Undergraduate Students

Documentary filmmaking in the Himalayas

Supported by National Geographic and other grants, seniors Alina Peng and Charles Zhang traveled to Bhutan to discover how villagers are coping with the effects of water scarcity and climate change.

A group of people talking and laughing in a cluster, with a video camera being held in the top left corner.

Meet the biology major who brought an Iowa caucus to Philadelphia

Junior Jessica Anderson organized the satellite event because she wanted to participate in the political process. Politics aside, she’s aiming for a career that combines research and patient care.

‘FACES’ captures, not defines, Black identity on campus

Sophomore Hadja Diallo and Senior Christine Olagun-Samuel published the inaugural issue of Faces of Black Penn on behalf of the Black Student League, a new magazine that features the diversity inherent in the Black campus experience.

Two construction workers attach a crane to wires around a beam covered in signatures at the topping-off ceremony for New College House West

New College House West milestone marked

As part of a long-standing tradition in construction, members of the construction, project, and architectural teams were given the opportunity to sign the last beam before it was hoisted via crane to the top of Penn's newest residence hall.

Can a woman win in 2020?

Sarah Shaiman, a student in the College of Arts and Sciences, wrote an opinion piece encouraging voters to look beyond identity politics when selecting a presidential candidate. “Electing a woman to be president means nothing if she doesn’t commit to materially improving the lives of the nation’s women, including working-class women,” she wrote.

Slices of toast thrown onto the track at Penn's football stadium.

How rituals shape our world

An Annenberg class about ritual communication encourages students to employ ethnography and textual analysis to think about the unique language of rituals and their endurance.

Two people standing bewteen two clothing racks in a crowded thrift shop space. On the back wall, the word "U Lounge" hangs in brightly colored block letters.

As good as new at Penn Closet

The student-run thrift shop on the ground floor of Williams Hall gives clothes and other items a second life, plus offers donators and shoppers a simple way to practice sustainability.

Scholarship donors, students celebrate at ‘electric’ event

Penn students and their scholarship donors joined on campus to celebrate the beauty of giving at the annual Scholarship Celebration.

Film still of college cost calculator next to icons of a military member, a graduate, a construction worker and a couple with a baby

Can Net Price Calculators tell the true cost of an education?

Laura Perna, a Penn GSE expert on college access, examines the accuracy of college cost calculators, and finds that many are confusing or even misleading.

Group of five people sitting in chairs in a circle

Mentoring circles support a journey through STEM

An initiative of the Biomedical Postdoctoral Council Diversity Committee has established an informal network of “mentoring circles” for postdocs, graduate students, and undergraduates in STEM, with a particular emphasis on including participants from underrepresented backgrounds.

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