Spring 2026 ABCS Courses

Penn students can browse and register for ABCS courses on Path@Penn. To find ABCS courses, select "Academically Based Community Service Courses" in the University Attribute dropdown menu. Due to the registrar transition, there are some courses not tagged as ABCS on Path@Penn that are still ABCS courses. The accurate course list is on this webpage.

UNDERGRADUATE COURSES

ACCT 2110 / BEPP 2110: Tax Policy and Practice In The Philadelphia Community
Instructor: Edward Scott
Fulfills: Ben Franklin Seminars (UNBF), SEAS Social Science (EUSS), WH UG JWS: Joseph Wharton Scholars (WUJW)
Read more: https://www.thedp.com/article/2023/11/penn-wharton-abcs-accounting-volun...

The academic component of the course will focus on several areas: (1) The Color of Money: Black Banks and the Racial Wealth Gap. Students will read this book throughout the semester to support their understanding of the community that they will be serving. (2) Statutory tax system. Students will learn about the tax system as it relates to individuals and sole proprietors. The VITA training covers general tax preparation, with a specific focus on tax credits available to VITA-eligible taxpayers and the use of VITA software. In addition, one session of the course will include a guest lecture/discussion. It will focus on statutory tax issues related to organizational form choice for self-employed and gig economy workers, which is an important statutory issue in low-income communities. (3) Social policy debate. Tax policy, including deductions, subsidies and credits, are one tool that lawmakers can use to get more cash in the hands of individuals and families, especially for low-income groups. Students will consider the effectiveness and usefulness of tax policies relative to other tools that the government has available. There are three guest lecturers for the sessions on tax policy. (4) Working with people. Volunteering with VITA requires students to work with people from a low-income community on the sensitive issue of personal finances. Students will learn to discuss sensitive financial issues with lower-income adults (including many seniors) through readings and in-class discussions, and by reflecting on their real-life experiences in the local community. This skill is important in a variety of roles such as healthcare (physicians and nurses), business (e.g., the HR function), and education. The community service part of the course is volunteering with VITA, which is the IRS’s “Volunteer Income Tax Assistance” program. Following training, students will perform tax services for the West Philadelphia community during the tax season. The course will meet once a week in three-hour sessions for 8-9 weeks during the Spring semester. Students are expected to be in the field performing service throughout a significant portion of the semester. As described on the IRS website, the VITA program has operated for over 50 years. Volunteers offer free tax help to people who need assistance in preparing their own tax returns, including: • People who generally make $58,000 or less • Persons with disabilities; and • Limited English-speaking taxpayers.

 

AFRC 1780/HIST 0811/URBS 1780: FACULTY-STUDENT COLLABORATIVE ACTION SEMINAR IN UNIVERSITY-COMMUNITY RELATIONS
Instructor: Ira Harkavy, Theresa Simmonds
Fulfills: Ben Franklin Seminars (UNBF), College FND Cultural Diversity in US (AUCD), NU Sector History&Traditions (NUHT), NU Sector ReaSys&Relationship (NURS), NU Sector Society&Soc Struct (NUSS), SEAS Humanities (EUHS), SEAS Social Science (EUSS), University Scholar Social Issues (UNCS), WH UG CCP US (WUCU), WH UG SS: Social Science (WUSS)

This seminar helps students develop their capacity to solve strategic, real-world problems by working collaboratively in the classroom, on campus, and in the West Philadelphia community. Students develop proposals that demonstrate how a Penn undergraduate education might better empower students to produce, not simply "consume," societally-useful knowledge, as well as to function as caring, contributing citizens of a democratic society. Their proposals help contribute to the improvement of education on campus and in the community, as well as to the improvement of university-community relations. Additionally, students provide college access support at Paul Robeson High School for one hour each week.

