For College senior Naomi Stark, submatriculating into a master´s program in philosophy wasn’t a way to build her resume — she wanted to engage at a higher level with philosophical content she was interested in.
“The diploma isn’t the prize,” Stark said. “It’s really what I needed, I think, to go into the world and think about what I want.”
For Penn students who aren’t satisfied with just one degree, submatriculation can offer the opportunity to earn two degrees in the span of only four or five years. Students in the School of Arts and Sciences who apply to submatriculation programs are required to schedule an advising appointment with Gary Purpura, the associate director of academic advising. When students come in to discuss the possibility of submatriculation, Purpura says that he tells them to focus on the specifics of the program and how it ties into their individual goals.
“They need to have a very clear rationale as to why they are applying to the specific program they are targeting,” Purpura said. In particular, for professional degrees like the J.D. program offered by Penn Law School, or master’s degrees offered by the Graduate School of Education or the School of Social Policy & Practice, students “need to also have a very clear idea of how that program will benefit them professionally.”
For most students who submatriculate into SAS, their graduate degree — an M.S. or an M.A. — is often insufficient to make them competitive in fields like academia or research. Those students often go on to earn a Ph.D., with the master’s degree serving less of a practical purpose than an intellectual one: students enjoy the opportunity submatriculation gives them for more challenging, graduate-level work.
SAS sets requirements for submatriculation into the M.A. or M.S. degrees, but departments can choose whether or not to offer the option; SAS is currently in the process of verifying which departments plan on making submatriculation available.
“I think it’s roughly about half,” Purpura said. “The reasons vary as to why some do and some don’t — some of those reasons are historical, that these departments have done it for years and years so they continue to do it.” Other concerns, he said, include class sizes and the increased demand for graduate courses that a submatriculation option would generate.
While many other universities offer submatriculation options, Penn stands out for its breadth of options and the high number of courses that may double count for the undergraduate and graduate M.A. or M.S. degrees. The option offered by the Wharton School for submatriculation into the MBA program is also unique among top-tier business schools, potentially giving Wharton an edge over other institutions. The School of Nursing’s opportunities for submatriculation can also make it more appealing to prospective students.
“I always do these little informal focus groups with freshmen to say, ‘Why Penn? What made you come to Penn?’” said Marianne Smith, associate director of enrollment management at the Nursing School. “And the two that always rise to the top are submatriculation into a graduate program and a semester abroad.”
Submatriculation is especially common in the Nursing School; over 40 percent of current juniors have applied to submatriculate into a master’s degree, while the number stands at over 60 percent for seniors.
“All the graduate schools at Penn, their graduate courses are a little more expensive than their undergraduate courses, so it’s a significant savings,” Smith said. “You’ll be graduating with a B.S.N. [and] already having three graduate courses — that’s a minimum of $15,000 savings.”
