Restricted Giving Categories

The following categories represent some of the priority areas for support in the School of Arts and Sciences.

Undergraduate Education

SAS is committed to crafting a curriculum that offers students the finest undergraduate liberal arts education available anywhere. Currently, the School seeks funding to enhance the following programs:

Freshman Seminar Program. Small classes led by standing faculty allow first year students to experience the intellectual excitement of a small seminar where faculty and students interact one-on-one. Gifts support the development of new seminars.

Writer’s Program. This program seeks to integrate writing into every aspect of the undergraduate educational experience. Gifts support writing fellows, "Writing About" course development, and peer advisors.

Curricular Innovation. Opportunities for unique learning experiences often appear with very little notice. Gifts made for curricular innovation allow the dean to respond to special opportunities with the requisite speed.

Undergraduate Financial Aid

The School of Arts and Sciences is committed to providing the added value that a diverse student body brings to the liberal arts experience. To ensure that a Penn education is affordable for all qualified applicants, gifts to undergraduate financial aid and scholarships are a priority.

Graduate Education and Faculty Development

Recruitment of the finest faculty and graduate students is at the heart of the SAS mission. Endowed chairs are the gift of choice for faculty support. Graduate student fellowship funding is the continuing priority in the Graduate Division.

Facilities: Renovation and Construction

No top research university can maintain its leadership without a continuing investment in state-of-the-art technology and laboratories. The School of Arts and Sciences is raising funds for renovations and new construction projects that will support faculty work well into the twenty-first century.

Memorial and Tribute Gifts

One of the most significant gestures a donor can make is to establish a named gift as a memorial or tribute to a loved one, a valued colleague, a friend, or a respected teacher. Memorial or tribute gifts honor the designee while supporting the area of your choice in the School of Arts and Sciences.

Remembering SAS in Your Will

Gifts made to the School of Arts and Sciences as bequests in a will offer a special way of passing the legacy of the liberal arts on to future generations. A bequest offers the option of making a gift to those who fell unable to do so during their lifetime. Gifts can be designated for scholarships, capital improvement funds, professorships, and more. They can be in the form of a specific gift of cash, stocks, or real estate or a percentage of the estate. The SAS Office of External Affairs will work with donors and their financial advisors to design the most advantageous way of giving.