LPS Launches New Online Bachelor's Degree and Certificate Programs

The College of Liberal and Professional Studies (LPS) launched a new program that is the first to make an Ivy League bachelor’s degree accessible online. Beginning in the fall of 2019, the Penn LPS Online platform will offer a fully-accredited, online education from Penn for working adults and other non-traditional students.

Nora Lewis, Vice Dean of Professional and Liberal Education, says, “The goal of this new platform is to make an Arts and Sciences education more accessible, flexible, and affordable for working adults. Penn LPS Online redefines the notion of who can get an Ivy League education by making it accessible to anyone who demonstrates the ambition and potential to earn it, without sacrificing the quality of the education offered.”

The new Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences (BAAS) degree combines general-education requirements and interdisciplinary concentrations. The program, designed by an advisory board of Penn Arts and Sciences standing faculty with input from management executives from more than 20 regional, national, and global employers, is distinctive for its emphasis on connecting a liberal arts education to professional and career outcomes. In addition to the BAAS, Penn LPS Online is launching forcredit certificate programs. Students will have the option to take single courses or to earn the certificate by completing four courses.

Steven J. Fluharty, Dean and Thomas S. Gates, Jr. Professor of Psychology, Pharmacology, and Neuroscience, says, “This new degree is unique among our peers and places Penn at the forefront in creatively meeting the expanding need for adult education in the liberal arts. I’m proud that Penn’s innovative faculty are opening doors for more students to learn and to become empowered by education. In the U.S. today, only 30 percent of adults over the age of 25 have completed a bachelor’s degree, and with this new initiative LPS is moving forward to meet this educational need. ”

Enrollment for the certificate program is now open. The BAAS degree program has begun accepting applications and will officially launch in fall 2019.