The Key — Rebuilding the Path to Teaching at Penn
Last week, Penn’s Graduate School of Education and Urban Studies department announced a Secondary Education Minor open to all undergraduates. The nine-course program culminates in a full-time student-teaching placement during senior spring, preparing graduates for state licensure exams.
Penn is known for its highly structured routes into private sector careers. Now, the university is building a new pathway into public service. In an increasingly pre-professional undergraduate environment, and amid rising skepticism about the value of higher education, the minor offers a licensure-aligned route into teaching while preserving Penn’s commitment to interdisciplinary, rigorous coursework.
Penn once offered a Bachelor of Science in Education, but the last undergraduate degree was conferred over twenty years ago. Since then, there has been no direct pathway for undergraduates to become public school teachers.
Students interested in teaching have had to take indirect routes like Teach for America or City Year, teaching in private schools, which often do not require state licensure, or submatriculating to earn a Master’s in Education. While these options provide access to teaching, they require additional time, applications, or financial commitment and do not leave graduates immediately prepared for the classroom.
The new Secondary Education Minor changes that.
Open to undergraduates across schools, the minor combines coursework in urban education, child and adolescent development, pedagogy, and subject-specific methods, alongside full-time student teaching. It builds on the existing Urban Education Minor, which focuses on policy and research but does not lead to licensure.
At the same time, pre-professionalism has grown at Penn, and students are often funneled towards private sector careers immediately following graduation. In recent years, half of all graduates have worked in financial services and consulting. For the Class of 2025, over 30% went to financial services, 13% to technology companies, and over 15% to consulting.
Strong employment outcomes are a good sign. Penn is preparing its students for profitable careers, with a $105,000 median starting salary that is higher than its Ivy League peers. These pathways are also highly structured, with dedicated coursework, clubs, and early recruitment timelines beginning sophomore fall.
If Penn is going to make it easy for students to enter private sector careers, it should offer comparable avenues into public service. The Secondary Education Minor does just that.
Many students have quickly expressed interest in the program. Julia McWilliams, the Co-Director of the Urban Studies Program, told The Daily Pennsylvanian (The DP) that “With the pre-professionalization of Penn…this is a way that we can open up a pathway into public service without students taking on additional debt or time.”
The Secondary Education Minor responds to the rise of pre-professionalism while expanding access to meaningful careers in teaching. At the same time, the program reinforces Penn’s push to focus on interdisciplinary education, enrolling students in rigorous studies across fields while preparing them to teach.
This model should also serve as an example beyond education.
By embedding clear professional pathways within a broader liberal arts framework, especially in public service, Penn can show that career preparation and serious academic study are complementary, not competing. Programs like this preserve breadth and rigor while preparing students for post-graduate work, producing graduates equipped with the analytical and critical thinking skills to lead across fields.
The Almanac
Curated highlights from this week’s Penn news
Penn appeals and moves to stay EEOC subpoena for Jewish employee information
Over the next few days, the EEOC and Penn are required to file memorandums explaining their stances. If a stay is not granted, Penn must hand over a list of the names and personal contact information for employees involved in Jewish-related campus activities and programs.
The move follows a court ruling ordering Penn to comply with an EEOC subpoena for Jewish employee contact information. The subpoena is part of a commissioner-led investigation, launched in November 2023, into potential antisemitic employment practices at Penn. As we’ve discussed, the subpoena has faced widespread opposition from Penn, and its Jewish community, largely on First Amendment concerns.
So what? Central to Penn’s request is the argument of “irreparable injury.” While the EEOC is unlikely to be significantly affected by a delay, disclosure of employee information before the appeal is resolved cannot be undone. Beyond Penn, the case raises broader questions about privacy and the scope of information gathering in federal investigations. But for those concerns to be meaningfully addressed for Penn’s employees, the court must first grant a stay.
University sees 7% decrease in 2025 federal funding
Last year, Penn received $950 million in federal funding, down from over $1 billion last year, according to The DP.
Penn’s federal funding is split into four categories: prime assistance, prime contracts, assistance sub-awards, and sub-contracts. Most of the decrease this year came from assistance sub-awards. However, sub-awards only represent 6% of total funding.
Of the $950 million of funding in 2025, 83% came from the Department of Health and Human Services, with other smaller amounts of funding coming from the National Science Foundation, Department of Defense, and Department of Education.
Over the past year, federal research funding has been marked by new departmental priorities, risks to cuts to existing funding, and potential decreases in future funding. The recent White House budget proposal also puts forward budget cuts for the National Institute of Health (13%) and the National Science Foundation (50%) that could limit future funding availability for Penn.
So what? Despite research funding headwinds from the government, Penn’s Office of Research Services told The DP that the slight downturn in 2025 federal funding is completely normal and explainable by variations to multi-year grant funding payouts. The shifting landscape of research funding will likely have longer-term implications for Penn’s funding, but research at Penn last year was not heavily impacted.
Annenberg School announces new strategic vision, including master’s degree offering
Penn’s Annenberg School of Communications announced its first strategic vision this week. “Connected Futures” is focused on defining Anneberg’s next five years, spanning research, education, and public engagement.
Currently, Annenberg is Penn’s smallest school. It confers only Doctorates in Communication, although there is also an undergraduate communication major in the College with many classes utilizing Annenberg’s professors and resources. This upcoming fall, Annenberg is introducing a Master of Communication and Media Industries as part of the “Transformative & Foundational Education” part of its strategic vision.
Annenberg’s new vision aims to further its values of “intellectual rigor, curiosity, social responsibility, academic freedom, and belonging.” The vision is based on four pillars: “A Vibrant Intellectual Ecosystem, Human-Centered Infrastructure, Transformative & Foundational Education, and Collaboration & Connection for the Public Good.”
So what? Although Annenberg is small in enrollment, it plays a significant role in shaping Penn’s research profile and public presence. Its expansion into master’s education and new strategic vision could strengthen the university’s academic and professional offerings if executed clearly and cohesively. But without careful implementation, broad strategic frameworks risk creating confusion rather than direction for the communities they are meant to guide.
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