Dedicated to more than 30 areas of research, our celebrated faculty strives at the front lines of nursing knowledge to affect the course of illness throughout the lifespan, promote health and increase disease prevention, enhance the quality of life, eliminate health disparities, and set direction for end-of-life care.

Training grants and other research programs support graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in order to create a new generation of researchers to create new knowledge and advance the profession.

One of few schools of nursing to own and operate a clinical practice, Penn continues to connect nursing science with our Philadelphia community. Our Living Independently For Elders (LIFE) practice is based on a PACE model of care for frail and vulnerable elders with limited financial means who want to remain at home rather than enter a nursing home.

At Penn Nursing, science leads to Care to Change the World, linking with our community and communities throughout the the world to improve the quality of healthcare and quality of life. Locally, Penn Nursing's Healthy in Philadelphia program is designed to improve the health of adults and children in West Philadelphia with substantial rates of childhood obesity, diabetes, smoking, drug use, and violence through a collection of outreach activities. Student-led research includes CityStep, a program at Sayre School in West Philadelphia to relate dance as a form of exercise to tackle obesity. Faculty-led programs include introducing high school students to careers in healthcare.

Globally, more than 200 Penn Nursing faculty and students dedicate their time and passion to efforts in 47 countries including Botswana, Honduras, China, Egypt, Ghana, Hong Kong, Israel, Japan and the United Kingdom.  

Healthy in Philadelphia