“I was so gung-ho on getting a master's degree straight out of undergrad,” begins geotechnical project manager Margaret Dunkelberger (MSAG ’25). Back in 2020, she was expecting to start a traditional on-campus graduate program in the geosciences in the fall. “Then COVID-19 happened. I was out of luck for a bit, but it all worked out,” she says. Soon after pivoting her focus to launching a career, Margaret discovered a new path to graduate school—and professional advancement.

A collaboration between the University of Pennsylvania, the Philadelphia Police Department (PPD), and the Neubauer Family Foundation will provide tuition support for senior PPD officers to enroll in Penn’s new Master of Applied Criminology and Police Leadership (MCPL) program.

On Sunday, May 18, Penn’s College of Liberal and Professional Studies (LPS) welcomed family, friends, faculty, and the Class of 2025 for a graduation ceremony in Marian Anderson Hall at the Kimmel Center in downtown Philadelphia. This year, LPS conferred 476 degrees on graduating students: 89 undergraduate degrees and 387 master’s degrees. Of these graduates, 230 are international students representing 18 countries in all.

The College of Liberal and Professional Studies is pleased to congratulate Clayton Colmon, from the Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences program, and Nazli Bhatia, from the Master of Behavioral and Decision Sciences program, for being named 2025 distinguished teaching award winners.

On Friday, March 28, 2025, the Department of Earth and Environmental Science hosted the 17th annual Graduate Student Research Conference celebrating academic excellence among the department’s Professional Masters Programs.