University of Pennsylvania

The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Chartered in 1755 by its first president Benjamin Franklin, who advocated for an educational institution that trained leaders in academia, commerce, and public service, it is one of nine colonial colleges in the country. The university has 4 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, helped write the U.S. Constitution, and its medical school, the first in North America. In fiscal year 2024, Penn reported $2.172 billion in research expenditures, ranking second among U.S. universities in the National Science Foundation's Higher Education Research and Development (HERD) survey. As of June 30, 2025, Penn's endowment was $24.808 billion. The main campus is in the University City neighborhood of West Philadelphia, centered around College Hall. Campus landmarks include Houston Hall, described as the first student union building in the United States, and Franklin Field, which has hosted college football since 1895 and was expanded into a two-tier stadium in 1922. 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. Penn alumni, trustees, and faculty include 8 signers of the Declaration of Independence, 7 signers of the U.S. Constitution, 24 members of the Continental Congress, 3 presidents of the United States, 38 Nobel laureates, 9 foreign heads of state, 3 United States Supreme Court justices, at least 4 Supreme Court justices of foreign nations, 32 U.S. senators, 163 members of the U.S. House of Representatives, 19 U.S. Cabinet secretaries, 46 governors, 28 state supreme court justices, 36 living undergraduate billionaires, the only person to ever reach trillionaire status, 6 recipients of the Medal of Honor, and more than 200 Olympic athletes, 43 of whom earned 81 medals (26 of them gold).