Stuart Weitzman School of Design
102 Meyerson Hall
210 South 34th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Please visit the Weitzman Academic Calendar.
Health Insurance Requirement
All full-time and dissertation-status students, exchange students here for a semester or more and all students on a J-1 visa, must carry comprehensive health insurance as a condition of student enrollment at the University of Pennsylvania. The University makes available a group policy, the Penn Student Insurance Plan, for eligible students without medical insurance. Students who have their own health insurance may waive enrollment in the PSIP by submitting a waiver request by the August 31 deadline. Failure to comply with the health insurance requirements will prevent registration for the upcoming semester.
Immunization Requirement
The University of Pennsylvania requires that all students meet the immunization requirements. Any student not complying with these requirements will have a hold placed on their registration. Detailed information about the immunization requirement is available through Wellness.
Each student is assigned a faculty academic advisor by their department. Dual-degree students have two academic advisors, one for each of their programs. Advisor assignments are visible to students when logged into Path. In partnership with the Director of Student Services and the department staff, advisors are the principal source of assistance to students in planning their academic program, seeking advice, and dealing with challenges as they arise. Students should plan to meet with their faculty academic advisor at least once per term and are strongly encouraged to maintain consistent communication with their advisor throughout their degree program.
In addition to academic faculty advisors (advisor type ACAD), students may have additional advisors, including:
All Weitzman students must register during the fall and spring terms until all degree requirements have been met unless a leave of absence has been granted. To satisfy the continuous registration requirement, students must be registered for coursework, master’s thesis, or dissertation supervision for the fall and spring terms. Students are not required to register for summer term(s) unless their program of study requires summer coursework. Masters students who are finishing Incomplete coursework that is preventing them from graduating will register for Masters Thesis Completion, which is available in Summer, Spring, and Fall terms. Federal loans and Weitzman scholarships are not available to cover the tuition costs for the Masters Thesis Completion enrollment. See Tuition and Finances for the Masters Thesis tuition rates.
A degree student who has not maintained active status by registering each fall and spring term and who has not been granted an official leave of absence will be withdrawn. Students who are withdrawn from the Weitzman School for inactivity are not eligible for readmission.
Weitzman's degree programs are offered in-person. Classes at the University are only available in an online format if specifically designated as an online course (with the section type ONL) on the term roster at the section level in Path@Penn. In general, Weitzman does not offer any online courses, and students should expect to see the ONL designation only on courses offered in select other schools at Penn. In addition, online courses in other schools may be restricted to students in a specific degree program and may not be available to Weitzman students. International students need to pay particular attention to rules limiting the number of online courses they are allowed to take and should consult with their ISSS advisor if considering an online course.
Path@Penn is the landing page for Weitzman students to access resources pertaining to courses and registration, degree mapping and progress tracking, viewing transcripts, updating bio and contact information, and more. All students register for courses in CourseLeaf Path, which is also accessible through the "Search and Register for Classes" link in Path@Penn.
A PennKey and password are required to login to Path.
Before selecting classes, students should review the information in their student profile to confirm the following information is correct on the student record:
Students who find errors in their information should contact the Office of Student Services at des-studentservices@design.upenn.edu.
For more information on using Path@Penn, visit the University's Pennant Resources page.
Before the advance registration period begins, the Weitzman Registrar administratively registers students for courses that are required for the degree and for which students do not have a choice of section, time, or instructor. Therefore, students are advised to notify the Weitzman Registrar of any course waivers or approved deviations from the standard course of study prior to the start of the advance registration period. Once advance registration begins, students are responsible for registering for the remaining courses needed for the standard course of study, which include electives and/or required courses with a choice of day, time, or instructor. MSD-AAD students have a set schedule in the summer term and therefore are also administratively registered for their summer courses by the Weitzman Registrar.
Students with registration holds will not be administratively registered and will need to complete their registration through CourseLeaf Path once the hold is lifted.
