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Cross-Disciplinary Innovation in Action at Penn Law

April 18, 2018

Penn Law’s academic programs are fully integrated with the professional and graduate schools on campus, providing students with an unparalleled opportunity to prepare for careers that engage virtually every major issue facing our society.

At Penn Law, we believe that the next generation of lawyers will be those who are not just superbly trained in law, but also have a foundation in related fields — such as business, communications, health, technology, international studies, social work, and education — that complement and enhance their legal expertise.

 

Watch the video below about cross-disciplinary innovation in action at Penn Law. 

 

 

Transcript:

Kelsey Matevish L’19, MCIT’19: What’s great about Penn is there’s so many wonderful schools from Wharton to the engineering school obviously the law school to med school so kind of wherever you see your degree taking you Penn can help you make that happen.

Irene Hong L’18, MSSP’18: I really wanted to go to Penn Law because I knew from the very beginning that I wanted to apply for the JD/MSSP program I knew that not only did it make sense time wise, financially, but also when it came to my career goals I knew that I always wanted to be in the intersection of law, social policy, and social change.

Jim Sandman L’76: Clients today are looking for specialists they’re looking for people who understand their problems and their businesses and who don’t have to learn them for the first time at the client’s expense. They don’t want to have to train people to get up to speed. They’re looking for depth and that’s what an interdisciplinary education at a law school like Penn provides you with.

Sean McGrath L’16: What was great is that I was able to instead of do a certificate or do a joint degree I was able to take several targeted classes in other colleges at Penn, which I gained expertise and knowledge that I use every single day when I’m working with young children who are experiencing
developmental delays.

Jamil Favors L’17: I was able to take some classes in the evening say 8:00 p.m. and some classes on the weekends so it didn’t interrupt with what I was doing here at the law school which was my primary degree.

Irene Hong L’18, MSSP’18: All of the universities graduate and undergraduates schools are right here on one campus, right in the heart of Philadelphia and so the fact that I could get out of my law class walk very briskly for ten minutes and be able to be sitting in my
classroom in SP2 really allowed me to do a mix of law and social policy classes throughout my law school experience and that really made things very exciting because I can also attend extracurricular and pro bono opportunities on both campuses as well.

Professor Beth Simmons: To hear a legal argument when you’re a social scientist sort of brings you back to think about the nature of legal constraint and the importance that rules have in all of our behavior and for a legal scholar or a legal student to hear about social relationships and political realities, I think we all get a better grip on the way the world really works.

Jamil Favors L’17: My classes at Fels Institute were amazing. I was able to gain a lot of
practical skills I was able to become a better speaker I’m able to look at city
ordinances and understand why that particular ordinance was put in place and
I’m also able to look at political polls and just look at them in a different way.

Irene Hong L’18, MSSP’18: Being able to have this depth and breadth of understanding of multiple issues from the law side as well as a social policy, quantitative analytic side
has really heightened my experience here at Penn and allowed me to get so much more out of my program than I would have without this dual degree option.

Kelsey Matevish L’19, MCIT’19: I think that honestly it’s one of the best things I decided to do I think it’s really just pushed me as a student, I’ve done things that I like really did not think was possible that I could do and that not only gives you confidence but that’s something that I’m gonna take with me my entire career.