Support Penn Global
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Penn Global is the University’s go-to for all things global.
Driven by the University’s second Global Strategic Framework, Penn Global aims to 1) educate global citizens by providing a meaningful global experience to every Penn student, 2) catalyze transformative ideas by empowering the University community to address global issues; and 3) bring the world to Penn and Penn to the world. We work closely with Penn’s 12 Schools and numerous centers to transform the University into a comprehensive global institution, poised to make an impact across communities at Penn and around the world.
A gift in support of Penn’s global priorities enables the University to:
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ensure that all Penn students have a meaningful global experience as part of their Penn education,
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secure the success of our thriving international student body,
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enable Penn research and insights to set the agendas for critical global issues, and
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deploy Penn research and expertise in almost 200 countries around the world.
Inspired by the University’s long-standing commitment to an ethos of global engagement, Penn is more focused now than ever in ensuring that best and brightest from around the world pick Penn and that Penn faculty and students are positioned to engage with partners around the world.
Gifts in support of Penn’s global priorities go directly into funding global research and supporting students and faculty in all 12 schools. Specific donation opportunities are outlined below.
Penn Global Fund
The University’s go-to for all things global, Penn Global provides strategic direction for Penn’s global endeavors, with a focus on the efficient investment of university resources for global activities. Contributions will support Penn Global’s strategic efforts, from piloting new global student programs and strengthening support mechanisms for our international students, to expanding existing opportunities for faculty research and engagement. Your support will enable Penn Global to effectively support the global endeavors of the Penn community and elevate Penn’s institutional impact at a global stage.
Perry World House General Operating & Programming Gift Fund
Perry World House is the hub for global engagement on Penn’s campus. Located at 38th and Locust Walk, Perry World House brings the world to Penn, taking Penn scholarship and ideas out to the world to improve policy responses to critical global issues. Contributions will support the overall operation of Perry World House, including its weekly current events program, The World Today; student programming, including Global Career Week, the World House Student Fellows program, and our Graduate Associates program; our extensive Visiting Fellows and Scholars program; and our thematic focused colloquia and workshops throughout the year.
Penn International Student Integration Program
Penn is deeply committed to ensuring that our international students thrive on campus. Led by a committed and growing integration team in Penn’s office for International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS), efforts to help international students succeed have led to the development or expansion of innovative programming. From Forerunner, Penn’s pioneering overseas pre-departure program, to the award-winning Intercultural Leadership Program, designed to foster a community of intercultural leaders, ISSS collaborates with partners across campus – including student groups and Penn centers – to provide the resources, support, and community in which international students can flourish throughout their lives at Penn. Contributions will support various integration-related programs offerings, including Forerunner, the Intercultural Leadership Program, Intercultural Dialogues: Engagement and Awareness (IDEA) program, the iCommunicate intercultural communication training program, welcome and orientation activities, end-of-year celebrations, networking, social, and skills-based programs, and expanding partnerships with groups invested in the well-being and growth of international students. Your support will also enable Penn to address the emergent needs of Penn’s international student community through new programming, outreach initiatives, and personnel development.
Support the Penn International Student Integration Program
Study Abroad & Global Opportunities Fund
Every year, Penn sends nearly 3,000 students abroad on credit-bearing global programs and co-curricular experiential learning opportunities. As part of our commitment to providing a meaningful global experience to every Penn student, Penn Abroad offers a wide array of programming options to meet the needs and aspirations of its diverse student body. From semester and academic year study abroad and incoming exchange, to short-term internship, research and study opportunities, each of Penn Abroad’s flagship programs are designed to enhance students’ academic and professional careers while building their cross-cultural competence and ability to engage with the world as global citizens and future leaders. Penn Abroad is committed to increasing access among its programs to ensure that every Penn student, especially those typically underrepresented in global programming, has an opportunity to pursue a meaningful global experience while at Penn. Contributions to Penn Global’s Study Abroad and Global Opportunities Fund will directly support existing global programs or new initiatives that are responsive to the needs of all Penn students, regardless of financial need, and are creatively designed to enrich the quality and diversity of student global opportunities offered on campus.
