Penn Engineering Graduate Newsletter 05-04-2026
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Announcement for the Month| Registrar Reminders |Grants, Scholarships, & Fellowships |Events| Career & Networking| Previous Issue
Important Dates: 
| Date | Event |
| 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 |
Summer 2026 Semester Advising Hours
| Day of the week | Time | Location |
| Wednesdays | 10:00 am – 12:00 pm (EST) | Virtual |
*Information with the Zoom link for summer advising will be emailed to students at the beginning of the summer. If you are unable to attend scheduled advising hours, please email to request an appointment.
Announcements for the month
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 can be found here. For more information or if you have questions, please reach out to outreach@seas.upenn.edu.
Registrar Reminders
-Final exams begin today, Monday, May 4, and run through Tuesday, May 12
-Degree Conferral
Graduating students can view the diploma checklist from OUR here. Students can view their degree(s) awarded and grades on their unofficial transcripts via Path@Penn. Degree conferral can be seen under the Degree Awarded section on the unofficial transcripts. Degrees will start to be awarded on May 18. The process takes time for all grades to post, program, and school review, and final OUR processing. We appreciate your patience.
-Curricular Practical Training (CPT) Information
Information and details around CPTs can be found here. Please be sure to follow the steps and have all the required information and documentation ready.
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
Events
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
2025-26 Graduate Leadership Awards Ceremony
President & Provost’s Honor for Developing New Initiatives in Graduate & Professional Student Life Recognizes students who have been a catalyst for transformative and lasting new developments that have enhanced graduate and professional student life at Penn.
Ludwig Zhao, PhD in Bioengineering, SEAS
for extensive service and leadership through multiple roles within GAPSA and on University committees, as well as for sustained and impactful advocacy for research students at Penn.
Thursday, May 14th
4:00 pm -5:00 pmm
Welfer Common Room
Click here to learn more and 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/
