An education in the College of Arts and Sciences encompasses opportunities for learning inside and outside the classroom, in laboratories and libraries, through language study and internships, and with interdisciplinary programs that bridge the acquisition of knowledge across and through intellectual boundaries that have previously defined our campus and universities world wide.

Undergraduate research provides a first hand experience in academic disciplines and interdisciplinary centers for all students, including incoming students. Science students uncover the neuroendocrinology of obesity or work to understand how infants learn language. Students of the social sciences study state and local voting patterns or the ways that zoo culture has shifted from a wildlife amusement park aesthetic to a focus on environmental conservation and scientific research. Those with interests in the humanities study musical notation in 13th century French medieval motet manuscripts or investigate gender and sexuality in modern China.

Students in the wide-ranging scholars programs are integrating knowledge from a variety of specializations or digging deeply into a particular area of study. Ranging from the Integrated Studies Program for first year Benjamin Franklin Scholars to the Vagelos program in Biochemistry and extending into the submatriculation opportunities, where students can earn a Masters degree while still a Penn undergraduate, these programs challenge students to apply their knowledge and skills to engage current problems in research and the acquisition of knowledge.

Students who engage in language study, enroll in study abroad programs, or participate in an internship experience diverse communities and real world challenges. College student interns travel as far away as Tuscany to participate in archeological digs, to Washington DC to work with the House Committee on Education and Labor, and as close by as the Philadelphia Museum of Art to assist curators.

The value of a rich liberal arts tradition extends beyond the curriculum itself, out to the far reaches of cutting edge research in a particular area of study to real world applications in the context of regional internships or local community partnerships.