University of Pennsylvania facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
University of Pennsylvania

Coat of arms
Latin: Universitas Pennsylvaniensis
Former names	Academy and Charitable School in the Province of Pennsylvania (1751–1755) College of Philadelphia (1755–1779, 1789–1791) University of the State of Pennsylvania (1779–1791)
Motto	Leges sine moribus vanae (Latin)
Motto in English	"Laws without morals are useless"
Type	Private research university
Established	November 14, 1740; 284 years ago (1740-11-14)
Founder	Benjamin Franklin
Accreditation	MSCHE
Academic affiliations	AAU COFHE NAICU URA
Endowment	$21.0 billion (2023)
Budget	$4.4 billion (2024)
President	J. Larry Jameson (interim)
Provost	John L. Jackson Jr.
Academic staff	4,793 (2018)
Total staff	39,859 (Fall 2020; includes health system)
Students	23,374 (Fall 2022)
Undergraduates	9,760 (Fall 2022)
Postgraduates	13,614 (Fall 2022)
Location	Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , United States 39°57′N 75°11′W / 39.95°N 75.19°W / 39.95; -75.19
Campus	Large city, 1,085 acres (439 ha) (total); 299 acres (121 ha), University City campus; 694 acres (281 ha), New Bolton Center; 92 acres (37 ha), Morris Arboretum
Other campuses	San Francisco
Newspaper	The Daily Pennsylvanian
Colors	Blue and Red
Nickname	Quakers
Sporting affiliations	NCAA Division I FCS – Ivy League Philadelphia Big 5 City 6 IRA EARC EAWRC
Mascot	The Quaker

The University of Pennsylvania (often called Penn or UPenn) is a private research university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. It is part of the famous Ivy League group of schools. Founded by Benjamin Franklin before the United States became a country, Penn aimed to teach leaders in different fields like business and public service. It is one of the oldest universities in the U.S.

Penn has four schools for undergraduate students and 12 schools for graduate and professional studies. Some of its well-known schools include the College of Arts and Sciences, the School of Engineering and Applied Science, the Wharton School (a top business school), and the School of Nursing. Penn's medical school was the first of its kind in North America.

The main campus is in the University City area of West Philadelphia. Important spots on campus include Houston Hall, which was the first modern student union building, and Franklin Field, a historic college football stadium. Penn's sports teams are called the Penn Quakers, and they compete in 33 different sports.

Many famous people have studied or worked at Penn. This includes U.S. Presidents, Nobel Prize winners, and leaders from around the world. Eight of the people who signed the United States Declaration of Independence were connected to Penn.

History of Penn

The idea for Penn started in 1740 when a large building was put up in Philadelphia for a traveling speaker named George Whitefield. Later, in 1749, Benjamin Franklin shared his plan for a "Public Academy of Philadelphia."

On June 16, 1755, the College of Philadelphia was officially created. This allowed the school to offer classes for undergraduate students.

Exploring the Campus

The Statue of Benjamin Franklin, honoring the university's founder, in front of College Hall on Penn's main campus

Upper Quad Gate forming lower part of Memorial Tower, which honors veterans of the Spanish–American War

Much of Penn's campus buildings were designed by a firm called Cope and Stewardson. They created a style called Collegiate Gothic, which mixes the look of old English universities like Oxford and Cambridge with local designs.

The main campus covers about 299 acres in West Philadelphia. All of Penn's schools and most of its research centers are here. The area around campus has many restaurants, shops, and a movie theater. Penn's campus is also close to Drexel University.

The Wistar Institute, a cancer research center, is also on campus. In 2014, a new building was added to help the university and the Wistar Institute work together even more.

In 2010, Penn expanded across the Schuylkill River by buying 23 acres of land. This area is now called Pennovation Works. It's a place where academics and business people can work together on new ideas and inventions.

Green Spaces and Gardens

In 2007, Penn gained about 35 acres near the Schuylkill River. This area, along with another 24-acre site, became home to new parks and athletic fields.

In 2011, Penn opened the 24-acre Penn Park. This park has areas for relaxing and playing sports, with lots of trees and open spaces.

Penn also has two special gardens called arboreta. The main campus itself is a large urban forest with over 6,500 trees. The second, the Morris Arboretum & Gardens, is 92 acres and has over 13,000 plants from around the world.

New Bolton Center

Penn also owns the 687-acre New Bolton Center. This is a research and animal hospital for large animals, part of Penn's veterinary school. It became famous when the racehorse Barbaro was treated there after an injury.

