Summer Courses at Other Institutions (Credit Away)

After matriculation, Wharton students may receive Penn credit for courses taken during the summer at other universities or colleges. This is called credit away.

Credit Away Policies

  • Only courses that count toward Wharton’s Liberal Arts and Sciences and Unrestricted Elective requirements may be taken for credit away over the summer.
  • Wharton will not grant any undergraduate business credit for study away at any institution during the summer. This policy applies to all Penn undergraduate students, regardless of home school.
  • Courses must be taken at four-year, accredited institutions.
  • Penn financial aid can only be used for courses taken at Penn.
  • Penn will not grant credit for study away during the fall or spring semesters or while students are on a leave of absence.
  • Courses must be taken for a grade, and you must earn a C or higher for credit to be transferred back to your Penn transcript.¹ The grade will not appear on your Penn transcript, however, or be factored into your Penn GPA.
  • Students who entered Penn as external transfers may not take summer courses for credit away.
  • Students who entered Penn as first-years can transfer a maximum of 4 CUs of credit away.
  • A maximum of 2 CUs of credit away can count toward Wharton’s Liberal Arts and Sciences requirements.

How to Request Credit Away

Prior approval must be obtained from the appropriate academic department at Penn. If you are considering a summer course at another institution, follow these steps to seek approval:

  1. Speak with your Wharton advisor about your plans and whether credit away is the right choice for you.
  2. Investigate courses at the university or college of your choice, based on the discussion with your Wharton advisor.
  3. Log in to XCAT to submit the course syllabus and supporting materials from the other institution to the Penn department that most closely matches the course materials for evaluation. Check the status of your request in XCAT regularly, since departments sometimes request additional information. Please also note the following:
      • The kind of Penn credit awarded (course equivalency) and the number of CUs appropriate for a credit away request will be determined by Penn departmental review in XCAT.
      • If the request has not been reviewed after two weeks, students can check on the status of their request by contacting the departmental credit evaluator. The review of requests requires a good deal of work.  Please do not request credit away unless you are fairly certain you will take the course if the Penn equivalency is granted.
  4. After the Penn department has approved the course in XCAT, you can proceed to taking the course if will be counted as an unrestricted elective. If you want it to count toward your Liberal Arts and Sciences requirements, check the “section attributes” of the course in Path@Penn or the Liberal Arts and Sciences course list to see if the course has already been approved.
      • If the course has been approved, you may proceed with taking the course.
      • If the course has not been approved, you must submit the course via the Wharton course approval form for approval before proceeding.
  5. After you have completed the course, request that the institution send an official transcript to the Wharton Undergraduate Division.
      • E-transcripts should be sent to ug-registrar@wharton.upenn.edu.
      • Hard-copy transcripts should be sent to: Attn: Wharton Undergraduate Registrar | 1400 Steinberg Hall-Dietrich Hall | 3620 Locust Walk | Philadelphia, PA 19104

¹ Note that some departments require a minimum grade of B- for a course to be eligible for credit away.