 

ANTH 3075: Decolonizing Forced Migration Studies: Learning from the Ground in Philadelphia

Instructor: Rebecca Winkler 

Fulfills: ANTH Cultural and Linguistics (AACL), ANTH Environmental Anthropology (AAEA), ANTH Native Amer & Indigenous Stds Minor Thematic (AANA), URBS Comparative and Theoretical Dimensions (ARCT), URBS Minor Related Elective (ARMR), URBS Minor Urban Context (ARUC), URBS Public Policy & Governance (ARPP)

This Academically Based Community Service (ABCS) course explores how forced migration and refugee resettlement shape local communities, with a focus on the Karen refugee community from Myanmar living in Philadelphia. Drawing from Anthropology and Asian American Studies, the course uses feminist and decolonial approaches to understand these global issues in a local context. Students will engage in hands-on, community-based work with the Karen Community Association of Philadelphia (KCAP), an organization led by Karen refugees. Through discussions, current scholarship, and active participation in KCAP projects, students will build meaningful partnerships and learn how to collaborate across cultural and disciplinary lines. Project options are diverse and shaped by both student interests and community needs. They may include digital storytelling, grant writing, urban farming, food justice, community history, policy briefs, healthcare training tools, and more. No specific background is required—students from all majors are welcome. Through this course, students will develop skills in critical analysis of policy, cross-cultural communication, language justice, and hands-on practice working in ethical collaboration with community partners. The course offers a chance to connect academic learning with real-world impact and to contribute to the work of a resilient and resourceful refugee community.

 

ANTH 2590/LALS 2590: Nutritional Anthropology
Instructor: Caroline Jones
Fulfills: ANTH Biological Anthropology (AABI), ANTH Cultural and Linguistics (AACL), ANTH Medical Anthropology and Global Health (AAMA), HSOC Public Health Elective (AHPE), LALX Social Science (ALSS), NU GloblHealthMin Elec (NUGH), NU Nutrition Major Elective (NUNE), NU Nutrition Minor Elective (NUNM), NU Sector Global&Cultural Studies (NUGC), NU Sector History&Traditions (NUHT), NU Sector ReaSys&Relationship (NURS), NU Sector Society&Soc Struct (NUSS), SEAS Humanities (EUHS), SEAS Social Science (EUSS), URBS Public Policy & Governance (ARPP), Wharton UG Core Flex GenEd (WUFG)

The course is an introduction to nutritional anthropology, an area of anthropology concerned with human nutrition and food systems in social, cultural and historical contexts. On the one hand, nutritional anthropologists study the significance of the food quest in terms of survival and health. On the other hand, they also know that people eat food for a variety of reasons that may have little, if anything, to do with nutrition, health, or survival. While the availability of food is dependent upon the physical environment, food production systems, and economic resources, food choice and the strategies human groups employ to gain access to and distribute food are deeply embedded in specific cultural patterns, social relationships, and political and economic systems. Thus, nutritional anthropology represents the interface between anthropology and the nutritional sciences, and as such, can provide powerful insights into the interactions of social and biological factors in the context of the nutritional health of individuals and populations. Because food and nutrition are quintessential biocultural issues, the course takes a biocultural approach drawing on perspectives from biological, socio-cultural and political-economic anthropology. Course content will include: a discussion of approaches to nutritional anthropology; basics of human nutrition; food systems, food behaviors and ideas; methods of dietary and nutritional assessment; and a series of case studies addressing causes and consequences to nutritional problems across the world.

 

ASLD 1032: Deaf Culture
Instructor: Jami Fisher
Fulfills: COL Advanced Language (AULA), College FND Cultural Diversity in US (AUCD), NU Sector Global&Cultural Studies (NUGC), SEAS Humanities (EUHS)

This course is an advanced/conversational ASL course that explores several key topics related to Deaf Culture. Using only ASL in class, students will read and discuss books, articles, and films related to the following topics: What is Deaf Culture?; The History of the Deaf American; Deaf Identit(ies); Communication Debates and Language Deprivation; Technology and Deaf Culture; Deaf Art; Deaf-Space; and Deaf Families, Deaf-Hearing Families. Ultimately, students will work collaboratively on a final project that benefits local Deaf community members. Completion of at least the fourth semester of ASL (or the equivalent ASL experience with permission from the instructor) is required to take this course.

