About ISP

The Integrated Studies Program (ISP) is the freshman curriculum for Benjamin Franklin Scholars pursuing degrees in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Deeply rooted in the liberal arts tradition of acquiring and applying expansive knowledge, this residential academic program invites highly-motivated students to examine complex themes through the integration of multiple academic disciplines and methodologies.

Students are guided through the semester by some of Penn’s leading faculty. By investigating ideas under three distinct lenses, drawing during the course of the year from the humanities, social sciences and sciences, students sharpen their focus on the similarities—and differences—between the disciplines’ habits of mind.

For a glimpse at ISP's origins, see: Link

And a longer version of President Gutmann's Introduction to the program: Link

And, finally, to see a sample of the scholarship ISP/BFS students produce after 4 years, see a few of this year's BenTalk Finalists: Link and Link and Link.

What’s New