Undergraduate Programs > Degree Programs Overview

Undergraduate Degree Programs

The School's Educational Mission

More than 250 years ago, Benjamin Franklin, founder of the University of Pennsylvania, envisioned an academic institution where classical learning would be united with a sound practical education in the arts and sciences. In Ben's own words, students ough t to receive "everything that is practical and everything that is ornamental." Today Penn, the oldest university in the nation, is fulfilling that vision by preparing students for a technological world, a world where leadership goes to those who have lear ned how to combine the practical and the ornamental.

Technology is transforming our times and our lives, no longer on a scale of decades but of years and even months. A successful career through such changing times requires engineering graduates endowed with skills that are applicable to widely different te chnologies, skills that transcend the details of any one job. Such is the result of an education that pays much more attention to the fundamental than to the trendy, to the creative more than to the routine. Engineers must also be firmly educated as respo nsible citizens, concerned with the impact of their work on society.

As Penn Engineering is the one school at the University that deals exclusively with issues of technology, we are an integral partner in Penn's initiatives to prepare students for leadership in a high-tech world. Our goal is to prepare students for leaders hip roles in engineering and applied science as well as in other fields, such as medicine, business, and law, for which creativity, critical quantitative thinking, effective communication skills, and a strong commitment to humane values are essential.

Penn Engineering prepares its students for the creation, application, and management of technology through rigorous and up-to-date curricula and teaching methods. Its graduates go on to leadership roles in engineering, technology, and other careers such as business, medicine, and law, for which creativity, rigorous quantitative thinking, effective communication skills, and a strong commitment to human values are essential.

Two key elements distinguish the Penn Engineering experience from that provided by many other institutions: exceptional programs and research and design experience. Our undergraduate programs emphasize both theory and practice while forming intellectual l inkages across a breadth of disciplines. The opportunity for hands-on research, over the four years, allows undergraduates the opportunity to learn about the creation of knowledge and delve more deeply into their chosen field, and thereby become collabora tors in the search for knowledge. The design experience over the four years and culminating in the senior design project challenges students to utilize their academic training and problem-solving skills in practical ways, and provides them with direct ex perience in real-world problems that they will encounter as practicing engineers.

The Degree Programs

Penn Engineering offers two separate degree programs, the Bachelor of Science in Engineering (BSE) and the Bachelor of Applied Science (BAS).

The Bachelor of Science in Engineering is a traditional engineering degree that prepares students to be professional engineers and computer scientists. BSE degrees are offered in the following areas: Bioengineering, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Computer and Telecommunications Engineering, Computer Science, Digital Media Design, Electrical Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics, and Systems Science and Engineering.

The Bachelor of Applied Science degree offers students breadth and allows them to combine a technology-based degree with considerable course work in the liberal arts, communications, or fine arts. It is designed primarily for students whose interests are not oriented toward a professional engineering career. It is a popular degree option for those preparing for careers in medicine, business, and law. Many students who are pursuing cross school programs such as digital media design and the Jerome Fisher Program in Management and Technology also opt for this degree. Specific BAS majors include Biomedical Science, Cognitive Science, Computational Biology and Computer Science. Individualized BAS degrees tailored toward a student's specific interests are also possible.

Joint and dual degree programs link the Engineering majors with a second major in one of Penn's other undergraduate schools. Specific degree programs include Computer and Cognitive Science, the Jerome Fisher Program in Management and Technology (M&T), and Liberal Studies and Technology.