 

CHEM 0150: Chemistry of Dementia Risk Factors and Community Based Prevention

Instructor: Taylor Tomlinson

Over 57 million people live with dementia worldwide, and 14 risk factors have been identified as modifiable to prevent or delay half of all dementia cases globally. This course will explore these risk factors in depth, linking daily life actions to chemical changes in the brain. In this Academically Based Community Service (ABCS) course, students will not only receive an introduction to the lifestyle and environmental risk factors of dementia but will also engage with the local community, working in small groups as co-teachers of dementia prevention lessons in a Philadelphia senior center. Students will receive instruction on 1) the biochemical hallmarks of dementia, 2) the chemical mechanisms of each risk factor, and 3) current treatments. As co-teachers, students will use problem-solving learning approaches to promote accessible education about dementia risk and develop dementia prevention practices in our community.

 

COLL 0135: The Art of Speaking
Instructor: Elizabeth (Sue) Weber
Fulfills: WH UG Humanities (WUHM)

This course is designed to equip students with the major tenets of rhetorical studies and peer education necessary to work as a CWiC speaking advisor. The course is a practicum that aims to develop students' abilities as speakers, as critical listeners and as advisors able to help others develop those abilities. In addition to creating and presenting individual presentations, students present workshops and practice advising. During this ABCS course, students will practice their advising skills by coaching and mentoring students at a public school in Philadelphia.

 

EAS 2420: Energy Education in Philadelphia Schools
Instructor: Andrew Huemmler
Fulfills: Ben Franklin Seminars (UNBF), SEAS No Engineering Req (EUNE), SEAS Tech,Business,Society (EUTB), VIPER Energy Course (UNVE), WH UG CCP US (WUCU), WH UG NSME: Natural Science, Math, Engineering (WUNM)

Students will learn about basic residential energy efficiency measures and practices from an established community based energy organization, the Energy Coordinating Agency of Philadelphia. Identify and understand fundamental core STEM energy concepts. Develop a short "energy efficiency" curriculum appropriate for middle or high school students. Teach three (3) sessions in a science class in the School District of Philadelphia.

 

EDUC 2002: Urban Education
Instructor: Tawanna Jones

This seminar focuses on two main questions: 1) How have US schools and urban ones in particular continued to reproduce inequalities rather than ameliorating them? 2) In the informational age, how do the systems affecting education need to change to create more successful and equitable outcomes? The course is designed to bridge the divide between theory and practice. Each class session looks at issues of equity in relation to an area of practice (e.g. lesson design, curriculum planning, fostering positive student identities, classroom management, school funding, policy planning...), while bringing theoretical frames to bear from the fields of education, sociology, anthropology and psychology.

 

ENGL 3251/AFRC 3251: Writing for Children: Magic, Demons, and Activism
Instructor: Lorene Cary
Fulfills: ENGL Creative Writing, Workshop Course Minor (AECW), NU Sector Arts & Letters (NUAL), SEAS Humanities (EUHS)

A creative writing workshop devoted to the art and practice of writing for children. Students can expect to read texts by a variety of practitioners of the genre, complete regular writing assignments, and workshop writing by their peers. To learn more about this course, visit the Creative Writing Program at https://creative.writing.upenn.edu.

 

FREN 2180: FROM WEST AFRICA TO WEST PHILADELPHIA: CREATING COMMUNITY IN THE FRANCOPHONE DIASPORA
Instructor: Elizabeth Collins
Fulfills: COL Instruction: Non-English (AUOT), College FND Cultural Diversity in US (AUCD), NU GloblHealthMin Lang (NUGL), NU Sector Global&Cultural Studies (NUGC), SEAS Humanities (EUHS), Wharton UG Core Flex GenEd (WUFG)

This course explores the immigrant experience with a focus on migration from Francophone West Africa to this country, particularly the impact it has on children and young people. Through a close partnership with young Francophone immigrants at the Lea School, we will focus on the challenges they face adapting to a new cultural and linguistic environment. We will review the Francophone context in order to understand the place of the French language in Africa; look at the immigrant and refugee experience through a variety of texts in French; examine the issues of mono-, bi- and multilingualism both on an individual and a societal basis; look at the competing meanings the French language holds for Black Americans; and study the role of foreign languages in American schools. Students will participate in the weekly Francophone Community Partnership, an after-school program with K - 8 children at the Lea School which seeks to enhance the children’s self-esteem and pride in their linguistic and cultural heritage.