University Libraries

Van Pelt Library, Penn's main library building

Penn's first standalone library built 1891 (image circa 1915), designed by Frank Furness

Interior of School of Design library

Penn's library system has 14 libraries with over 6 million books. These libraries cover many subjects, from law and medicine to fine arts and business.

The Penn Design School's Fine Arts Library was the first library building made just for Penn. It was designed by Frank Furness to have separate areas for storing books and for reading.

The Yarnall Library of Theology is also part of Penn's libraries. It has a large collection of rare books on religion and church history.

Art on Campus

The Covenant, designed by artist Alexander Liberman and installed at Penn in 1975

Penn's campus has over 40 interesting art pieces. This is partly because Philadelphia has a rule that new building projects must spend 1% of their budget on public art.

In 2020, Penn put up a huge bronze sculpture called Brick House by artist Simone Leigh. It's 16 feet tall and looks like an African woman's head on a house-like shape.

Another famous sculpture is The Covenant, often called "Dueling Tampons" by students. It's a large red metal structure installed in 1975.

There's also a giant white button sculpture called The Button near the Van Pelt Library. It was designed by Claes Oldenburg and has holes big enough for people to stand inside. Penn also has a copy of the famous Love sculpture.

Penn is currently reviewing its public art. In 2020, a statue of Reverend George Whitefield was removed. Research showed he owned enslaved people and supported slavery.

Penn Museum

University Museum and Warden Garden

The Penn Museum was founded in 1887. Since then, it has been involved in 400 research projects around the world. Its first project was digging in Nippur, an ancient city in Iraq.

The museum is home to the largest real sphinx in North America. This sphinx is about seven feet tall and weighs 12.9 tons. It was found in Egypt in 1912 and moved to Penn in 1913.

The museum has three floors of galleries with artifacts from Egypt, the Middle East, and other parts of the world. One of its most famous items is a goat sculpture from the royal tombs of Ur.

Other Penn Museums and Galleries

Penn has many smaller museums and galleries across campus. These places display over 8,000 artworks collected over 250 years.

The largest art gallery is the Institute of Contemporary Art. It shows different art exhibitions throughout the year. The Arthur Ross Gallery also displays Penn's art collection.

Student Residences

Penn has many College Houses, which are dorms where students live. Each College House has faculty members living there to support students. There are also nearly 40 themed living programs for students with similar interests.

The College Houses include Fisher Hassenfeld, Gregory, Gutmann, Harnwell, Harrison, Hill College House, and more. The newest one, Gutmann, opened in 2021.

Older students often rent apartments or homes near campus. Some students also live in sororities and fraternities.

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  The university's first purpose-built dormitory in the foreground (on right), built in 1765

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  The Upper Quad, originally called The Triangle, and formerly "The Men's Dormitory," viewed from the Memorial Tower

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  Woodland Walk pathway between Hill College House and Lauder College House

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  Hill College House, a dormitory designed in 1958 to house female students, was designed by Eero Saarinen

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  "The Quad," formerly known as the Men's Dormitory, in 2014

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  The Alpha Tau Omega fraternity house, built by George W. Childs Drexel as one of two mansions for his daughters

How Penn is Organized

The College of Arts and Sciences is where undergraduate students study arts and sciences. Other schools with undergraduate programs include the School of Nursing and the School of Engineering and Applied Science.

Penn's police department is the largest private police force in Pennsylvania. Its officers have the same powers as city police officers on campus.

University Seal

The 1757 seal of the academy and College of Philadelphia

The official seal of the University of Pennsylvania is a special symbol used on important documents. The current design was approved in 1932.

The seal has the Latin name of the university, "Universitas Pennsylvaniensis," around the edge. Inside, there are seven books with titles of subjects like Theology, Astronomy, and Philosophy. The university's motto, "Leges Sine Moribus Vanae" (Laws without morals are useless), is also on the seal.

Academics at Penn

Penn has a "One University Policy." This means students can take classes in any of Penn's twelve schools. This helps students explore different subjects and combine their interests.

Penn also offers special programs where students can earn two degrees from different schools at the same time. These include programs like International Studies and Business, or Management and Technology.

Admissions to Penn

* SAT and ACT ranges are from the 25th to the 75th percentile. Getting into Penn is very competitive. Admissions officers look closely at a student's grades, class rank, and letters of recommendation. For students from the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, Penn considers applications without looking at how much money their families can pay.

For the class entering in Fall 2022, Penn received over 54,000 applications.

