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What is real about human-AI relationships?
A screenshot of a Replika chatbot screen.

Image: Courtesy of Annenberg School for Communication

What is real about human-AI relationships?

In a new paper, Annenberg School for Communication doctoral student Arelí Rocha explores how people discuss their relationships with AI chatbots.

Hailey Reissman

2 min. read

Penn’s School of Social Policy & Practice launches nation’s first practice doctorate in nonprofit administration

Penn’s School of Social Policy & Practice launches nation’s first practice doctorate in nonprofit administration

The new degree is the first practice-based doctoral program in the nation focused exclusively on leadership for nonprofit administrators. Applications for the inaugural doctorate in nonprofit administration cohort will open in September 2025, with the program beginning in fall 2026.

Nudging populations toward better health
Kevin Volpp.

Kevin Volpp is the Mark V. Pauly President’s Distinguished Professor at the Perelman School of Medicine and Health Care Management at the Wharton School, and director at the Center for Health Incentives and Behavioral Economics.

(Image: Courtesy of the Wharton School)

Nudging populations toward better health

Kevin Volpp, Mark V. Pauly President’s Distinguished Professor at the Perelman School of Medicine and Health Care Management at the Wharton School, discusses how behavioral health interventions can improve public health outcomes.

From the Regulatory Review

2 min. read

How children learn a foreign language
A young elementary student at a blackboard.

Image: recep-bg via Getty Images

How children learn a foreign language

Yuko Goto Butler’s latest book gathers research on language development and pedagogy among children learning a foreign language and presents it in a manner that bridges research and practice.

From Penn GSE

2 min. read

Curiosity, STEM, and a summer on campus
Two high school students woking with pipettes in a science classroom.

nocred

Curiosity, STEM, and a summer on campus

The Penn Research Experience for High School Students gives Philadelphia 11th and 12th graders a rare opportunity to tackle college-level research.

From Omnia

2 min. read

Penn’s Benjamin Nathans reflects on his work and Pulitzer Prize win
Benjamin Nathans sits at a table in his office.

Benjamin Nathans has been studying Soviet and Russian history for four decades.

nocred

Penn’s Benjamin Nathans reflects on his work and Pulitzer Prize win

Historian Benjamin Nathans’ huge volume on the stories and lives of Soviet dissidents has gotten renewed attention after winning the 2025 Pulitzer Prize in General Nonfiction. Nathan’s research and insights span a four-decade-long career studying Russia and the USSR, modern Jewish history, and the history of human rights.

5 min. read

Building babyGPTs
Morales-Navarro assists a student who holds a computer tablet

Penn GSE doctoral student Morales-Navarro assists a student on the first day of the workshop at the Franklin Institute.

(Image: Darryl Moran)

Building babyGPTs

How Penn’s Graduate School of Education and the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia are redefining AI literacy for youth.

From Penn GSE

2 min. read

Eugenie Birch honored with Regional Plan Association Above and Beyond Award

Eugenie Birch honored with Regional Plan Association Above and Beyond Award

Eugenie Birch, Lawrence C. Nussdorf Professor of Urban Research and Education in the Department of City and Regional Planning and co-director of Penn’s Institute for Urban Research, has been selected to receive the Above and Beyond Award from the Regional Plan Association (RPA) for her contributions to urban planning policy and longstanding service to the RPA.

Understanding how young children recognize emotions in music
Young child with headphones on.

Image: Uma Shankar sharma via Getty Images

Understanding how young children recognize emotions in music

Research from psychologists in the School of Arts & Sciences shows that children ages 3 to 5 can identify emotions in music, but that kids who show fewer signs of empathy or guilt demonstrate poorer emotion recognition. “We’re excited to continue to use music as a paradigm both to understand underlying mechanisms and as a treatment target,” Rebecca Waller says.

2 min. read