Penn Engineering Graduate Newsletter 04-13-2026
Jump to:
Announcement for the Month| Registrar Reminders |Grants, Scholarships, & Fellowships |Events| Career & Networking| Previous Issue
Important Dates: 
| Date | Event |
| April 29th | Last day of Classes |
| April 30th – May 3rd | Reading Days |
| May 4th – 12th | Final Exams |
| May 12th | Spring Term Ends |
| May 14th | Ph.D. Graduation Ceremonies |
| May 15th | Master’s Graduation Ceremonies |
| May 18th | University Commencement Ceremony |
Spring 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
Summer Opportunity in Ghana
Check out this great summer opportunity in Ghana. Open to SEAS Master’s students. The application is due on April 19th, 2026 (click here to apply). If you have any questions, contact Dr. Sonya Gwak sgwak@seas.upenn.edu
Penn Engineering Merch Drop
Get your Penn Engineering merch today!! The store is open until May 1st for ordering, and items will be delivered to your personal address. Click here to order.
Applications Open for HIP Summer Mentors 2026 at Penn Engineering
Dear PhD Students,
Please see the attached flyer to learn about becoming a paid mentor for the Penn Engineering High School Engineering Internship. The experience will be hosted at Penn Engineering from June 22nd to August 4th, 2026.
Who Should Apply?
PhD Students conducting active research
Interested in mentorship and teaching
Able to supervise a structured seven-week research experience
Committed to expanding access to STEM pathways
Comfortable supporting high school students in a lab setting
The application to apply can be found here. For more information or if you have questions, please reach out to outreach@seas.upenn.edu.
Registrar Reminders
-The Office of the University Registrar (OUR) will provide standard enrollment verification letters, degree verification letters, and can complete some document verification processing as well. Full details and instructions can be found here. Please allow 5-7 business days for OUR to process your request. (7-10 business days during peak times of the year.) Degree verification letters, including those required for H1-B visa applications, will not be processed until the degree has been awarded. Please review your unofficial transcript to see ‘degree awarded’ before requesting this type of letter.
Grants, Scholarships & Fellowships
National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program
The National Science Foundation offers approximately 2,500 graduate fellowships each year. Fellowships provide three years of support for graduate study leading to research-based master’s or doctoral degrees at US universities in science, mathematics, and engineering, and a few other quantitative research fields supported by the NSF, and are intended for students in the early stages of their graduate study. Application deadline – October 27th. Click here to learn more.
Fulbright U.S. Student Program
Fulbright Grants fund 8-12 months of international experience in over 140 countries. With a long-standing mission of promoting mutual understanding through educational and cultural exchange, Fulbright opportunities can be categorized into two main grant types:
- Study/Research grants offer the opportunity to carry out your own international research project in any discipline (or in some countries, to pursue a graduate degree)
- English Teaching Assistantships (ETA) grants place Fulbrighters in classrooms abroad to teach English and share American culture
Interested candidates should enroll in CURF’s Canvas site for Fulbright applicants(link is external). Application Deadline – October 7th, 2026. Click here to learn more.
Contact Information:
Walter Lohmann: wlohmann@upenn.edu
2026 ShanghaiTech Summer Lab Program
This non-credit and tuition-free program is designed exclusively for international undergraduates from our partner institutions. It offers a unique opportunity for participants to join a research lab of their choice, utilizing world-class facilities and national science platforms rarely accessible to external students. Application Deadline: April 30, 2026. Click here to learn more and apply.
Events
CICCO Bingo
Cora Ingrum Center for Community and Outreach (CICCO) Bingo was a hit, so it’s time to rewind and come again! Please join us on April 23rd from 2:00 – 4:00 PM for more fun, food, and fabulous prizes! RSVP here or via the QR code on the flyer to save your seat.
Thursday, April 23rd
2:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Towne 211
Click here to register
Penn’s Off-Campus Housing Fair
Everything you need to know for your next big move, all online.
Opens March 25, 2026, and runs through July 24, 2026
Live Dates: April 16
9:00am – 5:00pm EST
Click here to learn more.
2026 Engineering Summer Academy at Penn (ESAP)
The Penn Engineering OAS office would like to invite you to reapply to work as a Teaching Assistant for one of our courses in the ESAP 2026 program. The expected start date is Wednesday, July 8th, with a 2-hour training, with the expected last date being Friday, July 31st. TAs are paid $3000, or $25 per hour, over the course of this period. Please review and complete the 2026 ESAP TA Application for more details on this opportunity. For more information about ESAP, please visit our new ESAP site. Please complete this form as soon as possible. The deadline to apply is April 24th. If you have any questions, please contact esap@seas.upenn.edu. We look forward to potentially working with you.
Beyond the Benchtop: A Workshop on Reimagining STEM Graduate Education in Energy & Sustainability
STEM students need not only technical skills but also training in energy justice, energy policy, communication, and community engagement in order to become effective future climate leaders. The goal of this workshop is to give faculty and students engaged in energy and sustainability work across disciplines the opportunity to interact, learn from each other, and build resources to reshape graduate training.
Thanks to support from the University Research Foundation at the University of Pennsylvania, the workshop is free to all attendees. Click here to learn more.
Friday, May 8th
9:00 am – 7:00 pm
Singh Center for Nanotechnology, Glandt Forum
Click here to register
Career & Networking
Virtual PhD Career Conference
From May 4–8, the PhD Career Training Platform will host its 13th annual PhD Career Conference, designed to help PhDs and postdocs build a strong foundation for a successful nonacademic job search. As a graduate student or postdoc at Penn, you have access to this popular conference series that has helped nearly 20,000 trainees build careers beyond the professoriate.
Whether you’re in the final year of your program, a postdoc planning your next steps, or a graduate student exploring your career options, this conference series is for you. Over the course of the week, you’ll learn what it takes to build a meaningful career beyond the professoriate.
This special event is open to doctoral students and postdocs from all academic disciplines. Each day, we’ll explore a key aspect of the nonacademic job search to help you strategically plan your next steps:
May 4 (12:00 pm – 12: 45 pm): What employers actually value about your degree
May 5 (12:00 pm – 12: 45 pm): How to write a resume
May 6 (12:00 pm – 12: 45 pm): How to network when you don’t have a network
May 7 (12:00 pm – 12: 45 pm): Using LinkedIn in your job search
May 8 (12:00 pm – 12: 45 pm): Advice for international students on the job market
This conference will be held via Zoom and will be recorded. Advance registration is required. Register today at: https://institutions.beyondprof.com/webinar-career-conference-2026/
