This week, thousands of undeclared first years arrived on campus — many still uncertain about their future field of study at Penn.
These students will have the chance to choose from 87 majors and concentrations across the University’s four undergraduate schools: 55 in the College of Arts and Sciences, 20 in the Wharton School, 11 in the School of Engineering and Applied Science, and one in the School of Nursing.
Using the University’s most recent Commencement records, The Daily Pennsylvanian analyzed data from the Class of 2026 to provide a snapshot of Penn’s academic landscape. The data spanned degrees conferred in August 2025, December 2025, and May 2026. The DP was unable to determine the majors of 10 graduates.
Across the undergraduate class, the five most popular majors and concentrations were finance, with 412 graduates; computer science — including both the Bachelor of Applied Science and Bachelor of Science in Engineering programs — with 270; philosophy, politics, and economics with 192; biology with 175; and economics with 154, respectively. Together, these majors represented roughly half of the total graduating class of 2,426 individuals.
On the whole, Penn students specialize in academic disciplines relevant to their future careers. In 2025, 48% of the graduating class immediately entered jobs in finance, consulting, and technology, according to an analysis by the DP in March. Many of the most popular majors and concentrations — including finance, computer science, PPE, and economics — directly correlate to those fields.
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PPE — the most popular major in the College — represented more than 13% of the College’s Class of 2026. PPE, introduced in fall 1994, has long been one of the most represented majors in the College.
“Since inception at Penn, PPE has been popular and today it is one of the largest majors in the College of Arts and Sciences,” the major’s webpage reads.
After PPE, biology was the second most popular major in the College with 175 students, trailed by economics with 154, neuroscience with 142, and political science with 134, respectively.
Five majors in the College had only one graduate in the Class of 2026 — Middle Eastern languages and cultures, East Asian languages and civilizations, South Asia studies, theatre arts, and visual studies.
287 College students double majored, 17 College students triple majored, and one student triple majored in the College and earned a second degree from Wharton as part of the Huntsman Program in International Studies and Business.
In Wharton, 412 out of 599 students — over two-thirds of the class — concentrated in finance, by far the most popular concentration. 269 finance students double concentrated, with management, statistics and data science, and business analytics being the most popular second choices.
86 Wharton students concentrated in management, the second most common concentration, followed by business analytics at 70, statistics and data science at 60, and operations, information, and decisions at 48. Two Wharton students concentrated in marketing and communication — the least popular concentration — and two others pursued self-designed individualized Wharton concentrations.
Two Wharton students also concentrated in artificial intelligence for business — Wharton’s newest concentration introduced last fall — and four Engineering School students majored in artificial intelligence under the Raj and Neera Singh Program in AI, one of the first AI undergraduate majors offered at an American university.
In the Engineering School, computer science was followed by mechanical engineering and applied mechanics with 57 students, bioengineering with 56, electrical engineering with 31, and chemical and biomolecular engineering with 28. 14 Engineering students majored in systems science and engineering — which has since been replaced by the Engineering AI major — and 13 majored in digital media design, which is set to be replaced next year by the new visual and interactive computing program.
All 95 Nursing School students graduated with the same degree, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Seven Nursing students also majored in nutrition science, a cross-school collaborative program between the Nursing School and the College.
Across the four schools, 196 students — 8.1% of the graduating class — graduated with dual degrees, with 125 participating in a coordinated dual degree program and 71 earning uncoordinated degrees. 171 dual-degree students earned one of their degrees from Wharton, followed by the College at 110, the Engineering School at 103, and the Nursing School at nine.
Jack Guerin leads data reporting and can be reached at guerin@thedp.com. At Penn, he studies philosophy, politics, and economics. Follow him on X @JackGuerin_.
