Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 66.40
Liaison Austin Sutherland
Submission Date Feb. 21, 2018
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

University of Pennsylvania
AC-4: Graduate Program

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.00 / 3.00
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution offer at least one sustainability-focused major, degree program, or the equivalent for graduate students (I.e. an interdisciplinary academic program that concentrates on sustainability as an integrated concept)?:
Yes

Name of the sustainability-focused graduate-level degree program:
Masters of Environmental Studies

A brief description of the graduate-level degree program:

This program is offered by the School of Arts and Sciences, within the Division of Liberal and Professional Studies. The Master of Environmental Studies (MES) program at the University of Pennsylvania offers a rigorous academic grounding in environmental science and exceptional opportunities to conduct research in the field. In addition, students gain the professional networks and individualized professional development needed to excel as a researcher, policy advocate, teacher, or business executive.

Built with flexibility in mind, students choose from a variety of concentrations or create their own—all with the guidance of world-class faculty and built upon the foundation of Ivy League science courses. Many distinguished professors also influence practices outside the University, bringing their experience and broad networks from the worlds of policy, business and consulting into the classroom. Working students find meaningful ways to blend their academic and current professional experiences by partnering with faculty to design projects and research that tackle real-world challenges from their workplace.


The website URL for the graduate-level degree program:
Name of the sustainability-focused, graduate-level degree program (2nd program):
Masters of Environmental Building Design

A brief description of the graduate degree program (2nd program):

This program in the School of Design is a specialized, post-professional degree developed to train architects in the new skills and knowledge required for environmental design. The three-semester course of study, established in 2010, includes coursework on building performance simulation, integrated building design, building envelopes and systems, lighting, daylighting, and the theory and practice of environmental design. Coursework is complemented and extended by a Performance Design Workshop and then explored in depth in an intensive Environmental Design Studio in the summer.


The website URL for the graduate degree program (2nd program):
Name of the sustainability-focused, graduate-level degree program (3rd program):
Masters of Business Administration in Environmental and Risk Management

A brief description of the graduate degree program (3rd program):

This program in the Wharton School, founded in 1998, coordinates the MBA in Environmental and Risk Management, the undergraduate concentration in Environmental Policy and Management, and the undergraduate minor in Organizations and Environmental Management.


The website URL for the graduate degree program (3rd program):
The name and website URLs of all other sustainability-focused graduate-level degree programs:
Does the institution offer one or more graduate-level sustainability-focused minors, concentrations or certificates?:
Yes

Name of the graduate-level sustainability-focused minor, concentration or certificate:
Certificate in Ecological Architecture

A brief description of the graduate minor, concentration or certificate:

The School of Design offers this cross-departmental certificate in the School of Design as part of the graduate degree coursework in Architecture and related disciplines. Students develop an understanding of the dynamic interaction between the natural and built environments with a program of elective courses in Landscape Architecture, Historic Preservation, City Planning, Engineering, Environmental Science, and Legal Studies.


The website URL for the graduate minor, concentration or certificate:
Name of the graduate-level sustainability-focused minor, concentration or certificate (2nd program):
Penn Law, Environmental Law

A brief description of the graduate minor, concentration or certificate (2nd program):

Environmental law and policy inherently cuts across disciplinary fields, raising legal issues ranging from administrative to property law, and traversing disciplines as varied as economics and the natural sciences.
Students in Environmental Law learn from Law School and University faculty who produce leading research as well as from courses with top practitioners, externships with governmental and nongovernmental organizations, and numerous other experiential learning opportunities.


The website URL for the graduate minor, concentration or certificate (2nd program):
Name of the graduate-level sustainability-focused minor, concentration or certificate (3rd program):
Master's in Engineering and Applied Science: Materials Science and Engineering

A brief description of the graduate minor, concentration or certificate (3rd program):

Penn was one of the first universities to establish a center for materials research, the Laboratory for Research on the Structure of Matter (LRSM), which has grown to be one of the largest in the nation, and which is opening up new fields in materials science in ceramics, polymers, and metals to non-structured and soft materials. Graduates can be found in positions in industries that range from electronics, manufacturing, and communications to transportation and energy, or pursuing doctoral degrees at Penn and other top-ranked research universities.


The website URL for the graduate minor, concentration or certificate (3rd program):
The name and website URLs of all other graduate-level, sustainability-focused minors, concentrations and certificates:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

The University of Pennsylvania is a major research institution, with over 3,000 degrees granted annually from twelve professional and academic schools at the Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctorate levels. Penn is committed to teaching environmental sustainability, with a goal to make climate change and sustainability part of the curriculum and educational experience available to all Penn students. (Penn's 2009 "Climate Action Plan".). This submission documents Penn's efforts during the FY17 year and compares them to the FY14 baseline year which corresponds with the University's "Climate Action Plan. 2.0". The submission relies on information related to the main, academic, West Philadelphia campus, but to more fully document efforts across the Penn system, information related to the Morris Arboretum and New Bolton has also been included and noted as outside the boundary in descriptions. The information is used to enrich examples of University efforts and is not intended to be the primary justification for credits. The responses for each of the questions and sub-questions are drawn from University materials, both internal and public documents. Each section notes the website where the information can be found.


The University of Pennsylvania is a major research institution, with over 3,000 degrees granted annually from twelve professional and academic schools at the Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctorate levels. Penn is committed to teaching environmental sustainability, with a goal to make climate change and sustainability part of the curriculum and educational experience available to all Penn students. (Penn's 2009 "Climate Action Plan".). This submission documents Penn's efforts during the FY17 year and compares them to the FY14 baseline year which corresponds with the University's "Climate Action Plan. 2.0". The submission relies on information related to the main, academic, West Philadelphia campus, but to more fully document efforts across the Penn system, information related to the Morris Arboretum and New Bolton has also been included and noted as outside the boundary in descriptions. The information is used to enrich examples of University efforts and is not intended to be the primary justification for credits. The responses for each of the questions and sub-questions are drawn from University materials, both internal and public documents. Each section notes the website where the information can be found.

The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.