 

HIST 3714: Doing History: Research, Writing, and Mentorship
Instructor: Ann Farnsworth-Alvear
Fulfills: HIST Concentration in American History (AHCA), HIST United States and Canada (AHUC)

Focused on mentorship, both on campus and off, this course allows Penn Students to design and develop a research project while engaging with high schoolers from the School District of Philadelphia who will be pursuing their own historical work. Their teacher, Joshua Block, is a Penn graduate with twenty-five years of experience in the Philadelphia School District--his support will allow seminar participants to learn about teaching as a profession. During the first half of the semester, we will discuss Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America and develop research plans that reflect students' own intellectual goals as historians. Research projects may focus on Philadelphia or anywhere in the Americas (please note that research projects beyond the Americas will require the student to seek an additional mentor beyond Professor Farnsworth-Alvear). We'll visit archives and other repositories in the city; examine digitized manuscript documents in Spanish and English and present our sources in Mr. Block’s classroom; and begin writing a 15-20 page research paper based on primary sources. During the second half of the semester, we will concentrate on supporting and mentoring high schoolers’ work as they pursue their own investigation of Democracy in America, with each seminar participant being paired with a group of high school researchers to mentor their research process. This is an Academically-Based, Community Service (ABCS) course.
 

LALS 2610/SOCI 2610: LATINOS IN THE UNITED STATES
Instructor: Emilio Parrado
Fulfills: College FND Cultural Diversity in US (AUCD), NU Sector Global&Cultural Studies (NUGC), NU Sector Society&Soc Struct (NUSS), SEAS Humanities (EUHS), SEAS Social Science (EUSS), WH UG CCP US (WUCU), WH UG SS: Social Science (WUSS)

This course presents a broad overview of the Latino population in the United States that focuses on the economic and sociological aspects of Latino immigration and assimilation. Topics to be covered include: construction of Latino identity, the history of U.S. Latino immigration, Latino family patterns and household structure, Latino educational attainment. Latino incorporation into the U.S. labor force, earnings and economic well-being among Latino-origin groups, assimilation and the second generation. The course will stress the importance of understanding Latinos within the overall system of race and ethnic relations in the U.S., as well as in comparison with previous immigration flows, particularly from Europe. We will pay particular attention to the economic impact of Latino immigration on both the U.S. receiving and Latin American sending communities, and the efficacy and future possibilities of U.S. immigration policy. Within all of these diverse topics, we will stress the heterogeneity of the Latino population according to national origin groups (i.e. Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, and other Latinos), as well as generational differences between immigrants and the native born.

 

LGST 2300: SOCIAL IMPACT AND RESPONSIBILITY: FOUNDATIONS
Instructor: Djordjija Petkoski
Fulfills: Wharton UG Huntsman Program Elec (WUIS)

What role can business play in helping to meet global societal needs, whether it involves the environment, improving health, expanding education or eradicating poverty? Is there any responsibility on the part of business to help meet those needs? What are models of successful business engagement in this area? How should success be measured? Are there limits to what businesses can and should do, and what institutional changes will enable businesses and entrepreneurs to better succeed? This survey course provides students the opportunity to engage in the critical analysis of these and other questions that lie at the foundation of social impact and responsibility as an area of study. The course involves case studies, conceptual issues, and talks by practitioners. The course is designed to help students develop a framework to address the question: How should business enterprises and business thinking be engaged to improve society in areas not always associated with business? The course is required for the secondary concentration in Social Impact and Responsibility

MGMT 3530: WHARTON FIELD CHALLENGE: FINANCIAL LITERACY COMMUNITY PROJECT
Instructor: Keith Weigelt 

Do you want to make a real difference in the lives of a student? Do you want to set kids on a path to becoming financially literate? Do you want to learn leadership skills in the classroom? Here at the Financial Literacy Community Project (FLCP) we are able to create an experience that achieves all three. We partner with various public schools around the West Philadelphia area and teach concepts integral to financial literacy. We teach a wide range of grades from middle school to high school, and work with students to help them learn how to be financially responsible. In addition to teaching in neighboring high schools, we also have group class meetings run by Professor Keith Weigelt on Mondays from 7:00 PM-8:30 PM. We learn about the disparity of wealth and how to best address it while also learning teaching techniques, classroom strategies, and overall basic financial literacy. A basic understanding of personal financial literacy is required.