Special Programs at Penn

Smith Walk with a view of Towne Building and the Engineering Quad

Penn offers unique programs that combine different fields of study. These include:

• Huntsman Program in International Studies and Business
• Jerome Fisher Program in Management and Technology (M&T)
• Roy and Diana Vagelos Program in Life Sciences and Management (LSM)
• Nursing and Health Care Management (NHCM)
• Roy and Diana Vagelos Integrated Program in Energy Research (VIPER)

These programs allow students to earn degrees from multiple schools, like arts and sciences combined with engineering.

Penn also has a School of Social Policy and Practice (SP2). This school focuses on research and education about social and economic issues.

The School of Veterinary Medicine offers programs that combine veterinary medicine with other fields. This helps future veterinarians work in areas like human health or environmental health.

Medical and Research Centers

Penn's nursing school and veterinary school are highly ranked. The Perelman School of Medicine is also one of the best medical schools for research.

The University of Pennsylvania Health System (UPHS) includes several hospitals, like the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Penn Medicine, which includes UPHS and the medical school, owns the first hospital ever built in the United States, the Pennsylvania Hospital.

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  The Pennsylvania Hospital as painted by Pavel Svinyin in 1811

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  Perelman School of Medicine

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  Penn School of Dental Medicine

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  Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania

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  Penn-owned Princeton Medical Center, eastern facade

Global Partnerships

Penn students can study abroad at many partner universities around the world. These include schools in Singapore, London, Edinburgh, and Hong Kong.

Penn's Rankings and Reputation

U.S. News & World Report ranked Penn as the 6th best national university in the U.S. for 2024. Penn's business school (Wharton), nursing school, and veterinary school are also ranked among the top in the country.

Groundbreaking Research

ENIAC, the first general-purpose electronic computer, founded at Penn in 1946

Penn is known as a top research university. In 2018, it spent over $1.4 billion on research, one of the highest amounts in the U.S.

Penn's research often combines different subjects. Many research centers focus on interdisciplinary work, meaning they bring together experts from various fields.

Penn has also made many important discoveries. For example, the first general-purpose electronic computer, ENIAC, was created at Penn in 1946. The first spelling and grammar checkers were also developed here.

In medicine, Penn researchers have made huge breakthroughs. These include developing the Rubella and Hepatitis B vaccines. They also discovered the Philadelphia gene, which is linked to a type of leukemia. More recently, Penn developed Kymriah, a new gene therapy for treating certain types of cancer.

Penn professors also won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for inventing a process to make plastic conduct electricity.

Student Life at Penn

Penn is a diverse university. In 2018, nearly half of the accepted students were Asian, Hispanic, African-American, or Native American. About 14% of students were from other countries.

Penn is also known for being very welcoming to LGBTQ+ students. Its LGBTQ+ center is one of the oldest in the country, offering support and guidance since 1979.

Student Well-being

Sometimes, students at Penn feel pressure to be perfect in their studies and activities. This can lead to them feeling stressed or worried, even if they appear happy on the outside. This feeling is sometimes called "Penn Face." The university has started programs to help students with their well-being and offer support.

Student Organizations

The Philomathean Society Presidential Library, named after former U.S. president and Penn Med alumnus William Henry Harrison

Penn has many student clubs and groups. The Philomathean Society, founded in 1813, is the oldest student literary society in the U.S. It hosts talks and events for everyone.

The Daily Pennsylvanian is an independent student newspaper. It has been published daily since 1885 and has won many awards. The newspaper also publishes a weekly arts magazine called 34th Street Magazine.

The Penn Debate Society (PDS) is Penn's debate team. They compete in national and international debates. The Penn History Review is a journal that publishes historical research by undergraduate students.

Penn Electric Racing

Penn Electric Racing unveiled REV8 on March 31, 2023, in front of the Statue of Benjamin Franklin in front of College Hall

Penn Electric Racing (PER) is a team that designs and builds electric racecars. They compete against other college teams in the Formula SAE competition. Their cars have won first or second place multiple times.

Performing Arts Groups

Penn has many performing arts groups, including dance, music, comedy, and theater. The Performing Arts Council (PAC) oversees 45 student organizations.

Penn Glee Club

Penn Glee Club's 1915–1916 academic year membership photo

The The University of Pennsylvania Glee Club, founded in 1862, is one of the oldest glee clubs in the U.S. They put on a Broadway-style show each year with singing from all genders.

The Glee Club has traveled to many states and over 40 countries. They have performed for U.S. Presidents and other world leaders.

