University of Pennsylvania

Penn dates its founding to 1740, when a plan emerged to build a Philadelphia charity school that would double as a house of worship. After construction was underway, however, the cost was seen to be much greater than the available resources, and the project went unfinished for a decade

The university has four undergraduate schools and 12 graduate and professional schools. Schools enrolling undergraduates include the College of Arts and Sciences, the School of Engineering and Applied Science, the Wharton School, and the School of Nursing. Among its graduate schools are its law school, whose first professor James Wilson participated in writing the first draft of the U.S. Constitution, its medical school, which was the first medical school established in North America, and the Wharton School, the nation’s first collegiate business school.

In 2023, Penn ranked third among U.S. universities in research expenditures, according to the National Science Foundation.Its endowment is $22.3 billion, making it the sixth-wealthiest private academic institution in the nation as of 2024. The University of Pennsylvania’s main campus is located in the University Cityneighborhood of West Philadelphia, and is centered around College Hall. Notable campus landmarks include Houston Hall, the first modern student union, and Franklin Field, the nation’s first dual-level college football stadium and the nation’s longest-standing NCAA Division I college football stadium in continuous operation.The university’s athletics program, the Penn Quakers, fields varsity teams in 33 sports as a member of NCAA Division I’s Ivy League conference.