Penn Arts and Sciences High School Programs Writing for Researchers Online Seminar

In 2026 the live classes met on Zoom in the evening, Eastern Time (ET): 7 to 9 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays and 7 to 8 p.m. on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, which comes to about seven live hours a week. On top of that, Penn expected roughly an hour a day of asynchronous work, done on your own time, and you have to take part in both the live and the independent work to earn the certificate.

Instructors contact students through a Penn email account you set up after enrolling. Penn asks for a computer with at least 8GB of RAM and an internet connection of 1.5 Mbps download and 750 Kbps upload, and the instructor may add requirements of their own. If you live far from the US East Coast, work out what 7 p.m. ET means where you are before you apply, since every live class falls in that evening slot.

Penn lists the program director, Kristine Rabberman, as the seminar's faculty. She holds a PhD in history from the University of Pennsylvania and has taught online courses at Penn for the past 16 years. Her teaching interests include academic writing and research design across the arts and sciences, alongside medieval history, travel literature, material culture and gender studies. She has won the Mid-Atlantic Award for Excellence in teaching from the University Professional Continuing Education Association and the Distinguished Teaching Award for Affiliated Faculty from Penn's College of Liberal and Professional Studies. Penn doesn't publish a class size for the seminar.

You need to be in 9th, 10th or 11th grade when you apply, so graduating seniors can't take part. Penn looks for at least a 3.5 high school GPA, writing that shows technical skill and intellectual depth, strong recommendations and a range of extracurricular interests, although it doesn't publish an acceptance rate. SAT or ACT scores aren't required, and you have to submit the application yourself rather than through a parent, counselor or agent.

Admission runs on a rolling basis until the program is full, with completed applications reviewed in the order they arrive, and a decision can take up to six weeks. For 2026 the application asked for these:

• Two essays

  Each up to 400 words, one on why you want this program and how it fits your goals, the other on two non-academic activities and how they've helped you grow.

• A third essay for non-native English speakers

  A description of your English education and experience.

• A transcript

  The full previous school year (2024-2025 for the 2026 cycle), official or unofficial, in English or with an official translation.

• One recommendation letter

  From an adult who can judge your work, written on their organization's letterhead and naming this specific program.

• English scores if needed

  TOEFL 100 (iBT), IELTS 7 or Duolingo English Test 130. You may be eligible for a waiver if you'll have attended an English-medium school for at least two years by enrollment.

Tuition for 2026 was $2,950, covering all program fees, and the nonrefundable $100 application fee came on top, so the total was $3,050 for a family without a scholarship. Online students don't get access to Penn's on-campus amenities, and Penn notes that its fees can change without notice, so the next figure may differ.

Once admitted, you hold your seat by accepting the offer and paying a $1,500 deposit, which counts toward the $2,950 but is never refunded and can't be moved to another Penn program. The rest of the tuition was refundable if you withdrew in writing by 15 May 2026, and not after that. Since the application deadline was 1 June, a student admitted after 15 May had no refund window at all. The balance is billed through PennPay, with bills typically available at the start of May and due by June, and paying late adds a penalty of 1.5% of the overdue amount.

Penn offers no financial aid, though families can pay with a 529 college savings plan. The exception is a limited number of scholarships for Philadelphia residents at School District of Philadelphia public or charter high schools, which can make the seminar free. These students also have the application fee waived automatically. You're considered by completing the scholarship section of the program application, and a student can receive a scholarship for only one program. Penn offers no scholarships to international students or to students at other schools.

You leave with a certificate of completion, which you can request as a digital copy from the Penn SAS High School Programs office. It isn't college credit, and Online Seminar students don't receive an official University transcript, since only Penn's Pre-College Programs carry credit.

What you take away is mostly skill. By the end you should be able to scan existing research on a topic you choose, read published studies with an eye to how each field judges a project's value, and pitch an original research idea convincingly to a chosen academic audience, and you set goals for building those skills further. Admission to the seminar doesn't count as admission to Penn, and Penn says taking part doesn't guarantee a place as an undergraduate.