Fall 2025, important items and deadlines for undergraduate students {note from the registrar} 

For our new students, welcome to Penn!! For our continuing students, welcome back!!  The Fall term officially starts, August 26! Below are a few items and reminders to get you started for the  Fall term.

Course registration: If you are not registered for classes yet, please do so immediately!! The Office of the University Registrar (OUR) has a wide array of Quick Reference Guides (QRGs) for students, including many that walk them through registration here. There is also a QRG for requesting ‘permission to register’ or a ‘permit’ for a class too here.

The Course Selection deadline is September 9.

• Students can self-manage courses for Add/Drop/Swap in Path until September 9 at 11:59pm(ET). (For any students on part-time per CU status, students receive a full refund for dropped courses by the Course Selection Deadline.)

• Between September 10 through October 6 at 11:59pm(ET), students will be able to use Path to drop a course. (For any students on part-time per CU status, you will receive a 50% tuition refund during this time period. Please review the ‘Universal Refund Policy’ on here.)
• The Course Drop deadline is October 6 at 11:59pm(ET).
• Beginning on October 7 (at 12:00am ET), students will no longer be able to drop a course in Path. The only option will be to withdraw from that course, and no refund is given.
• The Grade Mode Change Deadline is October 24. Students must submit the Path form by 11:59pm (ET) on October 24 to request the update. (It will still process through the appropriate offices after this date.)
• The last day to withdraw from a course is November 3. Students must submit the Path form by 11:59pm (ET) on November 3 to request to withdraw. (It will still process through the appropriate offices after this date.)

Quick notes and reminders:

• Full time registration for undergraduate students is a minimum of 4CU’s.
  For international students, if a RCL is needed to go below the 3CU minimum requirements for immigration purposes, please talk with the ISSS office well before deadlines to review the process and options.

• Penn Accelerated Masters (AM) students: course collection for Fall 2025 courses will be sent after the Course Selection deadline.
• Important links:

• • Info around Path@Penn and how to navigate the system is here.

• • Information on Engineering policies can be found here.

• • Please review the University’s Three-Year Academic Calendar with many important dates as well

• • Have questions on your curriculum, requirements or courses?  Please see whom you should speak with here for advising.

Important Academic Update:

Penn AM students (please note this is the last time we’ll use the drop/add deadline for fall admits; moving forward, the deadline is 6/1. The deadline for spring 2026 is now December 15).

External AM students (no change, February 1 deadline).

Dual Degrees & Dual Majors (deadline is now December 15, and as a reminder, dual degrees will apply in Slate).

For incoming First Year Students only 

Please RSVP Here! 

Apply to be a CBE Study Hall Mentor 

Please also visit the Penn Engineering Events Calendar for all upcoming SEAS Events.

Fall Course Offerings

Are you in collaborative approaches to design and working with neurodivergent students to improve their experiences con campus? Consider registering for this interdisciplinary course, ARCH 7280/IPD 5280. You’ll have a chance to develop new approaches to design and new ways to apply your skills. You’ll also get a chance to work on something that could be implemented on campus in the future.

Here’s a quote from one of the students from the class last year: Designing inclusively means creating solutions that not only serve the majority but also embrace the needs and experiences of marginalized groups. By addressing the unique challenges faced by those outside typical norms, design becomes a tool for equity and empowerment, fostering environments where diversity is celebrated and everyone can participate fully. This shift has profoundly enriched my approach to design.”

Ocean-Atmosphere Dynamics” EESC-4336

Hello Penn students,

Bringing to your attention my class “Ocean-Atmosphere Dynamics” EESC-4336 (cross-listed with PHYS-3314, and grad credit available under EES-6336). The class meets on Mon/Wd, 3:30-5pm in Haydn Hall 360, and includes fun (and not too complicated) coding (Matlab or Python, your choice). See attached the Syllabus, and a short description below.

I will likely not teach this class again until Fall 2027, hence this note in case you were considering it for next year (in that case, take it now!).

Looking forward to a great semester !

Irina Marinov

p.s. First lecture only on zoom, Wd Aug 27. If you are not sure if your background is a fit, hang around after the first class to chat, or fill in the attached First Class Handout, and send it my way.

“This course covers the fundamentals of atmosphere and ocean dynamics and aims to put these in the context of 21st century climate change. The lectures will focus on the physical mechanisms responsible for the global energy balance and large-scale atmospheric and oceanic circulation. We will introduce fundamental concepts of fluid dynamics and we will apply these to the vertical and horizontal dynamics in the atmosphere and ocean. Concepts covered include hydrostatic law, buoyancy and convection, basic equations of fluid motions, Hadley and Ferrell cells in the atmosphere, thermohaline circulation, modes of climate variability (El-Nino, Southern Annular Mode), wind driven ocean circulation. We will discuss projections from the latest generation of global climate models as summarized in the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 2022 reports. This is a general course, which spans many sub-disciplines (fluid mechanics, atmospheric science, oceanography, climate dynamics), and is a real-life application of fluid mechanics for engineering or physics students. The course will include sessions in which students will learn how to write and run simple Matlab or Python (your choice) programs to study the climate, as well as rotating tank experiments to simulate ocean/atmosphere flow in water labs. Computer related assignments will enhance the learning of the class material. No prior experience with Matlab or Python is needed.

Background in basic calculus needed (1st year calculus required, vector calculus ideal). Introductory physics (mechanics) recommended. This course is useful for anyone interested in entering a graduate program or pursuing research in climate sciences, fluid dynamics, fluid physics or engineering related fields. Prior knowledge of meteorology or oceanography not needed.

Graduate students should sign up for EESC6336.”

EESC4336_PHYS3314_Syllabus_Fall2025

FirstClasshandout_2025

UPenn Alternative Protein Project , a chapter of the Good Food Institute’s Alt Protein Project

CBE Seniors,