 

MUSC 0180B/URBS 0180B: MUSIC IN URBAN SPACES (must register in Fall 2024)
Instructor: Molly Mcglone
Fulfills: College FND Cultural Diversity in US (AUCD), College-Sector - Humanities & Social Science (AUHS), First Year Seminar (AUFS), MultiTerm Last (MTL), NU Sector Arts & Letters (NUAL), SEAS Humanities (EUHS), SEAS Social Science (EUSS), WH UG CCP US (WUCU), WH UG Humanities (WUHM)

Music in Urban Spaces is a year-long experience that explores the ways in which individuals use music in their everyday lives and how music is used to construct larger social and economic networks that we call culture. We will read the work of musicologists, cultural theorists, urban geographers, sociologists and educators who work to define urban space and the role of music and sound in urban environments, including through music education. While the readings make up our study of the sociology of urban space and the way we use music in everyday life to inform our conversations and the questions we ask, it is within the context of our personal experiences working with music programs in public neighborhood schools serving economically disadvantaged students, that we will begin to formulate our theories of the contested musical micro-cultures of West Philadelphia. This course is over two-semesters where students register for .5 cus each term (for a total of 1 cu over the entire academic year) and is tied to the Music and Social Change Residential Program in Fisher Hassenfeld College House which will sponsor field trips around the city and a final concert for youth to perform here at Penn, if possible. Students are expected to volunteer in music and drama programs in Philadelphia neighborhood public schools throughout the course experience.

 

PHYS 0137: COMMUNITY PHYSICS INITIATIVE
Instructor: Philip Nelson, Ryan Batkie
Fulfills: College-Sector - Natural Science Across the Disciplines (AUNM), NU Sector Society&Soc Struct (NUSS), WH UG NSME: Natural Science, Math, Engineering (WUNM)

This is an Academically Based Community Service Course (ABCS). The central purpose is to work in partnership with a local high school to improve physics education outcomes for their students. An immersive classroom experience will be enriched through instructional design work and grounded in a study of science education scholarship.

 

UNDERGRADUATE/GRADUATE COURSES

ANTH 5467/EDUC 5467: Community Youth Filmmaking

Instructor: Alissa Jordan 

Fulfills: College 16 CU Requirement (AU16), GSE-ADMIN-Litrcy,Cltr,&Intl Ed (GMLC)

This course focuses on how the filmmaking medium and process can provide a means for engaging youth in ethnographically grounded civic action projects where they learn about, reflect on, and communicate to others about their issues in their schools and communities. Students receive advanced training in film and video for social change. A project-based service-learning course, students collaborate with Philadelphia high school students and community groups to make films and videos that encourage creative self-expression and represent issues important to youth, schools, and local communities. Stories and themes on emotional well-being, safety, health, environmental issues, racism and social justice are particularly encouraged. A central thread throughout is to assess and reflect upon the strengths (and weaknesses) of contemporary film (digital, online) in fostering debate, discussion and catalyzing community action and social change. The filmmaking medium and process itself is explored as a means to engage and interact with communities. This course provides a grounding in theories, concepts, methods and practices of community engagement derived from Community Participatory Video, Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) and Ethnographic methods. For the very first time, Penn students will be trained to operate a state-of-the-art TV studio at PSTV (Philadelphia Schools TV). At the end of the semester approved films will be screened with an accompanying panel discussion at an event at the School District of Philadelphia (SDP). These films will also be broadcast on Comcast Philadelphia's PSTV Channel 52 and webcast via the district's website and YouTube channel. This is an ABCS course, and students will produce short ethnographic films with students in Philadelphia high schools as part of a partnership project with the School District of Philadelphia. EDUC 5466 Ethnographic Filmmaking (or equivalent) is a pre-requisite or permission of instructor.

