Scholars Programs
The following programs are available to students in a particular school.
College of Arts and Sciences
Integrated Studies Program
The Integrated Studies Program (ISP) is the first-year curriculum for Benjamin Franklin Scholars pursuing degrees in the College of Arts and Sciences.
Deeply rooted in the liberal arts tradition of acquiring and applying expansive knowledge, this residential academic program invites highly-motivated students to examine complex themes through the integration of multiple academic disciplines and methodologies.
Students are guided through the semester by some of Penn’s leading faculty. By investigating the same ideas under three distinct lenses, drawing simultaneously from the humanities, social sciences and sciences, students sharpen their focus on the similarities—and differences—between the disciplines’ habits of mind.
School of Engineering and Applied Science
Rachleff Scholars
The School Of Engineering and Applied Science is pleased to announce the Rachleff Scholars Program. The Program offers Penn Engineering undergraduates the opportunity to gain valuable research experiences with standing faculty and to participate in a community of peers who share a common interest in research and scholarly inquiry.
The Rachleff Scholars Program is open to rising sophomores with at least a 3.4 Cumulative GPA and strong interests in engineering research. Each student accepted into the Rachleff Program is required to complete work in three separate areas: summer research experience, honors coursework, and scholarly community activities.
School of Nursing
Benjamin Franklin Scholar- Nursing
As a Benjamin Franklin Scholar - Nursing, you will engage in an intensive academic experience, along with peers in the College of Arts and Sciences, the Wharton School and in the School of Engineering and Applied Science, to complete the undergraduate Nursing major with an intensive liberal arts component. In addition to a variety of campus-wide programs as part of BFS, you will be able to enroll in BFS Seminars – courses taught by expert faculty from across campus in a variety of topics.
The Wharton School
Joseph Wharton Scholars
Founded in 1988, the Joseph Wharton Scholars program is designed to emphasize the importance of scholarly research and the liberal arts and sciences within the framework of a business education. Students in the program are required to take scholars courses both in Wharton and outside of Wharton (in the College of Arts & Sciences, Nursing, and/or Engineering), engage in a significant research project, and participate in a variety of academic, career-oriented, and social activities.
The JWS program is the Wharton component of the Penn-wide Benjamin Franklin Scholars program, through which students gain access to BFS Seminars. In addition to the course requirements, students must maintain a minimum 3.4 GPA..
Public Policy Research Scholars
The Public Policy Research Scholars (PPRS) offers a unique opportunity for students to study and explore public policy.
PPRS is an interdisciplinary certificate program intended for undergraduates with a background in economics, who want to explore the impact of U.S. public policy on the domestic economy.
The PPRS program is not a major. Instead, it offers a supplemental course of study, focusing on the quantitative analysis of public policy at the federal level, that can be pursued alongside any major, in any of Penn’s undergraduate schools. Beyond the curriculum, students also are required to do at least one public policy summer internship, for which they will receive funding from the Penn Wharton Public Policy Initiative. They also will have opportunities to assist with faculty-led policy research on campus. Through PPRS, we aim to create a tight-knit cohort of undergraduates from across the University who are committed to gaining the skills and experience necessary to critically assess U.S. public policy, as well as to prepare for graduate study and career opportunities in the field.
The core skills at the heart of PPRS include:
- Economic and political analysis of public policy, for assessing why, how, and with what degree of success the government designs and implements policy.
- Statistical thinking and quantitative analysis of economic data.
- Knowledge of the policymaking process.
- The application of theoretical and quantitative tools to practical, real-life policy questions.
Students that complete the program will have the designation “Public Policy Research Scholar” noted as an honor on their transcripts and will receive a certificate upon graduation.
Wharton Research Scholars
Wharton Research Scholars is an intensive one-year research program for a select group of students who are interested in conducting research under the supervision of some of Wharton’s preeminent faculty members. As part of the program, participants complete an honors thesis.
Students apply to work on a specific project they propose in consultation with a Wharton faculty member who agrees to act as their faculty mentor. Students are allowed to have more than one faculty mentor provided at least one is a member of the Wharton faculty.
Throughout the year, students convene to discuss progress, strategies, and challenges within their projects. This interaction fosters a strong scholarly community where students can learn from each other’s experience. The research scholars also meet regularly with their faculty mentors who advise the students throughout the year. The program culminates with final presentations and publication of research papers on the University of Pennsylvania Libraries’ ScholarlyCommons.