Academics
There’s always something new going on at Penn’s four undergraduate schools and 12 graduate schools. Look here for information on upcoming academic initiatives, new classes and research conducted by professors and students.
Penn boasts more rigorous study-abroad programs
Higher education experts have called into question the academic value of study abroad. But according to Office of International Programs Executive Director Ann Waters, Penn is ahead of the curve in terms of ensuring the academic rigor of its programs.Penn Med students prepared for business side of health care
Although nationally, many medical school graduates say they feel inadequately prepared for the business aspects of health care, this doesn’t seem to be the case at Penn.Penn researchers inform health care reform debate
While current health care reform efforts seem distant - with most discussions based in Washington, D.C. - Wharton, the School of Medicine and the School of Nursing are playing a significant role.Abroad enrollment steady despite national decline
Penn students are continuing to go abroad in large numbers, despite trends to the contrary among many American universities. About 23 percent of Penn's junior class goes abroad.Alumnus wins Nobel in physics
George Smith, who graduated from the University in 1955, was awarded the 2009 Nobel Prize for Physics Tuesday. He received the award with two fellow researchers.Pearson plans to release English proficiency exam to rival TOEFL
Since its inception in 1964, the Test of English as a Foreign Language has effectively dominated the English proficiency exam market. However, it may come to face steep competition.Prof: Low life expectancy in U.S. due to history of smoking
Recent research suggests that the United States’ low life expectancy, when compared to that of other developed nations, is not due to problems in the medical system but to the high rates of smoking in the past.New SEAS program integrates engineering and social sciences
The School of Engineering and Applied Science’s new Market and Social Systems Engineering program will integrate systems engineering with the study of social sciences such as economics and finance.Business majors are popular, but perhaps not only for career aspirations
Almost one-quarter of the student body at Penn is pursuing a business or economics major.Law students get more professional
Penn Law’s Center on Professionalism has introduced new programming this fall aimed at assisting first-year students in cultivating professional skills outside the classroom.Research Roundup | Fears of flu? Moods are contagious, too
Penn researchers study gun possession, emotional contagion and balloon-borne telescopes.New study shows link between skin color and sexual injuries
Seven years ago, Marilyn Sommers wondered whether current forensic exams could actually determine whether a woman had consented to sex.SP2 develops new concentration in aging
To address the rapidly growing demand for geriatric social services, the School of Social Policy and Practice has developed a new concentration aimed at equipping students with the skills essential to providing care to older adults.Students weigh in on requirement classes
Introduction to Geology, Astronomy 001: A Survey of the Universe, Ideas in Mathematics — the courses many a Penn student plans to take eventually in order to knock off a requirement or two.Pete Dexter to speak about journalism at KWH
It took a severe physical beating to convert writer Pete Dexter from newspaper reporting to fiction writing, but he seems to have found his niche.
Ghosn: "Man plans and God laughs"
Carlos Ghosn wants students to take the path less traveled.