• Penn Engineering Graduate Newsletter 09-01-2026

Penn Engineering Graduate Newsletter 09-01-2026

Important Dates: 

Date Event
September 8 Course Selection period – last day to add courses and last day to drop courses to receive a full refund for graduate students.
September 11 Masters and Certificate December graduation application opens
October 5 Drop period ends: last day to drop a course
October 26-Nov. 9 Advance Registration for Spring 2027.
November 2 Last day to withdraw from a course for Fall term
November 6 Master’s and Certificate December graduation application closes
November 30 PhD December graduation application closes
December 7 Fall term classes end

 

 

Fall 2026 Semester Advising Hours

Academic advising takes place in the program/department with the advisor(s) and/or graduate coordinator/administrator.

For additional advising, students may come to the Office of Academic Services during drop-in advising hours while terms are in session. This can be for general inquiries, wellness concerns, policy questions, and assistance navigating Penn offices or who to turn to for questions.

Day of the week Time Location
Monday 10:00 am – 12:00 pm (EST) Virtual (Link here. Login info below)*
Tuesday 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm (EST) OAS Office, Towne 109
Wednesday 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm (EST) OAS Office, Towne 109
Thursday 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm (EST) Virtual (Link here. Login info below.)*
Friday No Advising  

*Password for all Virtual Sessions: GRFall26! 

If you are unable to attend scheduled advising hours, please email to request an appointment.

Registrar Reminders

Important Fall 2026 deadlines:

  • Course Selection Deadline (add/swap): September 8 (11:59 pm ET). This is also the last day to drop a course with a 100% refund.
  • Course Drop deadline: October 5 (11:59pm ET)
    • Between September 9 through October 5 at 11:59pm (ET), students will be able to use Path to drop a course and receive a 50% tuition refund.

December 2026 Graduation information:

  • The December 2026 Engineering graduation application will open on September 11 for bachelor’s, master’s, and certificates within the Engineering school. Information will be distributed closer to that opening. The December 2026 PhD graduation application opened on August 25. Information will be distributed in the near future.
  • Any students who need to update their expected graduation date can submit that request here. (This is especially important if you are a December graduate and your expected graduation date is incorrectly listed for the future.)

Grants, Scholarships & Fellowships

National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program

The National Science Foundation offers approximately 2,500 graduate fellowships each year. Fellowships provide three years of support for graduate study leading to research-based master’s or doctoral degrees at US universities in science, mathematics, and engineering, and a few other quantitative research fields supported by the NSF, and are intended for students in the early stages of their graduate study. Application deadline – October 22nd. Click here to learn more.

 

Scholarship. Stipend. Internship. Career. Build Your Future With SMART

The SMART Scholarship-for-Service Program offers full tuition funding, annual stipends, and paid summer internships for undergraduate and graduate STEM students. Even better, recipients secure guaranteed post-graduation civilian employment with the Department of Defense. Applications are open annually from August 1 through the first Friday in December.

 

Events

Penn Society of Women Engineers’ 30th Annual Corporate Dinner

Penn Society of Women Engineers (SWE) is excited to invite you to their 30th Annual Corporate Dinner! As one of their largest professional development events, Corporate Dinner is a great opportunity to connect directly with recruiters and representatives from leading companies like Bloomberg, Capital One, Regeneron, Five Rings, Accenture, and more. Registration includes adding your resume to their Resume Book shared with all participating companies.

Tuesday, September 15, 2026  

6:00 pm – 8:30 pm

Bodek Lounge, Houston Hall 

Tickets: $10-$14. Register and view participating companies here.

 

Clark Scholars Book Drive

Help us donate gently used books to a new home while supporting community libraries in Jamaica as they rebuild after Hurricane Melissa. The Clark Scholars Program is collecting books for readers of all ages and reading levels through September 19. Bring your books to one of our on-campus collection locations and help make a difference!

 

Career & Networking

Engineering & Technology Career Day

Open to on-campus SEAS and STEM-related majors and alumni from across the University, as well as postdoctoral fellows with interest in internships, full-time positions and/or careers related to engineering and/or technology. Click here to register. 

 

September 16, 2026, 11:00 am – 4:00 pm

Houston Hall – Bodek Lounge and Hall of Flags

Penncard required for entry

 

Career Development Hub

The career development hub is Penn Engineering’s dedicated career team for on-campus master’s students. Now offering in-person and virtual career advising meetings in Towne 286. In-person and virtual coaching, industry programming, and cohort communities on Penn’s campus. More information here.