 

EDUC 5437: INTERFAITH DIALOGUE IN ACTION
Instructor: Stephen Kocher
Read more: https://www.thedp.com/article/2017/11/ibelieve-upenn-philadelphia-interf...
Fulfills: NU Sector Society&Soc Struct (NUSS), SEAS Social Science (EUSS), WH UG CCP US (WUCU), WH UG SS: Social Science (WUSS)

This ABCS course explores religious pluralism and interfaith dialogue and action on college campuses. It brings together students with diverse faith commitments (including atheism) to engage with and learn from one another in academic study, dialogue, and service.

EDUC 5912: SUPPORTING EARLY MATH LEARNING
Instructor: Caroline Ebby
Read more: https://www.gse.upenn.edu/news/penn-gse%E2%80%99s-pilot-abcs-elective-bu...

This course is an academically based community service (ABCS) course open to undergraduates and masters students.  The course will introduce current approaches to equitable and inclusive mathematics education, research on how children develop
foundational mathematical concepts, and basic concepts of cognitive and social/emotional development. Students will have opportunities to continually apply theory to practice through bi-weekly one-on-one sessions with an elementary student, using instructional modules that are designed to increase math confidence, engagement, and number sense, as well as regular assessment and reflection on the child’s progress. We will also unpack conceptions of teaching and learning, interrogate the "achievement gap" and racialized experiences with mathematics, and consider critical issues and policies that impact education in urban environments. The course meets twice a week and the tutoring sessions are conducted during the scheduled class time. No previous teaching or specialized knowledge of mathematics content is required.

EDUC 7772: Expanding Civic Opportunities for Youth
Instructor: Rand Quinn
Fulfills: GSE-ADMIN-Education Policy (GMEP)

This Academically Based Community Service (ABCS) course is designed for Penn graduate and undergraduate students invested in youth civic empowerment. Students design multi-session, project-based lessons on collective problem solving on a contemporary issue (for example, climate justice, political redistricting, or school gentrification). Students will then facilitate their workshops in Philadelphia public school classrooms. As part of the course, students will develop and implement an internal assessment plan that may include observation protocols, post-lesson debriefings, participant focus groups, and teacher interviews. The data from these assessment tools will contribute to a final report.

HSPV 5340: Public History- Theory and Practice (A)
Instructor: Brian Whetstone
Fulfills: Weitzman - Masters HSPV Elective (FMHP)

This course explores the ways history is put to work in the world. It focuses primarily on how communities shape their relationship to and understanding of the built environment. A core premise of this course is that practicing public history requires a professional outlook, set of skills, and ethical stance beyond what is required of historians. As such, our course will analyze the role of public historians in shaping the relationship between communities and the built environment through oral history, museums, and historic sites; on the internet through digital humanities projects; and explore how the built environment acts as an agent in popular and public understandings of the past through interventions like monuments, memorials, and historic markers. We will consider how versions of the past are created, institutionalized, and communicated through and with the built environment. Ultimately, we will engage key ideas, themes, and practical concerns confronting public historians and preservationists in a variety of professional and institutional settings. This course is required for students wishing to concentrate on the Public History of the Built Environment while pursuing an MS in Historic Preservation. It builds on skills developed in HSPV 5210 (American Architecture), HSPV 6000 (Documentation), and HSPV 6060 (Site Management); only HSPV 6000 is a prerequisite.

IMUN 5900: COMMUNITY ENGAGED APPROACHES TO ASTHMA RESEARCH AND EDUCATION
Instructor: Sarah Henrickson

Pediatric asthma is a chronic lung disease and a significant health burden to the Philadelphia community, affecting 1 in 5 school-aged children. In this Academically Based Community Service (ABCS) course, graduate students will not only receive an introduction to the immunological and environmental causes of asthma but will also be provided with the opportunity to engage with the local community by working in small groups as co-teachers of asthma lessons in a Philadelphia middle school classroom. Graduate students will receive instruction on 1) the underlying pathogenesis of asthma, 2) the efforts of local community organizers to improve asthma outcomes in vulnerable Philadelphia families, and 3) pedagogical principles. As co-teachers, graduate students will utilize problem-based learning approaches to promote education and awareness of asthma causes, symptoms and prevention in our community. Note: Background clearances AND mandated reported training are REQUIRED to work with Andrew Hamilton middle school students.

