Graduate Program in Folklore and Folklife
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The graduate program in folklore and folklife at the University of Pennsylvania came into existence in 1962 under the direction of Professor MacEdward Leach from the English Program. Leach was soon joined on the faculty of the graduate program in folklore by Tristram P. Coffin and G. Malcolm Laws, Jr., also from the English Program. After the first year, Don Yoder from the Program of Religious Studies joined the faculty. Upon the retirement of Leach in 1965, Yoder assumed the chairmanship of the program for a period of five years. Kenneth Goldstein, the first graduate of the Ph.D. program in folklore, became the first faculty appointment to the program in 1965. In 1968, he joined Yoder as co-chair and assumed the chairmanship of the program in 1970. Later faculty appointments included Dan Ben-Amos, John Szwed, Dell Hymes, Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, and Thomas Burns. Henry Glassie replaced Kenneth Goldstein as chair in 1976 after the graduate program became the Program of Folklore and Folklife. Brian Sutton-Smith, appointed to the faculty of the Graduate School of Education, was given a joint appointment in the Program of Folklore and Folklife.

In more recent history, John W. Roberts, Margaret A. Mills, and Regina Bendix have also taught in the program. In June 1999, the program was again transformed into a freestanding graduate program.

Additional Information

Graduate Certificate in Folklore Studies
The Curriculum
Program Handbook
Resources for Prospective Applicants
Resources for Graduate Students
Graduate Students Homepages

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