The flexibility of the graduate group structure, combined with the breadth of the resources that are located on Penn's self-contained campus, allows graduate students to enrich studies in their specialties with work in related areas. By sharing a single campus, students and faculty of all divisions of the University are encouraged to pool their resources and work together in a variety of interdisciplinary enterprises. Graduate students come to Penn from the best colleges and universities not only in the United States, but around the world. Over 25 percent of master's and doctoral students come to Penn from other countries. The office of International Programs provides Penn's overseas students an array of support services.
Women account for almost half of graduate students.
Graduate students are an important component of the overall quality of research and education at Penn, contributing to the intellectual environment on campus through their own scholarship as well as through their interactions with faculty and undergraduates. Penn graduate students also help to promote the intellectual development of their peers both within and across disciplines. There are numerous interdisciplinary seminars that provide forums for students to share their work, engage in critical peer review, and discuss common intellectual problems. Examples include the Sawyer Seminar on Globalization and Inequality, supported by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and the seminars sponsored by Penn's interdisciplinary centers and program committees.