 

MGMT 4020: SERVICE LEARNING CLIENT PROJECT
Instructor: Keith Weigelt, Anne Greenhalegh

MGMT 4020 builds on the foundation established by the pre-requisites in the Leadership Journey. As seniors, you will draw on the self-awareness you acquired in WH1010, the speaking skills you practiced in WH2010, and the teamwork and interpersonal skills you honed in MGMT3010. Moreover, MGMT 4020 serves as a capstone course by giving you the opportunity to work with a robust nonprofit and in order to frame the problems and address the challenges your host organization faces; in the process, you will use your creative and critical thinking skills, apply what you have learned, and reflect on your growth and development through iterative feedback and constructive coaching. As a highly experiential course, MGMT 4020 is relatively unstructured, giving you ample opportunity to demonstrate leadership by providing direction and teamwork by pulling together to deliver results for your host. MGMT 4020 will enable you to draw on your Wharton undergraduate education and apply what you have learned in a way that promises to provide real impact for your host organization and a meaningful and memorable experience for you. It is only open to Wharton seniors. In short, MGMT 4020 gives Wharton seniors the opportunity to: - Engage in a service learning and experiential course - Demonstrate leadership and work as a team on a real, host engagement - Think creatively, critically, and practically for the benefit of your host - Refine your interpersonal communication and presentation skills - Heighten your self-awareness through feedback and reflection.

 

NGG 5900: Research and Community: Biomedical Science in the Urban Curriculum
Instructor:  Loretta Flanagan-Cato

NGG 5900 is an activity-based course with three major goals. First, the course is an opportunity for biomedical graduate students to develop their science communication skills and share their enthusiasm for neuroscience with high school students at a nearby public high school in West Philadelphia. In this regard, Penn students will prepare demonstrations and hands-on activities to engage local high school students, increase their knowledge in science, and ultimately promote their interest in science-related careers. Second, the course will consider the broader educational context, such as the conditions of the local high school and its overall progress in science education. Students will discuss the problems they encounter and learn how to develop effective proposals, taking into account the participants and the origins of current policies. Third, students will reflect and discuss the important connection between their biomedical research at Penn and the local Philadelphia community.

 

NURS 3130/5130: OBESITY AND SOCIETY
Instructor: Amanda Fultz, Charlene Compher
Fulfills: NU Sector ReaSys&Relationship (NURS); NU Sector Society&Soc Struct (NUSS); SEAS Social Science (EUSS); Wharton UG General Education - Social Science (WUSS)

This course will examine obesity from scientific, cultural, psychological, and economic perspectives. The complex matrix of factors that contribute to obesity and established treatment options will be explored.

NURS 3570/NURS 5730: CASE STUDY: INNOVATION IN HEALTH: FOUNDATIONS OF DESIGN THINKING AND EQUITY-CENTERED DESIGN
Instructor: Julia Votto
Fulfills: ENG Engineering Entrepreneurship (EUNP), NU Nursing and Health Services Mgmt Minor NU Elec (NUNH), NURS MSN Leadership Elective (NMLE)

Innovation, defined as a hypothesis-driven, testable, and disciplined strategy, is important to improve health & healthcare. Employing new ways of thinking, such as with design thinking, will help open up possibilities of ways to improve health & the process of healthcare. Additionally, equity-centered design integrates features of design thinking with a focus on how the design process impacts the end-users and requires the inclusion of under-resourced communities throughout the design process to ensure that the power differences that lead to oppression, marginalization, and health inequity are removed (Equity Design Thinking, 2022). Incorporating current & emerging social & digital technologies such as mobile apps, wearables, remote sensing, and 3D printing, affords new opportunities for innovation. This course provides foundational content & a disciplined approach to innovation as it applies to health, healthcare, public health and health equity. A flipped classroom approach has the in-class component focusing on group learning through design thinking activities. The course is open to undergraduate nursing students as a case study & upper-level undergraduates and graduate students from across the Penn campus. The course provides a theoretical foundation in design thinking and equity-centered design along with a focus on using a Design Justice lens and the importance of storytelling. To enhance the didactic component, students will actively participate in a design case study. Students will be matched by interest and skill level with teams & will work with community-based organizations, healthcare providers and/or innovation partners. Student teams will meet their partners to identify & refine a health, healthcare, public health or health equity problem to tackle. Students will work throughout the semester to create an innovative solution that will be pitched to their community-based organization, healthcare provider, and/or innovation partner at the end of the semester. Prerequisite: Completion of freshman & sophomore level courses