New students who will begin in the Fall term (or with a summer institute in August) receive registration instructions in early June regarding summer institute and Fall course registration. A registration restriction is placed on all new student records until the date in mid-June when incoming Weitzman students can register. Incoming students from countries facing sanctions or other restrictions from the U.S. government may not be able to register until a later date, such as when they have obtained their visa or arrived in the U.S. Please direct any questions to the Weitzman Registrar.
Incoming students in the M.Arch 3.5 year program who need to take ARCH 5000 will be administratively registered for this course by the Weitzman Registrar in early May.
Advance registration is a two-week period in which students enter requests for their course preferences in the upcoming term.
All continuing Weitzman students are required to request courses during the advance registration period. and will receive details via email approximately one week prior to the start of Advance Registration. Students who have an active status, even if they have not yet registered for classes for the upcoming term, will be be billed for the full-time tuition rate in accordance with the university billing schedule.
Students may enter their course preferences at anytime during the advance registration period. This is not a first-come, first-served process, so there is no advantage to registering early and no guarantee that students will be enrolled in all of their requested courses. At the end of the advance registration period, the system will then enroll students in courses based on designated priorities and seat availability. Course demand impacts whether students are enrolled in all of the courses they requested. Approximately two weeks after the advance registration period closes, student schedules are posted in CourseLeaf Path.
If a student does not receive a full schedule, or if they wish to change their course selections, they may begin revising their schedule when the Add/Drop/Swap period begins. Add/Drop/Swap begins at 7:00am ET the morning after schedules post and runs through the second week of the term for which a student is registering. Term-specific registration dates can be found on the Weitzman Academic Calendar.
Students are strongly encouraged to meet with their academic advisor prior to registering for the next term. This is an opportunity for students and their advisor to ensure that their plan of study and planned course registration meets their degree requirements. Students with questions regarding the registration process should contact their program coordinator or the Weitzman Registrar.
Advance Registration Tips:
Students whose programs do not require summer enrollment are advised that there is no Weitzman financial aid available for classes taken during the summer, and federal loans are not available for courses that do not meet degree requirements. Students should consult with their department before registering for summer courses.
MSD-AAD students are administratively registered for their required summer courses. Any non-MSD-AAD student who chooses to register for summer courses are advised that there is no advance registration for the summer term; registration for summer courses is on a first-come, first serve basis and courses may reach maximum enrollment.
Students who have an active hold on their account will not be permitted to register for the upcoming term. Active holds are displayed when students are logged into Path or in their Student Profile. The Weitzman Registrar and Weitzman Student Services cannot clear student holds that are placed by another department at the university, such as Wellness or Billing. It is critical that students follow up with the department placing the hold (usually SRFS or Wellness) as soon as possible to rectify the situation.
Students are responsible for registering for the correct courses required by their program in the term in which they offered. When selecting courses, students should refer to their degree requirements as noted in the Catalog, Degree Audit in Path, and relevant department communications and materials. Students with questions about degree requirements should consult their academic advisor, department coordinator, or the Weitzman Registrar's office.
The registration system will not permit students to register in two classes that meet at the same time. Time conflicts are generally approved only in extenuating circumstances, when the amount of scheduling overlap is minimal and one of the courses contributing to the time conflict uses in-class time flexibly (such as studio sessions). Permission from both instructors is required for a time conflict override and must be forwarded to the Weitzman Registrar for processing. Time conflicts for courses that are needed to complete a certificate program are not guaranteed. The scheduling priority is the student's degree program, not a certificate.
Students wishing to drop a course after the end of the course selection period and the late drop deadlines must first discuss the impact of the withdrawal with their program director. Withdrawing from a course means that credit will not be earned, and if the course is a prerequisite or degree requirement, a course withdrawal could impact degree progress and time to degree completion. If making up the course or the credit in a future term results in an overload (more than 5 CUs), the student will be charged the per-CU tuition rate for the additional credit(s). Weitzman scholarships are not increased to cover any additional future tuition fees that are incurred due to making up for a course withdrawal.
If the program director approves of the course withdrawal, submit the Withdraw From a Course form through Path Forms. The deadline to withdraw from a course is around the middle of the semester; the specific course withdrawal deadline for each term can be found on the Weitzman Academic Calendar.
