The Priorities

Priority: Graduate & Professional Student Aid
Goal: $323 million (9%)

They represent half of Penn’s student body, and they are absolutely essential to the future of scholarship and the professions. They enrich the undergraduate curriculum and experience, and they play a big part in attracting the best faculty, providing them with fresh insights in their research and teaching. They are Penn’s graduate and professional students.

The impact of insufficient financial aid resources for these Penn men and women is profound, affecting not only the students, but also the professions, the University, and the world.

• Because so many of Penn's graduate and professional schools have limited funding for financial aid, they risk losing their very best candidates to universities with either lower costs or more generous aid packages.
• Without sufficient funding for graduate students, some Penn departments may be unable to maintain the critical mass necessary for the success of a graduate program and, ultimately, the strength of a particular discipline.
• Lack of funding for professional students causes many to face the prospect of sizable educational debts in order to pursue a career in their chosen field. As a result, many must pursue higher-paying specialties to pay down their debt, at least for a number of years, instead of the specialties in which they are most interested — those in which they stand to make the greatest impact.

By building Penn’s student aid resources, Making History will ensure that the University can continue to attract outstanding graduate and professional students who will advance knowledge and serve society.

Learn more about graduate and professional student aid at our school and center pages >
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