.
4. Students may only apply for a Smeal College major upon earning a minimum of 40 cumulative credits but no more than 59 cumulative credits at Penn State and have all entrance to major courses either completed or in progress.

Requirements for Final, Confirmed Approval into a Smeal Major

Students receive a final approval for a Smeal major upon meeting the following:

1. Must be enrolled at Penn State as a pre-major student in the Smeal College of Business (BA PMAJ) or in the Division of Undergraduate Studies (DUS PMAJ).
2. Complete all Entrance to Major courses, including obtaining grades of “C” or better in specified courses.
3. Attain the minimum cumulative grade point average (CGPA) established for desired major.  Refer to Grade Point Averages chart on this web page.
4. Students may only apply for a Smeal College major upon earning a minimum of 40 cumulative credits but no more than 59 cumulative credits at Penn State and meeting the entrance to major criteria.*

* If entrance to major criteria is not successfully completed, the student will be changed back to their prior academic status.

Entrance-to-Major Courses

Eight entrance to major courses are required for all majors (nine for the Actuarial Science major):

• English Composition (ENGL 015 or ENGL 030) *
• Calculus (MATH 110 or MATH 140)  * #
• Microeconomics (ECON 102)
• Statistics (SCM 200 or STAT 200) *
• Management (MGMT 301) *
• Financial and Managerial Accounting (ACCTG 211) *
• Marketing (MKTG 301) *
• Finance (FIN 301) *

* These courses require a grade of “C” or better.

# The Actuarial Science major requires MATH 140 and MATH 141 with grades of "C" or better.

In order to promote student academic success, the Smeal faculty has designated the successful completion of specific "entrance-to-major" courses prior to the beginning of “major field” course work. In order to ensure all students are equally prepared for success, the Smeal College of Business requires that the following “entrance-to-major” courses must be completed at a Penn State campus: Accounting 211, Management 301, Marketing 301, and Finance 301.  Therefore, transfer courses or those designated as direct equivalent courses for the four courses listed above will not be credited toward Smeal entrance-to-major progress.

General transfer credits may not be used for entrance-to-major courses.

Grade Point Averages

Applicants must attain the minimum Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) established for desired major.  Please note these are the requirements for Summer 2018, Fall 2018 and Spring 2019 admits to the University.  The CGPAs are:

Cumulative Credits

Matriculating from pre-major status to enrollment in a major is contingent upon the timing and completion of cumulative credits at Penn State.

• Cumulative credits are credits (courses) taken at Penn State. 
• Advanced Placement (AP) credits and credits earned at other institutions are included in Total Credits but are not included in the cumulative credit total.
• Once a minimum of 40 cumulative credits but no more than 59 cumulative credits are earned and entrance to major criteria is met, students apply for a major.
• Typically, the application period (40-59 credits) is during the spring semester of the second year of study.
• Students who have completed 59.1 or more cumulative credits who are still in pre-major status become ineligible to apply for a Smeal major and will become ineligible to continue their enrollment in the college.