EDITORIAL: Building on strength

The Wharton/Law SchoolThe Wharton/Law Schooljoint degree program is justThe Wharton/Law Schooljoint degree program is justone example f the benefitsThe Wharton/Law Schooljoint degree program is justone example f the benefitsof academic collaboration.The Wharton/Law Schooljoint degree program is justone example f the benefitsof academic collaboration._____________________________ It represents a way for highly motivated students to save money and shorten the amount of time they spend in school, while still graduating with their undergraduate class and getting a top-notch professional degree. The Wharton/Law program is similar to the popular and competitive Management and Technology and International Studies and Business (ISP) programs that allow undergraduates to get two Bachelor's degrees during four or five years on campus. But the University can -- and should -- do more to exploit its interdisciplinary resources. Talented high school seniors might choose Penn over schools like Harvard and Princeton if their acceptance letters also included guaranteed admission to Penn's Medical, Dental or Law schools. And there's no reason interdisciplinary programs should be limited to undergraduates in professional schools like Wharton or Engineering. ISP draws on the College's International Relations major, and further innovative options exist. For example: Why not link Political Science, Urban Studies or History majors with the Fels Center of Government, and offer these undergrads Master's degrees in public policy or public administration while they're here? What about allowing Theatre Arts undergrads to do work in the Graduate School of Fine Arts and the Annenberg School for Communication if they are interested in set design or show production? Graduate students and undergraduates alike lament what each group perceives as its second-class status on administrators' priority lists. New joint and dual-degree programs bridging the gap between grads and undergrads would help ensure that neither group continues to feel slighted. These programs would also bring the University well-deserved national attention, as they strengthen current educational choices and aid in attracting top faculty who want to both research with and teach talented students.