Multicultural Programs

At Penn you'll find many students like you—and many who are different. You will meet peers of widely varying backgrounds, whether that difference is cultural, religious, economic, or ethnic. Learning together, and learning from each other, is an important element of Penn's educational mission. Our diversity strengthens our foundation as a university and a community.

Penn supports a myriad of clubs and organizations that embrace almost every heritage imaginable, all of which contribute to Penn's dynamic campus life. These are organized in three different ways.

Cultural Resource Centers

The Office of the Vice Provost for University Life develops and staffs resource centers that encourage and support the social and civic engagement of a variety of campus populations.

Residential Programs

The College House system offers a wide variety of residential programs in which students with similar interests live and study together. Several of these programs focus on world cultures.

Student Groups

The most organic and grass-roots organizations are, of course, those created and powered by students themselves. Penn students are leaders and creators; when they can't find the group they want to join, they often get their friends together and establish it themselves.