Submatriculation* is an opportunity for undergraduates in good academic standing to pursue a Master’s or Professional degree in conjunction with their Bachelor’s degree. Students who submatriculate may enroll in undergraduate and graduate courses in the same term and may use graduate courses to satisfy requirements for each degree. Thus, the Bachelor’s and graduate degree programs become interwoven.
The following set of policies and guidelines concerning submatriculation have been approved by the Council of Undergraduate Deans, the Council of Graduate Deans, and the Council of Professional Master’s Degree Deans as well as the Law School and Dental School for their respective programs.
*The School of Engineering & Applied Science uses the term “Accelerated Master’s” instead of “submatriculation.”
Admissions
- Undergraduates who wish to submatriculate follow the application procedure as set forth by the graduate program. The graduate program determines application deadlines and admissions requirements and may consider submatriculation applications separately from those in the general applicant pool.
- The role of the undergraduate school advising office is to verify eligibility for submatriculation, inform undergraduate students of the submatriculation options available to them, discuss the benefits and challenges of submatriculation generally, and help the undergraduate student understand how the graduate courses will fit with the undergraduate curriculum and further progress toward the Bachelor’s degree.
- Undergraduates interested in submatriculation are urged to consult with their undergraduate advisor and with their intended graduate school/program early in their undergraduate program.
- Students may not submatriculate in Penn Dental Medicine after matriculation at Penn as undergraduates.
Degree Requirements
- A single course may satisfy a requirement in no more than 2 degree programs at Penn.
- Submatriculants may use graduate courses to satisfy requirements in both their undergraduate and graduate degrees. The undergraduate school and the graduate program/school limit the number of courses that may concurrently satisfy requirements in both degrees. If the limit as set by the undergraduate and graduate school differ, the smaller number between the two is operative.
- Transfer credits from another institution may not be used to satisfy requirements in the graduate degree program for submatriculated students.
Course Enrollment
In some cases, a single course is associated with multiple course numbers at different degree levels (an undergraduate level course number and a graduate level course number). In such instances, the course number through which a student is enrolled may not be changed from one level to another (from the undergraduate level to graduate level, for instance) after the end of the term’s course selection period and is not permitted retroactively.
Conferral of Degrees
- The graduate degree may not be conferred in a term prior to the term in which the Bachelor’s degree is conferred.
- Typically, the Bachelor’s and graduate degrees are conferred simultaneously in a single term, though in some cases the Bachelor’s degree is conferred in a term prior to the term in which the graduate degree is conferred.
Program Status
- Submatriculated students may not separate from (i.e. take a leave of absence or withdraw from) their Bachelor’s degree program but remain active and eligible for course enrollment in their graduate program.
- Conversely, the student may separate from (i.e., take a leave of absence or withdraw from) the graduate program but remain active and eligible for course enrollment in the Bachelor’s program.
- Submatriculated students may elect not to complete the graduate degree. In this case, any graduate courses that had been approved to fulfill requirements of the Bachelor’s degree will continue to do so and the student remains subject to degree requirements as set by the undergraduate school.
- Visit the Engineering Handbook for additional Accelerated Master’s policies related to Program Status.
Costs and Financial Aid
- Tuition charges and associated fees are assessed each term based on the student’s primary degree program.
- For submatriculated students, the undergraduate degree program is primary in every term until the Bachelor’s degree is conferred. There are two exceptions: for students who submatriculate in the JD program in the Law School – JD is the primary degree program upon matriculation into the Law School until the JD degree is conferred; similarly, for students who submatriculate in the BioDental program, DMD is the primary degree program upon matriculation in the Dental School until the DMD degree is conferred.
- A submatriculant is considered primarily an undergraduate student until they have fully completed the undergraduate degree. However, a student’s eligibility for undergraduate financial aid is determined on a term-by-term basis and is based on the allocation of enrolled course units in a term. If 50% or more of enrolled course units in a term are graduate course units that satisfy requirements for the graduate degree only, the student is not eligible for undergraduate financial aid in that term.
- Students who are eligible for undergraduate financial aid are eligible for a maximum of 8 semesters of institutional grant funding.