Penn Band

The University of Pennsylvania Band at the 2019 homecoming game

The The University of Pennsylvania Band has been a part of Penn since 1897. They perform at football and basketball games, and at university events like graduation. They were the first college band to perform in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Penn's A Cappella Groups

Penn Masala performs in the Blue Room of the White House in October 2009 on invitation from President Barack Obama.

Penn has 14 a cappella groups that sing without instruments. They perform pop, rock, R&B, jazz, and even Hindi and Chinese songs. Penn Masala is the world's oldest South Asian a cappella group from an American university. They have performed for many famous people, including Barack Obama.

The movie series Pitch Perfect was inspired by Penn's a cappella community.

Comedy Groups

The Mask and Wig clubhouse

Mask and Wig is a musical comedy group founded in 1889. It was originally all-male, but in 2021, it became open to all genders.

Bloomers comedy group, founded in 1978, is the first all-women musical and sketch comedy group at a college. They now accept anyone who does not identify as a cisgender man.

Religious and Spiritual Groups

Penn has many religious and spiritual organizations for students. These include groups for Christians, Jewish students, Roman Catholics, Hindus, Jains, Muslims, and Buddhists.

• The Christian Association (CA) has been on campus since 1857.
• Jewish life is centered at Penn Hillel, which offers religious communities and social events. The Chabad Lubavitch House also supports Jewish students.
• The Penn Newman Catholic Center, founded in 1893, supports Catholic students and staff.
• For Hindu and Jain students, there are groups like the Penn Hindu & Jain Association. They host events like the Holi Festival.
• The Muslim Students' Association (MSA National) helps Muslim students build faith and community. Penn also has a full-time Muslim chaplain.
• The Penn Meditation and Buddhism Club helps students practice mindfulness and learn about Buddhism.

Penn Athletics

Penn's sports teams are called the Penn Quakers. They compete in the Ivy League and NCAA Division I. They have won many championships in football and basketball. The first sports team at Penn was the cricket team, formed in 1842.

Baseball

University of Pennsylvania versus Georgetown Baseball Program circa 1901

Penn's first baseball team played in 1875. They have won several championships in the Ivy League and have advanced to the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship five times.

Basketball

1907-1908 Penn Quakers basketball team in photo that appeared in Spaldings Official A.A.U. basketball guide (September 1907).

Penn basketball has a rich history. The men's team made it to the Final Four in 1979. Penn's team is also part of the Philadelphia Big 5, which includes other local universities.

Cricket

Penn's 1887 Cricket Team, which won the Intercollegiate Cricket Association, the de facto national championship, displaying the trophy granted to winner (held in front row by person wearing white hat)

The first Penn cricket team was formed in 1842. Penn won the national championship 23 times between 1881 and 1924. After a break, Penn started fielding a club cricket team again in 2009.

Curling

The University of Pennsylvania Curling Club won the national championship in 2016 and again in 2023. They are the only East Coast team to have won this title.

Football

Chuck Bednarik, also known as Concrete Charlie was a three-time All-American at Penn who was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, the first player selected in the 1949 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles, where he went on to win the 1960 NFL Championship and was inducted into Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Penn's first football team played in 1876. Famous players from Penn include John Heisman and John Outland, who both have national awards named after them.

Chuck Bednarik, a Penn player, also has an award named after him for the best defensive player in college football. He later played for the Philadelphia Eagles.

In 1951, a Penn football game was the first college game ever broadcast in color.

Ice Hockey

University of Pennsylvania team in front of photo of College Hall in 1896–97, its first season of existence, featuring George Orton future winner of gold medal in the 1900 Summer Olympics im 2500 meter steeplechase (top row, second from the end of the right side) and who was the first disabled person to compete in the Olympics)

Penn's first ice hockey team played in 1896–97. Today, Penn has a club ice hockey team that plays in the American Collegiate Hockey Association.

Olympic Athletes

The University of Pennsylvania men's track team was the 1907 IC4A point winner. Left to right: Guy Haskins, R.C. Folwell, T.R. Moffitt, John Baxter Taylor, Jr., the first black athlete in the U.S. to win a gold medal in the Olympics, Nathaniel Cartmell, and J.D. Whitham (seated)

At least 43 Penn alumni have won 81 Olympic medals, including 26 gold medals. Penn won the most medals at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris.

Rowing

Penn's eight-oared crew in 1901, the first foreign crew to reach the final of the Grand Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta

Rowing at Penn started in 1854. Penn has men's and women's rowing teams that compete in the Eastern Sprints League. Many Penn rowers and coaches have gone on to become Olympians.

The 1955 Men's Heavyweight 8 team, coached by Joe Burk, won the Grand Challenge Cup at the Henley Royal Regatta. Penn's men's crew team also won the National Collegiate Rowing Championship in 1991.