Students who have a serious and compelling extenuating circumstance may submit a written petition to the Weitzman School Office of Student Services to grant a late withdrawal for a course after the mid-semester withdrawal deadline has passed. Students petitioning for an exception must obtain support from the course instructor and their department chair. After the last day of classes, withdrawals are not permitted.
If the withdrawal request is approved, the registration for the course remains on the student’s record and the notation of “W” is placed as a permanent entry in the grade section of the student’s transcript. The “W” does not affect the student’s grade point average. There is no refund for course withdrawals.
Withdrawal (W) grades do not count towards international student’s full-time status requirements. International students should consult International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) before requesting a course withdrawal.
See also "Registration Changes and Title IV Funds" below.
In some instances, students with a specialized background in a subject will be given permission by their academic department to waive a required course. A course waiver only waives the course requirement; it does not reduce the total course units needed to complete the degree. The course unit(s) must be completed by registering for a substitute course. Course waivers are handled at the department level. Students seeking course waivers should seek assistance from their academic department regarding the process to waive a course. The department will submit the appropriate paperwork to the Weitzman Registrar for processing. When the waiver has been formally applied to the student’s record, the student will receive confirmation by email that the waiver has been processed. Students with pending waiver requests should enroll in their required courses and then update their course schedule after their waiver request(s) has been approved, processed, and confirmed.
When students enrolled in a degree and a certificate, the student’s certificate coursework usually fulfills elective course requirements. In these instances, certificate courses are "double counted" towards both programs.
Courses cannot be triple counted to simultaneously fulfill requirements in three programs (any combination of three degree and/or certificate programs). PhD students who have completed a masters degree at Penn and are getting credit for those courses towards their PhD requirements may not also count those courses towards another degree. Students completing dual-degree or certificate programs may encounter scheduling conflicts between competing program requirements.
Students interested in pursuing an individual study project need to formalize the independent study on the Request for Independent Study form, which requires the signature of the supervising faculty member and the program director. The completed form, with all required signatures, should be emailed to the Weitzman Registrar at des-studentservices@design.upenn.edu no later than two weeks before the beginning of the term in which the Independent Study will be completed.
It is the responsibility of the student to define the individualized project and find a supervising faculty member. Departments may require Independent Studies to be supervised by a standing faculty member. Faculty are not required to supervise Independent Studies. Independent Study courses may not duplicate courses that are already offered.
Policies on which courses fulfill elective requirements vary by program, but in all programs (except for MFA) courses must be 5000-level or higher.
During the 2025-2026 Academic Year, departments will be starting to use attribute codes to designate which courses may fulfill elective requirements. Because the attribute lists are not yet final, students should check with their program director if they are interested in any courses that are not on the attribute list. Specific program rules are as follows:
Some programs may allow students to take courses in other schools, but in all cases (except for MFA students) the courses must be 5000-level or above, which designates graduate-level coursework. (See section below for information about undergraduate courses.) Students should always check with their department before enrolling in a course in another school to ensure the course will count towards their degree program. Students are required to follow the registration policies and procedures of the home school (Weitzman) to enroll in a course outside Weitzman. If a student isn't able to request permission for a course in Path, they should contact the Weitzman Registrar at des-studentservices@design.upenn.edu. Even if other grade modes are available on a course, students must take classes for a letter grade in order for the course to count as a degree requirement. The exception to this is MFA students, who take their courses Pass/Fail.
A note about Law courses
The Law School uses a semester hour (SH) system, rather than a credit unit (CU) system. Law courses that are 2 SH are the equivalent of .67 CUs and 3 SH courses are the equivalent of 1 CU. Students should take note of the semester hours when registering for a Law course to ensure that it translates to enough CUs to meet the Weitzman degree requirements. In situations where students want to take a 2 SH course but need the equivalent of 1 CU, they may be able to arrange with the instructor of the Law course to undertake additional assignments during the semester to increase the "weight" of the course. Notification of additional work and a change in SH value needs to be sent to the Registrar's Office at the Law School. For assistance in coordinating this process, students may contact Weitzman Student Services.
