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.
Angela Duckworth’s spring Grit Lab course opens to first years and select high school students
This spring, Duckworth is opening the class to high school students in the Young Scholars High School Program, a non-degree program offered by Penn's College of Liberal and Professional Studies.
Penn grad student wins Rhodes Scholarship to research foster care-to-prison pipeline
Fierceton will pursue a Ph.D. in social policy and conduct research on the foster care-to-prison pipeline, representing a disproportionate risk of incarceration for young people in foster care, at the University of Oxford beginning in fall 2021.
New Penn course highlights Indigenous literary perspectives on the climate crisis
The course will examine the effects of capitalism and colonialism on the environment largely through the lens of Indigenous North American, South African, African American, and Palestinian literature.
Here are the College courses that double count for Spring 2021
Here's a comprehensive guide to the courses that double count, based on data from Penn's College Requirements page.
Penn GSE honors three professors with McGraw Prize for innovation in education
The prize recognizes individuals who have made a transformative impact on teaching and learning through innovative projects in three categories: higher education, learning science research, and pre-K-12 education.
Penn profs. author new book analyzing historical and current housing discrimination
The book, titled "Perspectives on Fair Housing," was published as part of the Penn Press series, "The City in the Twenty-First Century."
Penn prof. recognized on American Institute of Chemical Engineers’ ‘35 under 35’ list
The award recognizes young professionals who have made a “significant contribution to the Institute and to the chemical engineering profession.“
Professors turn to platforms like Slack and Slate to connect with students virtually
To make up for the loss of in-person services like “Take Your Professor to Lunch,” professors have shifted to platforms like Slate, Slack, and Gather Town, citing difficulties engaging with students through Canvas.
Over 3,200 students petition Penn to extend Friday’s pass/fail deadline to end of semester
Students said the current deadline of Oct. 30 is too early for them to know how they are doing in their classes, citing the lack of grades so far in their classes and heightened anxiety concerning the online semester.
With classes online, a wave of cheating is ravaging Penn’s academics
While some professors have implemented anti-cheating measures like "live proctoring" on Zoom, students claim that many professors have failed to take necessary precautions against cheating even in the face of inflated class scores.
Penn students use digital platform Gather to imitate in-person office hours
Gather, also known as Gather.town, simulates buildings and classrooms on campus where students, professors, and teaching assistants can interact with one another through personal avatars during office hours.
Engineering Dean’s Advisory Board will launch challenge to tackle environmental issues
To improve Penn's climate impact, the participants will create a proposal for one of the following categories: academics, utilities and operations, physical environment, and purchasing and transportation.
Incoming Dental and SP2 grad students are now required to take anti-racism education course
The online course consists of six Canvas modules spanning 20 hours that focus on Penn and Philadelphia's history of structural racism, implicit bias, allyship, gender identity, and healthcare equity.
Wharton professor wins Aspen Institute award for teaching corporate diplomacy class
Wharton professor Witold Henisz won for his course titled "Corporate Diplomacy: Aligning Stakeholder Analytics and Strategy," which is listed as both MGMT 720 and MGMT 209.
Women are facing disproportionate impacts of pandemic, State Dept. official says at PWH
Kelley Currie, the United States Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues, cited an increase of gender-based violence as a result of the stay-at-home measures and loss of economic opportunity.
At Penn event, former Norwegian PM blasts U.S., China, WHO for botching COVID-19 pandemic
Brundtland, who is also the former Director-General of the WHO, said the pandemic revealed the fragility of the current world order.
GSE receives grants for training, fellowship programs from Institute of Educational Science
IES, an arm of the Department of Education, offers several grants each year to improve educational outcomes through data-driven research
Renowned architect Peter Eisenman wins medal for excellence from Weitzman School of Design
The medal is awarded to “an architect who has changed the course of design history, with a particular focus on the areas of energy conservation, environmental quality, and/or diversity,” according to the Weitzman School of Design.
Annenberg launches new lab to study addiction and emotions in adolescents
Led by Annenberg Assistant Professor David Lydon-Staley, the lab researches short-term dynamics of behavior, particularly in adolescents
