WHY SP2?
The passionate pursuit of social innovation, social impact, and social good.
Excellence & Rigor
SP2 brings together top-ranked social work degrees with innovative policy and leadership programs that dig deep into social innovation, big data, and other trends reshaping social policy and practice. Our faculty are highly respected practitioners conducting groundbreaking research in areas like homelessness and restorative entrepreneurship. They are equal parts scholar, teacher, and mentor, and are dedicated to working for fairness and impact.
Transdisciplinary Collaboration
When it comes to charting a course that’s truly your own, nothing compares to the University of Pennsylvania. Our Ivy League ecosystem encompasses 12 different professional schools. That means unique dual degrees, certificate programs and specializations, and interdisciplinary collaborations within and outside of Penn.
Practicum Education
Bringing classroom knowledge out into the real world is a key part of SP2 experience, and there’s no better place to do it than our home base of Philadelphia. Our students grapple with a range of real-world challenges in nonprofits, hospitals, and social service agencies doing important, innovative work through practicums, internships, and research collaborations.
A Welcoming Community at Our Core
Throughout its history, SP2 has been committed to understanding and embracing differences. As a school, we are dedicated to combatting discrimination in our educational programs; interactions with colleagues, students, and external partners; and school culture.
Events
03/25
Brown Bag Lunch Series – Ioana Marinescu & Jung Ho Choi
SP2 Faculty present the Brown Bag Lunch series! Bring your lunch & join the informal conversation to learn what interests your colleagues and professors at SP2. Faculty members will present […]
Events
03/30
AI Workflows for Social Impact: A Human-Centered, Hands-On Guide
About the talk 💻 AI tools are everywhere, but many social impact teams struggle to move from interest to real implementation. This session focuses on how to build your first […]
News
Alumni
03/19
Shaping the next generation of social workers: A Q&A with Julie Cederbaum, PhD’09
PhD alumna Julie Cederbaum, PhD’09, reflects on the experiences that prepared her for an academic career, the impact of teaching the next generation of social workers, and how her SP2 training continues to guide her work.