Courses with a course number lower than 5000 are considered undergraduate courses. If a Weitzman student takes an undergraduate course, credit will not be earned towards their graduate degree program unless prior approval was obtained from the student's department chair.
Although it is unlikely that such a situation would occur, if an undergraduate level course is deemed essential to attaining specific skills or knowledge in order for a student to meet their academic goals, then credit may be granted. In order to receive credit for an undergraduate course, the student must submit a written request to their department chair outlining why the course is necessary for their studies before enrolling in the course. After reviewing the petition, the department chair will notify both the student and the Weitzman Registrar of the decision. If a student is enrolled in a dual-degree program, the student must receive permission from both department chairs to receive credit for an undergraduate course.
Students may have room in their schedule to take courses in addition to those needed for their degree requirements. In these situations, if an undergraduate course is being taken for general interest and not for degree requirements, permission is not needed from the department chair, but regular tuition and billing policies apply.
Masters students who wish to attend class sessions without completing the assignments or taking examinations may audit the course. Auditing a course requires permission of the instructor and official "Audit" registration. To audit a course, complete the Overload and/or Audit Enrollment form and return it to the Weitzman Registrar after obtaining the necessary signatures from the instructor and program director. If approved, the student will not receive credit for the course, but the course will appear on the official transcript with “AUD” in the grade column.
Doctoral students may audit a course at no additional cost if it is taken as a 5th CU in a term.
The Weitzman School places great emphasis on interdisciplinary study and offers a series of dual-degree options to enable students to take their creative and intellectual study and research across conventional departmental or program boundaries. Students may pursue two masters degrees concurrently by participating in a formally-approved dual-degree program. Students may not concurrently enroll in two separate degree programs if an established dual-degree arrangement does not exist.
Dual degree options exist between programs within Weitzman and other schools in the University. Dual degree applicants must apply and be accepted to each program/school. Students who have been admitted to one program may apply for admission to a second program within the first year of beginning their studies. If admitted, students must work with the directors of the respective programs to agree upon the sequence and timing of courses to be taken.
Each department/program designates an advisor for its dual-degree programs. The dual-degree may involve joint courses, studios or independent studies in which the student can be expected to address issues that emerge from and engage both areas of study. Some of these cross-disciplinary opportunities are built into the dual-degree programs. However, others will be determined on an individual basis or according to the changing schedules of course and studio offerings.
All dual-degree students in programs offered with Weitzman are required to complete a study plan and have it approved by each department's chairperson. Dual-degree students in programs in other schools must file an approved study plan with the Office of Student Services within the first term of matriculation into the dual-degree program.
Interdisciplinary requirement: In cases where dual-degree students are not required to complete a joint interdisciplinary thesis or final project, each student will be required to submit one upper level course or studio project, taken in either department (or program), to advisors in both departments as evidence of an investigation simultaneously broaching topics in both disciplines.
Credit earned for a course taken jointly may apply towards both degrees. A course cannot be used to fulfill more than two requirements. Dual-degree students are eligible for course waivers and substitutions under the same policy listed above; as with all waivers and substitutions, a waiver does not reduce the overall number of CUs needed for the dual-degree.
For dual-degree programs offered within Weitzman, the scholarship amount offered by one Department will be maintained by the second Department participating in a given dual-degree program.
Students completing a dual-degree within Weitzman complete both degrees in the same term and must submit a graduation application for each degree. Weitzman dual-degree students may not receive their degrees in separate terms. Weitzman students enrolled in a dual-degree program at another school at the University must comply with both school's policies and procedures regarding applying for graduation, degree eligibility, and commencement participation.
Changes in a student’s registration may affect financial aid, billing, academic standing, and academic progress. Students receiving Federal Title IV funds should be aware that dropping or withdrawing from a course (or courses) may affect their future federal aid eligibility as outlined in the policy on Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP). It could also result in students needing to return a portion of the federal aid that was initially borrowed for the term. Students are strongly encouraged to talk to the Weitzman offices of Registrar, Financial Aid, and Student Services before withdrawing from a course.
