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.
Fulbrights awarded to 13 Penn students
Though the application process is said to be grueling, the University “does pretty well with encouraging kids to apply for Fulbrights and making their applications good enough to be accepted,” Director of the Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships Harriet Joseph said.SEAS and SAS Double Majors allowed
A new measure that will allow College of Arts and Sciences and School of Engineering and Applied Sciences students to pursue second majors outside of their schools has been passed by undergraduate education committees and awaits a final faculty vote in the fall.Penn Med students selected for professional ethics fellowship
30 medical and law students nationwide will travel to Europe to study ethics through the lens of the Holocaust.Health communication will go abroad to China
A new program, led by Penn professors, will help a Beijing school understand why some fliers compel students to wash their hands, while others don’t quite persuade students to grab the nearest bottle of hand sanitizer.Summer Enrollment Up
Enrollment in 12-week summer classes is up drastically from last year.
Fineman to teach mini-course
Newsweek’s Senior Washington Correspondent, columnist, and NBC and MSNBC analyst Howard Fineman will teach a 3-session mini course at the Kelly Writers House this fall.Penn prof. receives Lifetime Achievement Award
Penn Psychology Professor Martin Seligman’s contributions to the field of psychology were recognized when he received the Philadelphia Behavior Therapy Association’s second Lifetime Achievement Award on May 26.de Rothschilds donate $1 million to Penn's World Scholars Program
Sir Evelyn and Lynn Forester de Rothschild gave Penn’s World Scholars Program a $1 million gift with the intention of supporting a Penn World Scholar from a British Commonwealth country.
Redefining roles, more men choose nursing
Despite pervasive stigmas casting nursing as a female field, Penn’s small number of male nurses has begun to grow.
Class project creates fire starters in the likeness of banned books
Instead of writing final papers or taking exams, students enrolled in “Architecture 302: Investigating Product Design” were able to make their own semester-culminating projects.'Three Cups of Tea' author to speak at Nursing commencement
A nurse himself, Greg Mortenson will offer a unique, global perspective on nursing in his speech, which fits with the Nursing School’s educational model.U. expands summer online course options
Undergraduates may choose between 10 online courses this summer, up from four in 2009. All internet-based programs are part of the College of Liberal and Professional Studies curriculum, and each fulfills one of Penn’s general education requirements, including sectors.Following national trend, U. encourages Arabic language studies
Although national rates show an increase in Arabic studies enrollment, but Penn saw a slight decrease in 2009-2010.U. ‘pleased’ with grad rankings
Last week, U.S. News and World Report credited Penn graduate and professional programs with several substantial improvements over the past year.Grant funds new collaboration in Ghana
The International Development Summer Institute Africa Program, a new collaboration between the School of Engineering and Applied Science and the College’s African Studies Center, will send 14 students from Engineering, Wharton and the College to Ghana for four weeks this summer.'U.S. News' releases grad school rankings
Penn Med rose to second for research, Wharton fell two spots to fifth, and Penn Law rose one place to seventh from 2009.Study finds PG-13 film violence on the rise
A recent study conducted by the Adolescent Communication Institute at Penn's Annenberg Public Policy Center found that over the decades, top-selling films within the PG-13 category have been growing steadily more violent, while sexual content increased in R-rated films.
On the road to driverless cars
‘Bhakt’ robots were programmed by Engineering grad students to follow the path of a lead ‘guru’ robot. The names are Hindi for ‘follower’ and ‘leader,’ respectively.New scholarship helps Phila. social workers get ahead
Scholarship recipients will receive $30,000 from Penn and $24,000 from DHS to receive a Master in Social Work degree from the School of Social Policy and Practice.