Starting this semester, mathematics course prerequisites will be enforced on Path@Penn for specific classes.
MATH 1080, MATH 1400, MATH 1410, MATH 1610, MATH 2200, and MATH 2300 will now require students to satisfy a prerequisite before registering. Students who were already enrolled in the courses prior to Aug. 12 will not be affected.
The change was announced earlier this month in an advising email, which stated that students who do not fulfill the necessary requirements may see “a prerequisite notification or registration issue” on their schedule.
“This semester, the College and the Math Department jointly rolled out a process for verifying that students meet existing prerequisites at the point of course registration,” Deputy Dean for Undergraduate Studies Molly McGlone wrote in a statement. “The change reflects careful consideration of how to help students learn at the level of instruction that is appropriate for them—which we believe will improve outcomes for all students.”
McGlone added that the process is designed to “do a better job placing students in the math classes they’re best prepared for and will learn the most from.”
In order to satisfy a prerequisite, students must complete a relevant corresponding math course at Penn, receive credit from an Advanced Placement or other qualifying program, or pass a credit exam. Credit exams for math courses are held once during New Student Orientation and once at the beginning of the semester.
In a statement to The Daily Pennsylvanian, Mathematics professor and Department Chair Jonathan Block wrote that this change was “motivated by at least two factors.”
“We are trying to provide better guidance and placement into our curriculum,” Block wrote. “In some cases, students ignore the prerequisites, enrolling in classes they think they are ready for that end up being too advanced for them.”
Block also explained that the department’s decision supported a school-wide effort to enforce prerequisites.
The announcement comes after Penn’s Math Department restructured its linear algebra and differential equations sequence. The department shared earlier this year that it would replace MATH 2400 and MATH 2410 with MATH 2200 and MATH 2300. The reorganization also discontinued MATH 3120 and replaced MATH 3140 with a new proof-based course, MATH 3000.
In 2023, the department created two courses tailored to students of the social sciences — specifically the economics major — in an effort to adapt the curriculum to be suitable for all disciplines.
“We are committed to improving the process for students over time, and we expect to extend prerequisite verification to additional courses in the coming years,” McGlone concluded.
Staff reporter Kathryn Ye covers central administration and can be reached at ye@thedp.com. At Penn, she studies biochemistry and philosophy.
