The School of Design of the University of Pennsylvania is dedicated to improving the quality of life through the design and preservation of artworks, buildings, landscapes, cities, and regions. With the change of the name of our school from the Graduate School of Fine Arts, we have signaled the importance of creativity in all aspects of our environment. We use design in the broad sense to include both creating exciting objects and places, and influencing the social and political processes that have a bearing on the built and natural world.

The world does not present design challenges in neatly packaged professional envelopes. Architects must grapple with the economic and social implications of their buildings; city planners must appreciate the role that architecture and landscape design can play in creating wonderful places. Artists, architects, and planners must develop sensitivity to history, just as historic preservationists must learn about how buildings and landscapes are formed and inhabited. These are among the many understandings that students in our School of Design develop to position them to be design leaders.

We seek breadth in our work. We are a school devoted to expanding knowledge, not an academy devoted to pursuing a single narrow philosophy. This website on the school illustrates how we bridge seemingly contradictory trends. Our foundation is the great tradition of design at Penn; but we are constantly in evolution, pursuing the leading edges of our fields. Theory and practice are seen as inseparable in our school, as Benjamin Franklin, founder of the university, advocated. Craft traditions merge with technology, as we invent new techniques of production. And while we are an intensely urban school, with Philadelphia as our laboratory, we are also one of the most international design schools. Our students and faculty are drawn from dozens of countries, and our studio work spans cultures and design traditions. In the 21st century, most design leaders will work across national boundaries.

Meaningful design requires critical, analytical, and creative skills. The design arts are the common intellectual core of the School, but equally important are the understandings drawn from technologists, historians, and social scientists in the School and the University. Education occurs in studios and classrooms, but also outside in the heat of debate and discussion, around exhibitions and shows, on field trips, and while collaborating with others on projects. Every week is crowded with opportunities and experiences.

Join us and become a part of this exciting quest.

Gary Hack
Dean and Paley Professor