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.
Online classes, travel bans: How the Ivy League is responding to the coronavirus outbreak
A growing number of universities are banning international travel and mandating that classes shift to online platforms to limit the spread of the virus.
Penn cuts off University-related travel and large on-campus events due to coronavirus
A further update on whether Penn is shifting to online classes will come later this week, Provost Wendell Pritchett wrote in an email to the Penn community.
Penn asks teachers to prepare for possible online classes amid coronavirus spread
Vice Provost for Education Beth Winkelstein wrote that as of now, classes are expected to meet as scheduled when Penn returns from spring break on Monday, March 16.
Best-selling author Ottessa Moshfegh discusses her novel and existential despair at KWH
Moshfegh was invited and introduced by Penn professor of Religious Studies Justin McDaniel, who teaches the popular course, Existential Despair.
New Wharton course will teach students ‘financial savvy’ in the fall
The course, Consumer Financial Decision Making, will be open to students from all years and schools and will explain how to make financial decisions relating to mortgages and insurance.
Wharton to introduce its first course on artificial intelligence in 2021
Artificial Intelligence for Business will be the first course to be fully dedicated to studying AI in a business context.
History prof. Walter Licht will step down as Civic House faculty director in June
Licht, who is in his 43rd year at Penn, has served as Civic House's Faculty Director since 2002.
Institutional racism and minimal recognition: Inside Du Bois’ complicated history at Penn
Legendary sociologist and writer W.E.B Du Bois notably worked at Penn over a century ago, and his legacy is celebrated at the University with the dorm that bears his name. But the experience of one of America's foremost Black thinkers at Penn is fraught with more discrimination than is often recognized.
Environmental justice panel discusses impact of climate change on marginalized communities
The panel, held at the LGBT Center by PennFems, Sister Sister, and Fossil Free Penn, featured climate activists discussing the intersections of racial and environmental justice.
Carmen Maria Machado reads excerpts from her memoir ‘In the Dream House’ at KWH
Machado is a writer in residence at Penn and a recipient of the Bard Fiction Prize for her work.
Penn senior wins Churchill Scholarship to study at Cambridge University
The scholarship grants one year of graduate study at University of Cambridge in England and is awarded annually to only fifteen students in the U.S. for “outstanding academic achievement” in science, mathematics, and engineering.
New School of Design degree program focuses on using robotics in architecture
Penn's Stuart Weitzman School of Design will offer a new degree program this fall that combines robotics and architectural design. The new program is known as Master of Science in Design: Robotics and Autonomous Systems (MSD-RAS), and it is one of the few architectural programs in the nation to use robots and artificial intelligence in design.
'Weapons of Math Destruction': NYT best-seller Cathy O'Neil talks data privacy breaches
O'Neil wrote The New York Times bestselling book, "Weapons of Math Destruction," which was assigned to all incoming members of the Class of 2023 last summer as part of the Penn Reading Project.
UA heads campaign to help students understand their academic rights
College senior and UA President Natasha Menon said the student government branches will create a document compiling all academic policies listed across different student handbooks from the four undergraduate schools by the end of February.
Wharton to continue actuarial science concentration for 3 years following student backlash
Although the actuarial science concentration was removed from Wharton's web homepage late last semester, the program is now expected to continue for three more years.
Pulitzer Prize finalist talks difficulties of writing plays about climate change at KWH
Pulitzer Prize finalist Madeleine George cited several reasons why climate change is difficult to write about, including verb tense issues and the waste created by theatrical productions.
Penn receives $10 million to benefit first-generation, low-income students from NYC
The donation, made by 1992 College graduate Mindy Gray and 1992 College and Wharton graduate Jon Gray, will fund annual tuition and summer grants for 10 highly aided students from New York City.
Penn student and 2018 graduate win Marshall Scholarship
The grant funds up to three years of study at a college or university in the United Kingdom for up to 50 American postgraduates annually.
New research seminar will analyze narratives of living on the U.S.-Mexico border
The course will focus on social, political, and historical issues surrounding immigration on the United States-Mexico border.