Support Study Abroad & Global Opportunities
Penn Global Research and Internship Program
Each summer, the Global Research and Internship Program (GRIP) sends nearly 200 students abroad to enhance their career potential in an increasingly global workplace through transformative work and research experience. Our most competitive overseas student program, GRIP provides outstanding undergraduate and graduate students the opportunity to intern or conduct research with a variety of organizations and companies in dozens of countries around the world for 8 to 12 weeks over the summer. GRIP internships and research projects attract students from all majors and are based in non- and for-profit entities in a wide variety of industries including arts and culture, entrepreneurship, computer science, education, information technology, public policy, venture capital, and many more. Contributions will facilitate increased access to the program for students from diverse backgrounds and will directly support student interns, covering the costs of international travel, housing abroad, and expenses for the duration of their internship. Your support will be critical to the growth of the Global Research and Internship Program and to our broader efforts to offer these unique opportunities to those who seek a meaningful global experience.
Penn Global Seminars
Penn Global Seminars (PGS) are transforming the undergraduate educational experience at Penn, combining intensive semester-long study with a short-term travel component to deepen students’ understanding of concepts discussed in the classroom. Penn Global Seminars are courses taught over 14 weeks at Penn with an intensive international field component led by the faculty leaders. Course topics and destinations vary greatly, with students exploring everything from international relations in Japan, to evolutionary biology and philosophy in the Galapagos, to indigenous art and music in Australia. Courses are taught in all four undergraduate schools and students of every class year and major are encouraged to participate. The Penn Global Seminars program is one of Penn’s most affordable study abroad opportunities, featuring a low flat fee which covers all aspects of travel. Contributions support the cost of running the travel component and will further Penn Abroad’s mission of broadening access to abroad opportunities for all Penn students, particularly first-generation, low-income students, student-athletes, and other students typically underrepresented in education abroad.
Penn India Research and Engagement Fund
The launch of the Penn India Research and Engagement Fund (IREF) in 2018 follows a long history of institutional engagement in India. Penn was the first American university to teach Sanskrit in the late 1900s and established the first South Asian Studies department in the 1940s. More recent achievements include the founding the Center for the Advances Study of India in 1992 and the University of Pennsylvania Institute for the Advanced Study of India in 1998. With the India Research and Engagement Fund, Penn supports dynamic initiatives that generate transformative and impactful ideas on major debates in India, enhance relevant educational and research initiatives, and strengthen institutional and faculty-to-faculty relationships with Indian partners. Contributions will be used to support IREF projects, covering activities that may include, but are not limited to innovative research and educational collaborations, training and capacity building programs, events and convenings, and curricular and course development initiatives. Your support will allow Penn to expand the size and longevity of the India Research and Engagement Fund, furthering our institutional commitment to the study of India.
Penn China Research and Engagement Fund
With interactions dating back to 1823, engagement between Penn and China has since flourished, leading to new exchanges, collaborations, and projects that would expand and strengthen Penn’s institutional commitment to the country and region. Today, engagement between Penn and China remains critical to the University’s mission.
Following the establishment of the Center for East Asian Studies (1995), Center for the Study of Contemporary China (2012), and Penn Wharton China Center (2015), the launch of the Penn China Research and Engagement Fund (CREF), also in 2015, represented a meaningful next step to advance the scope of Penn’s engagement in China. The China Research and Engagement Fund supports faculty-led activities that advance the interdisciplinary study, teaching, and engagement of China. Since its inception, the University has made numerous awards across disciplines, including healthcare and health, business and economics, urbanization and development, and media and culture, among other areas. Support will be directed toward CREF projects, covering activities that may include, but are not limited to innovative research and educational collaborations, training and capacity building programs, events and convenings, and curricular and course development initiatives. Above all, your commitment will further position Penn as the leading U.S. university exploring the future of China across key disciplines and questions.
Penn Global Engagement Fund
The Global Engagement Fund (GEF) is a competitive grant program that seeds creative, faculty-driven projects that will catalyze entrepreneurial research or initiatives in a global context. Since its inception in 2011, the Global Engagement Fund has supported over a hundred projects, drawn from many disciplines across Penn’s 12 Schools. Projects have included a study of the thermal performance of the Mongolian ger dwellings, development of a virtual reality film on Ethiopia’s Jewish community and their quest to emigrate to Israel, an initiative to engage local communities in the Galapagos on climate change and science education, and a project in India examining sleep quality in disadvantaged communities and labor performance. Support will be used to fund project activities that may include, but are not limited to field work, travel and associated costs, research and educational initiatives, curricular and course development initiatives, and convenings. Furthermore, your support will boost the University’s capacity to elevate its faculty and their research, advancing Penn as a leader of global research and intellectual innovation.
