2025 Grad December Newsletter (1)
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Announcement for the Month| Grants, Scholarships, & Fellowships |Events| Career & Networking| Previous Issue
Important Dates: 
| Date | Event |
| December 1st | PhD December 2025 graduation application closes |
| December 8th | Fall 2025 term classes end |
| December 9 – 10th | Reading Days |
| December 11th – 18th | Final exams |
| December 18th | Fall 2025 term ends |
| December 18th | Degree conferral date |
Fall 2025 Semester Advising Hours
| Day of the week | Time | Location |
| Mondays | 10:00 am – 12:00 pm (EST) | Virtual |
| Tuesdays | 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm (EST) | In-person, Towne 109 |
| Wednesdays | 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm (EST) | In-person, Towne 109 |
| Thursdays | 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm (EST) | Virtual |
| Fridays | No Advising |
* Information with Zoom links for virtual advising days (Monday/Thursday) is emailed to students throughout the semester. If you are unable to attend scheduled advising hours, additional times may be available by appointment only. Please email to request an appointment.
Announcements for the month
Financial Goal Setting
One of the most important elements for building a healthy relationship with money is knowing how to set financial goals. Setting these goals can help you with basic financial skills (like building a budget) to big money moves (like buying a house). In this workshop, we’ll discuss where money beliefs come from, different kinds of money personalities, understanding behavior change, and goal attainment strategies.
Thursday, December 4th
1:00 pm -2:00 pm
Grad Center Room 304
Click here to register.
EAS 5500 Applying your Thesis to the Real World (for Ph.D. Students)
We wanted to make you aware of a new course that will be taught by Professor Vanessa Chan, who was the former Chief Commercialization Officer at the US Department of Energy and now the inaugural Vice-Dean of Innovation & Entrepreneurship at Penn Engineering. Through this course, you will be connected to the industry and learn what it takes for your thesis topic to be translated into the real world. The course will meet on Wednesdays from 1.45-4.45 and be capped at 15 people. The course description is below:
In this course, we will be taking your Ph.D. Thesis and exploring the way in which your research could make an impact in the real world. The course will build the foundation from which a chapter in your thesis can be written that articulates the challenges and opportunities your thesis topic brings to make a difference in society. Each student will also be paired with an external mentor from industry who will be a sounding board on the work that you are doing. The foundation of this class will be based on the Adoption Readiness Level framework developed by the Office of Technology Commercialization to identify non-technical barriers that must be overcome for a technology to be fully deployed in the marketplace. ARLs are a qualitative assessment that helps researchers articulate and explore barriers that would prevent their technology from being adopted in the real world. By putting your Ph.D. Through the ARL framework, you will have a better understanding of what it takes to commercialize technologies.
If you are interested in the course, you must apply through this link by December 1. The prerequisite is that you must have a well-defined thesis topic (which often is when you are in your third year). Application acceptances will be based on the ability to pair you with the right industry mentor and will be processed on a rolling basis.
EAS5490 Engineering Entrepreneurship Lab – develop a high-tech venture based on your research
EAS5490 applies the principles of engineering and engineering entrepreneurship to a real-world problem of your specific field of study or professional interest. Students will develop a venture based on a high-tech product or service concept and present the concept to a panel of venture capitalists and entrepreneurs. For PhD candidates, we are waiving the prerequisite. To register for the course:
- Obtain permission from your advisor
- Complete the concept and team survey
- Email your course permission request to Ashley Dailey, daileya@seas.upenn.edu
Grants, Scholarships & Fellowships
Events
Therapy Dogs at the Grad Center! [Graduate Wellness Week]
Take a well-deserved break and recharge with some puppy love! Join us in the Grad Center Common Room for a relaxing Puppy Therapy Session as part of Graduate Wellness Week.
Come unwind, de-stress, and lift your mood by spending time with two certified therapy dogs (a mix of terrier and a golden) from Comforting Caring Canines. Whether you want a full cuddle session, a quick serotonin boost between study sessions, or just an excuse to step away from your laptop, this is the perfect way to reset!
This event is free and open to all Penn graduate and professional students.
Friday, December 5th
2:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Graduate Center Common Room
Registration is not required.
The Wellness Express Vending Machine
Wellness at Penn, in partnership with campus organizations, is excited to bring a free vending machine to students offering essential wellness products. Located on the 3rd floor of the ARCH building (3601 Locust Walk), the Wellness Express includes:
- Over-the-counter meds & more!
- COVID-19 tests & hand sanitizers
- Menstrual products
- Harm reduction supplies (Naloxone & fentanyl test strips)
Access is FREE with your Penn ID! Available daily, 8 AM – 12 AM. Stay healthy, stay prepared!
Gingerbread House Decorating
Crafting with CURF: Gingerbread Houses and Research Talk on 12/2, 7:00 – 8:00 pm, Gutmann College House, Seminar Room 209
Take a break during the last week of classes to join the Research Peer Advisors for gingerbread house decorating and informal chats about research!
Tuesday, December 2nd
7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Gutmann College House, Seminar Room 209
No registration required
Movie Night
Join LEAP on Monday, December 8th, at the LGBT Center for a screening of the Wedding Banquet and a short discussion after the movie. Food and beverages to be provided.
Monday, December 8th
5:30 pm – 8:00 pm
Click here to register
Governing AI for Social Good: Social Policy & Practice at TikTok and Anthropic
How do we ensure AI technologies serve communities and promote social good?
Join us for an insider conversation with engaged scholars actively shaping how major tech platforms govern AI. Our speakers bring a social work and social policy perspective needed for AI governance—and they’ll share how advisory councils function and influence tech companies from the inside.
This signature event, co-sponsored by Penn’s School of Social Policy & Practice and PennAI, brings together experts at the forefront of technology and social impact, demonstrating how social work and social policy education, research, and practice address cutting-edge challenges.
Monday, December 8th
4:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Annenberg School for Communication, Room 500| 3620 Walnut St
No registration is required
Career & Networking
Raise Ambassador Position
Help prevent campus sexual violence as a RAISE Ambassador for Penn! Click here to apply
Global Research & Internship Program 2026 Applications Now Open
The Global Research & Internship Program offers outstanding undergraduate and graduate students the opportunity to intern or conduct research with a variety of organizations and companies abroad for 8 to 12 weeks over the summer.
Program Features and Facts:
- A wide variety of internship placements across many career industries, including business, engineering, sustainable development, healthcare, community development, and more.
- Research placements that offer the opportunity to develop hands-on research skills under leading international researchers and faculty PIs affiliated with a university abroad.
- Generous guaranteed funding awards to help accepted students offset travel and internship-related expenses.
Application Deadline: Wednesday, January 7, 2026, at 12:00 pm (EST)
e Careers in Engineering
Check out Vault Guides to learn more about the various industries within engineering.
Find Resources
Many resources to help you prepare for a career in engineering. Of particular interest should be our industry-specific job boards, as well as various professional organizations.
