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Student College Credit at Penn State for PLTW Courses

Penn State/PLTW College Credit Process

Penn State/PLTW College Credit Process:

Students can earn credit at Penn State for some of the PLTW courses they successfully complete. The credit is granted in either Mechanical Engineering Technology (2MET), or Electrical Engineering Technology (2EET). Both of these programs are two-year programs. For more information on Penn State Engineering Technology, you should visit the PSU Engineering Technology website and determine how many credits are applied in the programs. Project Lead the Way college credit cannot be applied to an Engineering degree at Penn State. Schools must be PLTW Certified in order for students to be eligible for college credit.

Why do your PLTW college credits apply only to engineering technology programs and not to engineering programs?

Project Lead the Way's three fundamental courses for high school students may receive college credit for comparable engineering technology courses at Penn State. Introduction to Engineering Design (IED), Principles of Engineering (POE), and Digital Electronics (DE) contain similar curricular topics to respectively Spatial Analysis and Computer-Aided Drafting (EGT 114) & Advanced Computer-Aided Drafting (EGT 201), Mechanical Systems (MET 105), and Digital Electronics (CMPET 117) & Digital Electronics Laboratory (CMPET 120). These five Penn State courses are taught at an algebra-level of mathematics to first-year students enrolled in a two-year associate degree in either Electrical Engineering or in Mechanical Engineering Technology.

First-year students enrolled in a four-year baccalaureate engineering degree at Penn State take general education courses that include two calculus and two sciences courses. Engineering  courses taken in the second year are then all calculus- and physics-based, and therefore not comparable with PLTW coursework completed in high school. While PLTW courses in high school are beneficial to a student's future success in an engineering program they do not substitute for college engineering courses at a calculus-level of mathematics.

PLTW Courses Eligible for Penn State Credit:

 PLTW Course 

Penn State Engineering Technology Course 

 Credits

Principles of Engineering

MET 105 Mechanical Systems

3

Introduction to Engineering Design

EG T 114 Spatial Analysis and Computer-Aided Drafting

2

 

EG T 201 - Advanced CAD

2

Digital Electronics

CMPET 117 - Digital Electronics

3
CMPET 120 - Digital Electronics Lab

1

Total Credits

 

 11

School Qualifications:

Pennsylvania schools must be PLTW Certified to be eligible for the opportunity to earn college credit. Certification is not retroactive at Penn State University. If a student completes a PLTW course when their school is not certified, they are not eligible to take the Part C exam for that specific course when the school becomes certified.

College credit is available at Penn State only to students from certified Pennsylvania high schools. Out of state high schools should apply to their PLTW Affiliate University or to Rochester Institute of Technology.

Student Qualifications:

  1. Pennsylvania students may apply for, and be awarded, college credit after completing their freshman year in high school.  It is highly recommended that a student wait until their senior year to apply to Penn State for college credit. Students are responsible for determining how Penn State credits apply to their prospective program, either at Penn State or other Affiliate Universities. See PSU Engineering Technology website.
  2. Students must have completed all of the course requirements for the PLTW course for which they seek credit..
  3. Students must have completed a course portfolio that meets all of the course requirements for the course for which they seek credit.
  4. Students must have an 85% or higher in the PLTW course for which they seek credit.
  5. Students must achieve a 70% or higher on the PLTW College Performance Exam to receive college credit.
  6. Student grades at Penn State are based on the combined Part A and C of the appropriate PLTW Course Exams and are as follows:

 Part A & C Combined Score

 Grade

 94 -100

A

 90 - 93

 A-

 87 - 89

  B+

 83 - 86

B

 80 - 82

 B-

 76 - 79

  C+

 70 - 75

C

Students should be aware that credits awarded by this process will not affect their cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) because the courses are shown on the college transcript as CRX (Credit by Exam).

    7.      Students interested in Penn State credit must complete and submit the "PLTW - Penn State Student Registration Form" with the required tuition.