The Graduate Division

The Graduate Division is the home of doctoral programs in the arts and sciences at Penn, with more than 30 graduate groups spanning the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences.

At the Frontiers

Our graduate groups offer a rigorous education, guiding students as they pursue advanced research and begin to make their own original contributions at the frontiers of knowledge.

A Variety of Paths

Our doctoral students represent the next generation of scholars and leaders of academia, as well as experts who will apply their advanced training in a wide variety of professions.

Grad Ben Talks

Build your professional portfolio at Grad Ben Talks, an afternoon of TED Talk-style presentations by Penn Arts and Sciences graduate students.

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Graduation and Beyond

Graduate Groups

Africana Studies

Ancient History

Anthropology

Applied Math and Computational Science

Art and Archaeology in the Mediterranean World

Astronomy

Biology

Chemistry

Classical Studies

Comparative Literature

Criminology

Demography

Earth and Environmental Science

East Asian Languages and Civilizations

Economics

English

Germanic Languages

History

History and Sociology of Science

International Studies

Jewish Studies

Linguistics

Mathematics

Music

Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations

Philosophy

Physics & Astronomy

Political Science

Psychology

Religious Studies

Romance Languages

Sociology

South Asia Regional Studies

Grad Ben Talks

Recently, Penn Arts and Sciences presented the 2018 Grad Ben Talks: an afternoon of TED Talk-style presentations by graduate students representing the Humanities, Social Sciences, Natural Sciences, and Professional Master’s programs. Judges selected winners in each of the four categories. There was also an Audience Choice Winner selected by online votes.

Watch the winning presentations

Arts & Sciences News

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Penn Ph.D. Student Named Director of U.S. Muslim-Jewish Relations by American Jewish Committee

Ari Gordon, a graduate student in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at Penn Arts and Sciences, has been named Director of U.S. Muslim-Jewish Relations for American Jewish Committee (AJC).

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Quayshawn Spencer, Robert S. Blank Presidential Associate Professor of Philosophy

Spencer Named Robert S. Blank Presidential Professor

Quayshawn Spencer, Associate Professor of Philosophy, has been named the Robert S. Blank Presidential Associate Professor of Philosophy.

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The cemetery of the Church of St. Thomas (above) in Mosul, Iraq, was badly damaged by Islamic State militants. The new grant awarded to the University of Pennsylvania will go toward stabilization and conservation of such culturally important sites.

State Department Awards Penn Team $2 Million to Preserve Cultural Heritage in Northern Iraq

The two-phase, three-year project aims to revitalize the city of Mosul and its culture.

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An example nanotopographical map from 2D molybdenum sulfide membranes.

The Nanotopography of an Atomic World

Physicists in the School of Arts and Sciences offer insights into the structure of atomically thin materials using nanoscale images of 2D membranes.

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The ancient city of Cahokia, located in what is now Illinois.

Marking the Winter Solstice, from Neolithic Times to Today

In cultures the world over, the promise of longer days has provided reason to celebrate for millennia, according to Penn Arts and Sciences scholars.

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Electric Bond

Behind the discovery of a new class of electronic materials is a 20-year collaboration between two Penn Arts and Sciences physicists, winners of the 2019 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics.

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