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Our Place
in the Universe

Our Place in Creating New Pathways

At Penn Arts & Sciences, students embark on intellectual journeys

where they expand horizons, explore their passion, build connections from the classroom to careers and communities, and enrich their lives. Our undergraduates, regardless of major, gain communication, analytical, and quantitative skills and leave well-prepared for their futures, ready to take on roles from tech entrepreneur to journalist to clinical research to filmmaker. Our outstanding graduate students are essential to the intellectual life of a great university and assume roles as leaders in scholarship and industry.

188 Doctoral Degrees conferred annually in 34
graduate groups

2,350+
courses

63
majors

80
minors

6,400+ students

Our Place in Pushing the Boundaries of Knowledge

Penn Arts & Sciences faculty are the foundation for excellence

in all that we do. As innovative teachers and outstanding scholars, they advance how we think about the world’s biggest questions, lead the way in transformative discoveries, and invent new directions in interdisciplinary inquiry. These synergistic avenues of study manifest in curricula, programs, and centers that specialize in the study of everything from big data to social norms to performance arts.

177 endowed chairs
500+ faculty
33 Research centers
$104 million in research grants

Our Place in Communities, Local and Global

Penn Arts & Sciences’ engagement with community

starts close to home and reaches across the globe, whether it's investigating lead toxicity in Philadelphia neighborhoods in order to protect those at the greatest risk of exposure, or shoring up clean-water infrastructure in Mumbai. Service courses and programs create unique outreach opportunities for faculty and students, including initiatives like Kitchen Science, which teaches students from underrepresented backgrounds scientific concepts using inexpensive tools and materials from the kitchen, and Penn Prison Project, which offers academically rigorous courses in philosophy and mathematics to individuals impacted by the justice system.

Faculty are involved in a range of academically based courses that involve service to the wider community. This includes English-as-a-second-language programs, a course which brings Penn students together with West Philadelphia residents to read plays, a summer workshop for young writers, and a “Philosophy for the Young” program that helps cultivate philosophical thinking.
Portrait of Amy Wu
Amy Wu, a neuroscience and economics major in the Vagelos Program in Life Sciences & Management, is founder and president of Penn’s chapter of the Brain Exercise Initiative, a service club that connects student volunteers with senior citizens to help combat social isolation and cognitive decline.

Our Place at the Heart of a Thriving Network

Penn Arts & Sciences alumni demonstrate the full possibilities of the liberal arts.

As Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners; doctors, lawyers, and scientists; teachers and entrepreneurs; leaders in finance, government, and nonprofit work, and more, our alumni make their marks in the world. Through a variety of mentoring programs, they bring their experience back to campus to instill in students the confidence they need to thrive. And a network of generous alumni volunteers are valued partners, advocating for the importance of the liberal arts and helping us achieve our highest priorities.

The Professional Women’s Alliance uses panel discussions, career roundtables, and enrichment programs to support women students and young alumnae.
Nearly 120k total Penn Arts & Sciences alums

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