A wide range of courses is available to USP students. In fact, Purdue offers nearly 6,100 courses in more than 200 specializations! Your USP advisor will help you make good course selections that will lead you toward the major that is right for you and will lay a solid foundation for your academic endeavors.

First-year Coursework
Second-year Coursework
Honors Courses

First-year Coursework
First-year coursework for USP students varies, with each student’s schedule tailored to his or her individual interests. The many courses available to USP students fall into three general types:

• Academic, career, and life exploration coursework. All first-semester USP students, including transfer students, take Academic and Career Planning, EDPS 105. Designed specifically for USP students, this class offers many career-exploration activities, such as interest inventories, personality testing, and values clarification.

• General requirement courses, such as English composition and mathematics, necessary in most Purdue schools.

• Electives that lay the groundwork for many majors and introduce you to various fields of study. Your electives may include beginning classes in biology, chemistry, communication, history, languages, psychology, and many others.

Sample plan of study

Second-year Coursework
Ideally, USP students find their academic path during their first year. Some students, however, choose to continue with USP for their second year as well. During the second year, students focus on meeting requirements for particular schools.

Students who have more than one interest area and cannot decide on an academic path take courses that will (1) be accepted by both schools or (2) further their progress in one school or another.

Honors Courses
USP students can participate in Purdue honors courses. First semester students registering for these courses should be in the upper 10 percent of their high school graduating class or have an SAT critical reading and math score of 1200+ or an ACT score of 26+.

Current Purdue students or transferring college students enrolling in honors classes should have at least a 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale. As a USP student, you can also earn and benefit from University honors such as Semester Honors or the Dean’s List.

Once you transfer to a degree granting school or college, further opportunities are available including:

• Honors programs in academic schools
• Scholastic recognition (Dean's List, Semester Honors, and Graduation with Distinction)

Link to website with Honors Course descriptions.

Read about one USP student's experience taking Honors classes.