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World Campus Program and Policy

World Campus Program and Policy

World Campus Psychology Major

The PSYBA and PSYBS/Business option degrees are offered through Penn State’s World Campus. Information about these programs can be found here. These degrees have the same requirements as the degrees offered at University Park, although the selection of courses is more limited. These degrees provide students with location, work, or family constraints the opportunity to complete a Penn State Psychology degree.

World Campus and University Park Psychology degrees

University Park students frequently ask about taking World Campus courses.  For a variety of reasons, this option is very limited.  As described in the policy below, enrollment in World Campus courses during Fall and Spring semesters is not permitted, and enrollment during summer sessions is subject to the limits indicated by the Liberal Arts Residency in a Major/Minor policy (points 3 and 4 below).

World Campus and other Penn State Psychology degrees

The comments above apply to Psychology degrees offered at non-University Park locations, except of course that there are differences in the requirements of those degrees. Also, campus registrars may impose additional limits on students’ ability to take World Campus courses.

World Campus PSYCH Course Enrollment Policy

Penn State is organized into degree-granting colleges which set requirements, offer courses appropriate to their degree programs, and certify graduation.  Students are expected to complete their coursework in the College granting their degree, though students may take their first two years of courses at other campuses before finishing at University Park or other degree-granting locations.   Many programs, including Psychology, have capstone courses or experiences taught by faculty within the program. These programs may have similar requirements, but they are separate in terms of entrance to a major, advising, and administrative status. For these reasons, World Campus Psychology courses are restricted according to the policy described below.

PSYCH courses are offered through World Campus for enrollment by students earning their degrees through World Campus, except during the summer session, when some courses may be available to students from any campus.  The specific restrictions on enrollment are:

  1. Degree candidates at any resident campus may not take World Campus PSYCH courses during the fall and spring semesters.
  2. Resident students at any campus may not earn concurrent PSY majors through World Campus.
  3. Enrollment in some courses may be limited to World Campus majors even during summer session.  In particular, resident students should not expect to take PSYCH 105, 256, 301W, or 490 through World Campus, even in summer.

Non-adult learners from any resident campus may request an exception to enroll in World Campus courses 7 days before the semester starts if there are available seats. These requests will be processed in the order that they are received and will be processed until seats are filled. The request, along with confirmation that prerequisites have been met, must be submitted to the World Campus Registrar by the student’s academic adviser. Adult learners from any resident campus do not need to wait until 7 days before the semester starts and may request an exception at any time by following the same procedure as outlined above. 

Degree completion by University Park students

Under extenuating  circumstances, University Park students who have met the Liberal Arts requirement for residency in a major may be allowed to complete their degrees through World Campus.  Exceptions for this purpose will be on a space-available basis, beginning a week before classes begin, and will not be made for students registered as full-time students at any resident campus location, including UP.   Exceptions should be requested as described above.

General Policies concerning World Campus enrollment

Resident students taking courses through World Campus under any of the circumstances noted above are subject to the “Multiple Campus Registration” policy.  The University’s general registration priorities for World Campus courses are described in the Division of Undergraduate Studies Advising Handbook (see below). However, the policies for PSYCH courses listed above take precedence over these priorities.

Course Registration Priorities

Fall and Spring Semesters

World Campus students have registration priority for World Campus courses. World Campus students have “World Campus” listed as their campus designation on Canvas Academic Summary application, and WD is listed as the student’s campus on LionPATH screens. Students enrolled at other Penn State campuses may register for World Campus courses, if space is available, based on the following (in order of priority):

  1. Graduating Seniors
    Registration for a World Campus course may be an option for a student’s final semester if he/she could not schedule the course required for graduation at his/her campus. An adviser’s confirmation of the student’s status and his/her need must be provided via e-mail to ).
  2. Adult Learners
    World Campus courses are an option for students classified as Adult Learners. To determine whether a student is an adult learner, in LionPATH under General Information, Service Indicators is where AdultLearner will be indicated.
  3. All Penn State Students (regardless of classification or campus assignment)
    Any Penn State student may register for a World Campus course seven days before the start of classes if space is available (based on scheduling restrictions and considerations). Typically, additional students will not be added to the course if the class limit (as indicated in the Schedule of Courses) has been reached.

If a Penn State student is not enrolled in the World Campus but wants to schedule only World Campus courses for a particular semester, he/she can request a change of campus to the World Campus. To make this request, the student should contact the appropriate dean’s office at his/her assigned campus.

Summer Session

Any Penn State student at any campus location can schedule World Campus courses that are not controlled, in accordance with the Registration Timetable.