<p>Can you find this "interdisciplinary studies" focus in other schools like Princeton, etc., is this just hyped up, exaggerated advertising, since I read it from the information UPenn sent me?</p>
<p>Penn has long been known (for decades, if not centuries) as a leader in interdisciplinary studies. It is not just hype. Numerous interdisciplinary institutes, programs, research centers, academic majors, etc., attest to that. Just explore the Penn web site a bit to learn more.</p>
<p>Having all of its undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools on one relatively compact campus greatly enhances Penn’s interdisciplinary mission, and the university has long encouraged undergrads to explore courses in schools other than their own (including in graduate schools such as the Law School, Annenberg School for Communications, School of Design, etc.). Interdisciplinary study and research is deeply embedded in Penn’s identity and institutional DNA, and has been for centuries (going back to the original educational ideas and proposals of Benjamin Franklin).</p>
<p>Yeah, I know dozens of people who are enrolled in dual degree programs (usually college/wharton); most of my friends have taken at least one graduate level course, be it courses designed for masters, MBAs, law students or PhDs. I personally took three Wharton courses in addition to my College courses, and I know that students from all four undergraduate schools are REQUIRED to take several courses in the College in order to graduate. It really isn’t hyped up at all… one thing that Penn does exceptionally well is encourage diverse academic pursuits.</p>
<p>That’s good to know, but how does it compare to other top universities, especially Princeton?, since I got admitted into both UPenn and Princeton :D</p>
<p>In general, the breadth and depth of interdisciplinary opportunities available to undergrads at Penn will be significantly greater than what’s available to undergrads at other top universities, and especially at Princeton. Penn has on its campus, within a few short blocks of each other and the School of Arts and Sciences: the Wharton School, the Law School, the School of Medicine, the School of Veterinary Medicine, the School of Nursing, the Dental School, the Annenberg School for Communication, the School of Engineering and Applied Science, the School of Design, the Graduate School of Education, and the School of Social Policy and Practice. All of these schools participate in interdisciplinary research and education in one form or another, and most of them offer courses and/or programs to undergraduates. For just one example, check out the faculty of Penn’s undergraduate Biological Basis of Behavior Program:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.psych.upenn.edu/bbb/about/people[/url]”>http://www.psych.upenn.edu/bbb/about/people</a></p>
<p>In addition to the traditional arts and sciences, Princeton offers its undergraduates the faculty of, well, an engineering school. And that’s about it.</p>
<p>In terms of the breadth and depth of interdisciplinary education and research available at the undergraduate level, Penn is really unparalleled.</p>
<p>Penn can offer classes Princeton cannot simply because Penn not only has schools Princeton doesn’t, but opens much of them to undergrads. If you want superior breadth it’s an easy choice: Penn ftw ;)</p>
<p>What about not between colleges, but just within the Engineering school, I’m sure many colleges let you dabble in different types of engineering courses, right?
Mainly, what I want is interdisciplinary studies just within engineering, not Wharton in some dual degree program. A robotics engineer may need to learn electrical, mechanical, computer science, etc. engineering.</p>
<p>This page on Engineering Minors (both departmental and interdisciplinary) should help to answer your question (and exploring the various majors, etc. on that site should also help):</p>
<p>[Penn</a> Engineering - Minors](<a href=“Majors”>Minors)</p>
<p>I’m fairly certain that you can easily explore different types of engineering courses as an SEAS student (and even as a Wharton, College, or Nursing student), but a quick review of the SEAS web site should confirm that.</p>
<p>And also, don’t necessarily dismiss the opportunity to take courses in other schools as a student of robotics. For example, a few Wharton courses might help you to better understand the business side of robotics (e.g., what gets developed, marketed, etc., and why), and a Nursing School course could help someone interested in the potential medical applications of robotics to gain much greater insight into that sector.</p>
<p>Additionally, in terms of interdisciplinary engineering and emerging technologies, you should be aware that Penn just began construction of a new 80,000-square-foot, $80 million Nanotechnology Center:</p>
<p>[02/22/11</a>, Singing the Praises of Penn’s Krishna P. Singh Nanotechnology Center - Almanac, Vol. 57, No. 23](<a href=“http://www.upenn.edu/almanac/volumes/v57/n23/nanotechnology.html]02/22/11”>02/22/11, Singing the Praises of Penn's Krishna P. Singh Nanotechnology Center - Almanac, Vol. 57, No. 23)</p>
<p>[PennConnects</a> : <em></em>Singh Nanotechnology Center Overview](<a href=“Penn Connects : A Vision for the Future.”>Penn Connects : A Vision for the Future.)</p>
<p>Just the latest concrete–both literally and figuratively!–evidence of Penn’s strong commitment to interdisciplinary research and study within the School of Engineering and Applied Science, and between SEAS and other schools at Penn.</p>