Penn Arts and Sciences High School Programs Global Culture and Media Academy

In 2025, classes ran Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern time. Each day opened with the whole group and the program director, moved into small-group work, broke for lunch around noon and then spent the afternoon on a guest speaker, sociolinguistic data gathering or one of the course films.

• Week 1, Media Week

  How media portray culture and language, with the films Arrival and S1mone and visits to Van Pelt Library, the Annenberg Center and WXPN Studios.

• Week 2, Culture Week

  A close reading of research on intercultural communication and language policy, the film Big Fight in Little Chinatown and a field trip to Chinatown.

• Week 3, contemporary media

  Indigenous cultures and media, a mini ethnography of the Italian Market, a Penn Museum visit and capstone presentations on the last two days.

The work doesn't stop at 4. There's required reading before every class, done in an annotation tool called Perusall that tracks how much you engage, and small groups take turns teaching the reading to everyone else. The films are rated PG-13, although some show social issues that are uncomfortable to watch, and the course as a whole takes on hard subjects including racism, slavery and sexism. To prepare you, you read a critical analysis of each film (spoilers included) before watching it.

Evenings after 5 p.m. and weekends belong to the residential program, which Penn describes as trivia or arts and crafts nights during the week and off-campus weekend trips, such as to the beach or a Phillies game.

The academy is run by its program director, Betsy Kells, who is the technology director at the Penn Language Center and has taught Italian and English as a Second Language (ESL) at Penn. She holds an MA in Italian Studies and Second Language Acquisition from Middlebury College and is a doctoral student in educational linguistics at Penn's Graduate School of Education.

In 2025 she taught alongside instructor Zhanar Beketova, a PhD student in Germanic and Italian Studies who has taught German, Italian and ESL at high school and college level. Penn faculty appear as guest lecturers, and the 2025 list included Dr. Jami Fisher, director of Penn's ASL program, and Professor Anne Pomerantz of the Graduate School of Education.

The academy is for students in 10th or 11th grade, and Penn looks for a GPA of at least 3.5 plus writing that shows both technical skill and intellectual depth. Seniors about to graduate can't apply, and SAT or ACT scores aren't required.

Admission is rolling until the academy fills, with complete applications reviewed in the order they arrive and decisions taking up to six weeks. The 2026 class reached capacity, so leaving your application late is a real risk. Penn doesn't publish a class size or acceptance rate. The application has to come from you rather than a parent, counselor or agent, and nothing can be added after you submit unless Penn asks for it.

• Two essays

  Up to 400 words each, one on why this program and how it fits your goals and one on two of your extracurricular activities, plus a third on your English background if English isn't your first language.

• A transcript

  Your full transcript for the last completed school year (2024-25 for the 2026 cycle), official or unofficial, in English or with an official translation.

• One recommendation

  From an adult who knows your work, written on their organization's letterhead and naming this academy.

• English scores, if needed

  TOEFL 100 (iBT), IELTS 7 or Duolingo 130, unless you'll have spent at least two years at an English-medium school by the time you enroll.

The 2026 fee was $10,050, which covered classes, a room on campus, the meal plan, linens, trips and activities, supervision and gym access for students 15 and over. On top of that comes a $100 nonrefundable application fee, which is waived for Philadelphia residents at School District of Philadelphia schools. You'll also need to budget for travel to Philadelphia, airport transfers, meals off campus, medical costs, laundry supplies and spending money, and in 2025 students were asked to bring money on site visits. Students with a permanent address outside the US also pay a mandatory, nonrefundable international registration fee that includes health insurance (with a deductible), and the cost of a B-2 visa is extra.

Once you're admitted, a $1,500 deposit holds your place and counts toward the total. The deposit never comes back, and the rest is refundable only until 15 May, with no reduction for arriving late or leaving early. Bills usually arrive at the beginning of May and are due by June, and late payment adds a penalty of 1.5% of the overdue amount.

Penn offers no financial aid. The exception is a limited number of scholarships for Philadelphia residents at School District of Philadelphia public or charter high schools, which cover the program, housing, meals, trips and supervision but not travel or personal spending. You're considered by completing the scholarship section of the regular application.

You leave with a certificate of completion from Penn Arts and Sciences High School Programs, which isn't college credit and doesn't come with a Penn transcript. The course has no grades either.

The more substantial thing you take away is your capstone, a research proposal on a question of your choosing about intercultural communication, built alone or in a group of up to four around one kind of media: podcasts, social media, print, visual arts, film or music. Each group presents for 20 minutes and then takes 10 minutes of questions. Penn says students who complete an academy may ask their instructors for letters of recommendation, and it's clear that taking part doesn't guarantee admission to Penn as an undergraduate.

Penn hands the residential side to a partner, ESF Pre-College, which hires and supervises the residential staff, runs evening and weekend activities and looks after students' health and safety on campus. ESF sends instructions within two weeks of admission, and families complete its required paperwork through an online system called Bravo.

For medical problems after hours, residential students get emergency or urgent care nearby at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Penn's Division of Public Safety offers 24/7 walking escorts across campus, and students must be at least 13 to live in the residence halls.