Program Communities Open to First-Years

The BFS community in Hill College House: a vibrant community of students who share a passion for broad intellectual exploration.
 
Hill College House is the home of the Benjamin Franklin Scholars (BFS) Program. The program brings students from the four undergraduate schools together in a caring, supportive community that serves as one important anchor for the plethora of activities spanning Penn’s campus and beyond. BFS promotes the intellectual vitality that accrues to crossing boundaries and integrating knowledge, balancing the increased pressures to specialize.

BFS is a campus-wide program, building bridges among all four Undergraduate schools – the College, Engineering, Nursing, and Wharton. The program brings scholars from their respective home schools together over a shared interest in the power of ideas to transform the world.

The flagship element of the BFS experience is its focus on intensive learning.  We encourage exploration beyond the major, and outside the Home school. BFS Seminars offer enriching opportunities to work on challenging topics, without requiring extensive prerequisites, both inside and outside a student’s major fields of study. Special BFS programs bring in world-renowned speakers, and provide opportunities for international internships. And Hill College House provides the campus community for scholars to engage in social, cultural, service, and life skills activities that provide the perfect complement to their Penn experience.
 
Each school implements the BFS vision in their own way so that the program enhances the existing home school requirements.  See details on the four programs here:
 

• College of Arts & Sciences
• School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
• School of Nursing  
• The Wharton School

Note: There are three requirements for membership in the BFS Residential Community in Hill.

1. You must separately apply for the Benjamin Franklin Scholars / Integrated Studies academic program through your school and be accepted. See more information here.
2. You must list the BFS program in Hill as your first choice when you apply for housing. (You should also list your second and third housing preferences carefully in the event that you are not accepted into BFS.)  Visit housing application instructions here.  
3. Students must have accepted their place in the incoming class in the College in Penn.

Students who have not completed all three parts of the application process will not be able to be considered for the BFS Residential Community. There will be no exceptions.

Biosphere provides an exciting and fun atmosphere to all residents with an interest in the environment and in how people interact with the world around them. Biosphere evolves each year with its residents, who themselves control the specific direction the program will take. Volunteerism tends to characterize the spirit of student participation, with members often occupied with such activities as UC Green tree-plantings, involvement in the MLK Day of Service, and the House’s Courtyard Garden upkeep. Exploring all that Philadelphia has to offer means outings to the Franklin Institute, Morris Arboretum, Chinatown, the Italian Market, the Liberty Bell, and the Zoo, as well as sampling Philly restaurants. Horseback riding, skiing, canoeing, and exploring Philadelphia-area nature preserves are fun ways to interact with the natural environment, while regular faculty talks, workshops and educational opportunities better acquaint students with their academic environment.

Whether you are pre-medical student interested in health, society, and community outreach; the student scientist hoping to save the rain forest; the business major who wants to start up a company; or the student in the humanities examining the cultural and ethical impacts of greenhouse effect and climate change, the Biosphere program can offer a great living and learning experience unlike any other.

Goals: Biosphere sets out to provide participating students a greater appreciation for and understanding of their impact on the ecosystem and on one another, through their explorations of Penn, the greater Philadelphia area, and their own community interactions.

Casa Hispanica is the Spanish Language component of the Language & Cultures Program, formerly known as Modern Languages Program. This program is staffed by Graduate Resident Advisors (GRAs) who are accomplished graduate students (and often native Spanish speakers) chosen to promote the goals of language immersion and cultural exposure. Each group meets weekly for meals, chats, media screenings and excursions, consisting of everything from Spanish Pictionary to cooking instruction to opera and dance. This close-knit community has members from all four class years, with some returning Gregorians taking on a leadership role; many participants are interested in international business, law, or careers in diplomacy, and often plan to study abroad while at Penn. Both beginners and those with considerable Spanish fluency are welcome; dedicated residents often show great improvement in their speaking skills, and have the option of receiving course credit in Spanish.

Program Goals: The program aims to provide students with regular Spanish language practice and different cultural experiences.

Please note: Fisher Hassenfeld College House will be closed for academic year 2025-26 while the House undergoes renovation; the Wendy & Leonard Goldberg Media & Communications Program will not be available for this year.

The Wendy and Leonard Goldberg Media & Communications Program, nestled in the westernmost end of Fisher Hassenfeld College House in the Quad, is open to students in any major or academic field and provides ample space to live and work. The program is centered in Foerderer, McKean, Baldwin, Class of 1887, and Craig – known collectively as Goldberg House, with the nearby Goldberg Media Lounge serving as the principal public space. Named for film producer Leonard Goldberg and his wife, Wendy Goldberg, the program draws members who share an interest in media with a particular emphasis on film, all forms of communications media, including broadcasting, publishing, journalism, digital media, marketing and public relations, and political communication.

The Goldberg Media & Communications program for the academic year 2024-25 will have a primary focus on film. Residents in this program collaborate to determine movie screenings and design discussions prompted by the film screening for the Goldberg House. In addition, the program can sponsor trips to movie theaters promoting current films.  For residents interested in broadcast media, public relations, and journalism the program can also support meetings and facilitate conversations with local Penn-based and Philadelphia region professionals in these industries.

Goals: This program aims to provide first-year students with a community interested to develop further their media communication and leadership skills by engaging with film, journalism, media, and public relations as a common ground to explore and create a positive social impact in the House and beyond.