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Philadelphia, PA · History

History at Penn

Penn graduates about 54 history majors a year, 2% of its graduating class. That puts it 9th of 692 schools we score for history, a standout program at 94 out of 100. Its current catalog lists 287 undergraduate courses in the field, more than 98% of the schools we've counted. Graduates in the major earn a median $89,000 four years out, 1.75× what the same major pays nationally. Research spending in the field runs about $11 million a year, a rough guide to how many labs and projects undergraduates can join.

94/100Standout#9 of 692 for history →
Graduates a year542% of the class
Courses in the catalog287more than 98% of schools
Median pay 4 years out$89,0001.75× the same major nationally
Research in the field$11Ma year, NSF
Admit rate5%whole school
SAT middle 50%1500–1570whole school

Around Penn

Typical weep hole in brick masonry wall replace the space of the mortar joint to
Weep holePhoto: Dcorchado · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania - panoramioPhoto: Bohao Zhao · CC BY 3.0 · source
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, United States, February 2024
Penn Engineering bannerPhoto: Bredyhopi · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
South 33rd Street, Philadelphia, Statue of Benjamin Franklin arriving in Philade
University City - Philadelphia (2643245828)Photo: Reading Tom from Reading, UK · CC BY 2.0 · source

Where history happens

Buildings on campus that fit the field: Walnut Street West, W. W. Hagerty Library, Van Pelt Library.

Named buildings on the campus map: Dorm 109 · Academic 88 · Dining 16 · Arts 13 · Athletics 10 · Student housing 7.

Open the full-screen campus map →

Nearby in the history ranking

  1. Columbia University 96
  2. University of Chicago 95
  3. University of Notre Dame 95
  4. Duke University 95
  5. Vanderbilt University 94
  6. Georgetown University 94
  7. Amherst College 94
  8. Williams College 93

Other strong majors at Penn

How the score works

The score is out of 100 and compares Penn with every school we score in history. It weighs the school's overall strength; how many students graduate in the major and what share of the class they are; research spending in the field (NSF); early pay against the same major nationally; how many courses the catalog lists; and test scores. 80+ is a standout program, 65+ strong, 45+ solid. Sources: US Department of Education (College Scorecard, IPEDS), NSF HERD, each school's current course catalog, OpenStreetMap and Wikimedia Commons.

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