Schools

Founded by Walter H. Annenberg, the Annenberg School for Communication produces research that advances the understanding of public and private communication and produces applied research that advances policymakers' ability to create a media environment for the development of its citizens.  Penn’s Annenberg School educates doctoral students in the theories, substance and methods of communication research and places them in leading academic and professional positions. Annenberg also provides a first-class liberal arts education to undergraduates, helping them become better consumers and producers of public information, strengthening an understanding of communication and preparing them for private and public sector leadership.

Established in 1878, Penn Dental Medicine is among the oldest university-affiliated dental schools in the nation, with a history of forging precedents in education, research and patient care. Academic programs include a DMD program with dual-degree options in education, bioethics, bioengineering and public health; postdoctoral training in eight specialties with an option for a master's in oral biology; and a degree program for foreign-trained dentists. Students log nearly 9,600 service hours annually serving more than 20,000 neighborhood residents.  Penn Dental Medicine spans basic and clinical sciences and provides community dental care in teaching clinics and the Penn Dental Faculty Practices.

PennDesign is an inventive place of learning where the fields of architecture, planning, preservation, landscape and fine arts come together. Formerly known as the Graduate School of Fine Arts, the school is committed to design that is creative in nature and transformative in impact. Faculty and students seek to recast the distinction between theory and practice, expand knowledge and invention through research and contribute works of value and beauty. PennDesign offers a number of dual degrees and certificate programs that foster inquiry and experimentation in a collaborative environment.

The Graduate School of Education is one of the nation's premier research education schools, and GSE faculty members are national leaders in the production of educational and social research. The school has long been known for excellence in teacher education and in leadership-preparation programs for educators in K-12 and higher education settings. Penn GSE also excels in the production of scholarship in language and literacy, teacher education, educational policy, higher education, applied psychology, social theory and social research methods. GSE offers innovative degree programs for practicing professionals and provides students with partnership opportunities with local educators.

Penn Law offers a superior legal education enhanced through cross-disciplinary study opportunities unrivaled among leading law schools. To complement their rigorous legal training, students can take classes to earn certificates or joint degrees at other Penn schools and programs, from Wharton to the Center for Bioethics. The intellectual vitality of Penn Law is defined by the faculty, an outstanding group of scholars in every major legal area. More than 70 percent hold advanced law-related degrees beyond the JD, and more than 50 percent have joint appointments or affiliations with other Penn schools.

As the nation's first medical school, the Perelman School of Medicine, named for Raymond and Ruth Perelman, has a long-standing commitment to education, research and patient care.  Today, it consistently ranks among the top medical schools in the country and among the top three in National Institutes of Health grants awarded to medical schools .  In addition, the Perelman School of Medicine offers outstanding Ph.D., master's and combined-degree programs. The school's students are among the finest in the nation, receiving training at the University of Pennsylvania Health System, which includes nationally acclaimed hospitals dedicated to high-quality patient care and service. 

As the School of Social Policy & Practice enters its second century, it is one of the nation's leading centers of knowledge development, transfer and application in human services. The theory-based master's programs in social work, social welfare, non-profit leadership and social policy and the clinical doctorate program in social work encourage students to think and work nationally and internationally across disciplines and cultures. This vision is reflected in all aspects of the school's educational and research programs as well as in work on the Penn campus, in the Philadelphia community and in national and international social change efforts.

Penn Vet is focused on providing the best care to beloved pets, preventing zoonotic diseases in animals and humans, protecting the food supply and discovering treatments for animal illnesses. Since 1884, Penn Vet has recognized that human and veterinary medicine are "one medicine," and close ties with the Perelman School of Medicine have resulted in groundbreaking research. The Philadelphia campus includes the Matthew J. Ryan Veterinary Hospital for small and companion animals, and Kennett Square's New Bolton Center houses the George D. Widener Hospital for Large Animals. Penn Vet also plays an integral role in supporting Pennsylvania agriculture.