 

GRADUATE COURSES

COMM 6200: Communication and Community Change: Youth-Centered Participatory Action Research 

Instructor: Andy Tan 

Fulfills: COMM PhD Faculty 18 (CF18)

Section Details: [Fieldwork location: William L. Sayre High School] Masters students interested in enrolling must email the faculty member directly to request registration permission. If permission is granted, and there are open seats available after advanced registration, permits will be issued beginning Tuesday, November 18, 2025

This doctoral-level, academically based community service (ABCS) research seminar empowers local youth in West Philadelphia to identify, research, and address pressing community issues through evidence-based communication strategies. Working directly with Sayre High School partners, graduate students will co-develop research questions and communication campaigns that matter most to youth and their communities. While topics may include climate change, health, violence prevention, or other community concerns, the specific focus will be selected in collaboration with youth partners. Through learning about strategic messaging, social media engagement, and school/community outreach campaigns, students will develop an intervention in groups to foster meaningful community change. The course involves both scheduled seminars and required fieldwork at Sayre High School. Drawing on frameworks from communication theory, behavior change, and Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR), students will engage in hands-on projects that empower youth voices and enable community action through communication. Graduate students will learn core theories about behavior change relevant to communication interventions and YPAR. They will gain experience designing and implementing a multi-method or mixed-methods study, combining qualitative with quantitative research techniques to conduct formative research, message design, and testing in partnership with youth. Through this project, students will develop proficiency in data analysis, interpretation, and presentation of findings. The course will also cover ethical and practical considerations in youth-centered research, relationship building, community engagement strategies, and effective facilitation skills. This course provides a unique opportunity for doctoral students to gain practical experience in participatory research while addressing pressing social, environmental, or health issues in the West Philadelphia community.

 

CPLN 7200: Housing, Community and Economic Development Practicum

Instructor: Lisa Servon 

The Housing, Community & Economic Development Practicum course is the capstone for the CED concentration. Using the skills and knowledge they have acquired in CPLN 5200 and the theory/method requirement, students work in small groups on projects for local clients. These clients may include community-based organizations, public agencies, or other nonprofits.

 

EDUC 7220: Seminar in Microethnography
Instructor: Betsy Rymes, Hannah Brenneman, Suzanne Oh, Erica Poinsett

This course provides an introduction to theory and method in the unified analysis of verbal and nonverbal behavior as it is culturally patterned, socially organized, and socially organizing in face-to-face interaction, in an approach that integrates participant observation with the detailed analysis of audiovisual records. Students read relevant literature in linguistic anthropology, interactional sociolinguistics, conversation analysis, and embodiment in social interaction. Class requirements include in-class reading presentations, a small microethnographic research project, and several short data analysis reports drawing on differing levels of analysis and differing theoretical orientations. Students review and apply methods of audiovisual data collection, transcription, processing, archiving, and presentation.

 

NURS 7350: PEDIATRIC ACUTE CARE NP: PROFESSIONAL ROLE AND INTERMEDIATE CLINICAL PRACTICE
Instructor: Jessica Strohm Farber, Cynthia Schmua
Fulfills: WH UG NSME: Natural Science, Math, Engineering (WUNM)

This course focuses on the implementation of the professional role of the Pediatric Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (PNP-AC). Particular emphasis is placed on the role components of the nurse practitioner in pediatric acute care. Applications of nursing, biological and behavioral science are emphasized in the advanced clinical assessment, clinical decision making and management skills needed to care for complex, unstable acutely and chronically ill children and their families. The role of the advanced practice nurse in promoting optimal child/family outcomes is emphasized.