Rugby

John Heisman, a University of Pennsylvania Law School class of 1892 alumnus and rugby football player, posing at Penn in 1891 holding elongated ellipsoidal rugby ball and gestures resembling the famed "Heisman Pose"

The Penn men's rugby team is one of the oldest college rugby teams in the U.S. They played their first game in the mid-1870s. John Heisman, for whom the Heisman Trophy is named, played rugby at Penn.

Penn's men's rugby team plays in the Ivy Rugby Conference. In 2013, they won the Shield Competition at the Collegiate Rugby Championship. Penn also has a women's rugby team that started competing in 1984.

Athletic Facilities

Penn's Franklin Field, in photograph taken shortly after completion of the upper deck in 1925.

Franklin Field is where the Quakers play football, lacrosse, and track and field. It is the oldest stadium still used for college football games. It was also the first stadium to have a scoreboard and to broadcast a college football game in color. The Philadelphia Eagles also played here from 1958 to 1970.

Penn's Palestra is often referred to as the Cathedral of College Basketball.

Penn's Palestra is the home gym for the men's and women's basketball and volleyball teams. It is known as "the most important building in the history of college basketball."

Penn also has River Fields for soccer and field hockey, and Meiklejohn Stadium for baseball. The Class of 1923 Arena is Penn's ice hockey rink.

Penn's three rowing teams use Number 11 Boathouse Row as their headquarters

Notable People from Penn

Penn alumni, faculty, and trustees have achieved great things in many fields.

Two U.S. Presidents, Donald Trump and William Henry Harrison, are Penn alumni. Many other Presidents have received honorary degrees from Penn. Nine foreign heads of state have also attended Penn.

Three U.S. Supreme Court justices and many U.S. senators and representatives are Penn alumni.

In business, Penn alumni include Warren Buffett and Elon Musk. Penn has the largest number of undergraduate alumni who are billionaires.

Penn alumni have won many awards in the arts, including Tony Awards, Grammy Awards, Emmy Awards, and Oscars. John Legend is a Penn alumnus who has won all four of these major awards (an EGOT).

Penn alumni have also served in the U.S. military, including the founder of the United States Marine Corps. Five Penn alumni have received the Medal of Honor.

As of 2023, 38 Nobel laureates have been connected to the University of Pennsylvania.

Many Penn alumni have also won Olympic medals.

Other famous alumni include poets Ezra Pound and William Carlos Williams, civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., and actresses Candice Bergen and Elizabeth Banks.

Alumni Groups

Penn has over 120 alumni clubs in 52 countries and 37 states. These clubs help alumni stay connected and work together. The Penn Club of New York is a large clubhouse in New York City for Penn alumni.

Images for kids

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  The Pennsylvania Hospital as painted by Pavel Svinyin in 1811

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  Perelman School of Medicine

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  Penn School of Dental Medicine

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  Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania

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  Penn-owned Princeton Medical Center, eastern facade

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  The university's first purpose-built dormitory in the foreground (on right), built in 1765

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  The Upper Quad, originally called The Triangle, and formerly "The Men's Dormitory," viewed from the Memorial Tower

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  Woodland Walk pathway between Hill College House and Lauder College House

• 

  Hill College House, a dormitory designed in 1958 to house female students, was designed by Eero Saarinen

• 

  "The Quad," formerly known as the Men's Dormitory, in 2014

• 

  The Alpha Tau Omega fraternity house, built by George W. Childs Drexel as one of two mansions for his daughters

• 

  The Pennsylvania Hospital as painted by Pavel Svinyin in 1811

• 

  Perelman School of Medicine

• 

  Penn School of Dental Medicine

• 

  Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania

• 

  Penn-owned Princeton Medical Center, eastern facade

• 

  The university's first purpose-built dormitory in the foreground (on right), built in 1765

• 

  The Upper Quad, originally called The Triangle, and formerly "The Men's Dormitory," viewed from the Memorial Tower

• 

  Woodland Walk pathway between Hill College House and Lauder College House

• 

  Hill College House, a dormitory designed in 1958 to house female students, was designed by Eero Saarinen

• 

  "The Quad," formerly known as the Men's Dormitory, in 2014

• 

  The Alpha Tau Omega fraternity house, built by George W. Childs Drexel as one of two mansions for his daughters

See also

In Spanish: Universidad de Pensilvania para niños

• List of universities by number of billionaire alumni
• Education in Philadelphia
• Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program (TTCSP)
• University of Pennsylvania Press