The College of Arts and Sciences tapped English professor Jed Esty for a three-year position overseeing the school’s new undergraduate curriculum.
According to an Aug. 24 announcement, Esty will begin serving as curriculum lead in January 2027, helping faculty and departments put the framework into practice. The new curriculum — the College’s most substantial overhaul since the late 1980s — includes the College Foundations program, revised general education and language requirements, and expanded elective options.
A request for comment was left with Esty.
“We’ve done this once-every-generation reboot,” Esty wrote in the announcement. “It’s a major redefinition of what an undergraduate education at Penn is and should be.”
In his new role, Esty will oversee the curriculum’s rollout while working across the College to address implementation challenges and explain the changes to the Penn community. The curriculum is set to take effect for the Class of 2031.
Esty wrote that he hopes the curriculum will encourage students to explore unfamiliar subjects earlier in their undergraduate careers and place learning at the center of their Penn experience.
“We want students to launch their Penn careers by exploring new passions and interests at the outset rather than waiting until senior year to take a chance on that one fascinating elective,” he said.
At the heart of the revised curriculum is the College Foundations program, which includes interdisciplinary “Kite” and “Key” courses, an updated first-year seminar, and a writing seminar. The curriculum also revises the distribution of general education requirements, changes the College’s language requirement, and adds a requirement called “Perspectives & Difference.”
College faculty vote to approve new undergraduate curriculum for Class of 2031
Penn faculty discuss College Foundations pilot program, ‘new era’ for general education curriculum
The program was first piloted with a small cohort of College students last year and is being expanded this fall ahead of its full launch in 2027.
According to the announcement, Esty plans to connect students’ academic interests with a broad range of careers and work with faculty members to attract students to majors and minors across the College.
He added that the Kite and Key program has given participating faculty opportunities to collaborate with colleagues in other disciplines and work with new texts and materials.
“We want the curriculum to be galvanizing and energizing not just for students, but for faculty, too,” Esty wrote.
College Dean Peter Struck wrote that Esty’s experience in leadership roles at Penn over nearly two decades prepared him to oversee the transition.
“Jed’s perspicacious insight and broad engagement in leadership positions over nearly two decades at Penn position him well to do this crucial work for the College,” Struck wrote. “He will play a key role in facilitating the many dimensions of this transition.”
The College faculty approved the curriculum with 70% support following nearly four years of development. The framework will be evaluated one, three, and five years after its implementation in fall 2027.
Last year, students expressed initial mixed reactions to the pilot program in conversations with The Daily Pennsylvanian.
The program also aims to simplify general education requirements for undergraduates in the College. Students will now take at least 12 courses in one division of their choosing, five in a second, and three in the third.
College faculty vote to approve new undergraduate curriculum for Class of 2031
Penn faculty discuss College Foundations pilot program, ‘new era’ for general education curriculum
Senior reporter Ananya Karthik covers central administration and can be reached at karthik@thedp.com. At Penn, she studies communication and economics. Follow her on X @ananyaakarthik.
