Graduate Family Planning & Parenting Support Initiative Parenting in Academia
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A series of programs, resources, and activities designed specifically for graduate students who are parents or caregivers (including expecting parents). This series blends practical information, peer support, and institutional resources for current, expecting, and aspiring graduate student parents and their support networks.
About Parenting in Academia
Expecting graduate students and graduate student parents can often feel alone trying to navigate policies, academic work, and their personal health in academia. Pregnancy and birth also impart physical, emotional, and mental changes to bodies that can impact academic progress and focus, with partners and adoptive parents experiencing related impacts once a new child arrives. The programs and resources in this series draw on the experiences of current and former graduate students who have navigated these systems; sharing lessons learned, resources that helped, and when they leaned on their communities for support.
Cosponsored by:
Graduate Student Center, Family Resource Center, Penn Women’s Center, and Office of the Vice Provost for Graduate Education
Graduate Parenting Events & Resources
Programs & Events
Upcoming Events
Programming Areas
- What to Expect: Family Planning & Parenting as a Graduate Student
Graduate school wasn’t designed with student parents in mind. These programs aim to equip graduate students with the resources and knowledge to make the family planning and parenting experience a little bit easier.
- Family Time: Managing Time, Productivity, & Academic Progress
Programs to help will bring awareness to the challenges around making progress on your graduate degree while parenting, from time management to setting attainable goals that help you reach your degree.
- What’s Next: Professional Development & Career Planning
You won’t be a graduate student parent forever. These programs will help you and your family make decisions about what happens after you earn your graduate degree.
- Family Connections: Support, Wellness, & Community for Graduate Student Parents
Parenting as a student takes a village. These programs will help graduate student parents find their community and feel comfortable leaning on others when needed.
Community & Engagement
There are a number of ways that graduate student parents can connect with other parents and help advocate on behalf of student parents at Penn.
Parents at Penn is a private community group for expecting and parenting Penn staff, students, postdocs, faculty, alumni, and partners. Members use the group to connect and share information with each other about parenting related topics and resources.
The Family Center Advisory Board works together with staff of the Family Resource Center to ensure the delivery of relevant programming and resources for student parents and postdoc parents and their families at Penn. Current Penn student and postdoc parents and their legal spouses/partners can serve as members.
Penn Parental Wellness Coalition
The Penn Parental Wellness Coalition focuses on the needs of parents and caregivers throughout the University of Pennsylvania, including students, staff, and faculty. The Coalition was established in Fall 2024 to bring together existing committees, working groups, and centers that address the needs of parents, expecting parents, and caregivers across the University. As a united entity, the Coalition’s mission is to create a culture of support for parents at Penn. We seek to incorporate information and perspectives from all areas of the University to use the most up-to-date research and theory on parental well-being and life satisfaction. As an anchor institution and the largest employer in Philadelphia, we believe that Penn should be a pioneer in this field. For more information and to get involved, contact elisaf@upenn.edu.
ChildCare Information & Resources
Family Leave & Accommodation for PhD students
Financial Resources & Assistance
Financial Wellness, Assistance Programs, & Discounted/Free Services
Resources related to individual personal finances and financial assistance, including food and nutritional support and tax credits for parents.
Student Funding & Financial Support @ Penn
Resources related to graduate funding and finances at Penn, including financial aid, emergency grants, and more.
PhD Family & Dependent Insurance Grants
The University offers two grant programs for PhD students to help offset the cost of purchasing dependent health insurance and/or costs related to documented childcare and family expenses for those with dependent children.
Free & Discounted Access with PennCard
Student spouses and children can access a range of campus amenities with a PennCard, including Penn Transit Services, recreational facilities, museums, and more.
Additional Resources & Support
Resources for Expecting Student Parents
Information about Family-Friendly policies, leaves of absence, and accommodations for expecting and new parents.
Lactation Resources
Campus lactation spaces, breastfeeding resources & services, and community resources for lactating & breastfeeding parents.
Penn Parenting Resource Center
The Penn Parenting Resource Center (part of Penn Medicine) offers support for new and expectant parents from the prenatal period through early childhood.
The Pregnant Scholar Initiative
Legal resource center for pregnant and parenting students. The Pregnant Scholar’s team provides resources, training, and implementation assistance with strategies that center student voice, destigmatize pregnancy and parenthood in academia, secure legal rights for students, and integrate family-responsive practices into the campus environment.
Programs & Events
Upcoming Events
Programming Areas
- What to Expect: Family Planning & Parenting as a Graduate Student
Graduate school wasn’t designed with student parents in mind. These programs aim to equip graduate students with the resources and knowledge to make the family planning and parenting experience a little bit easier.
- Family Time: Managing Time, Productivity, & Academic Progress
Programs to help will bring awareness to the challenges around making progress on your graduate degree while parenting, from time management to setting attainable goals that help you reach your degree.
- What’s Next: Professional Development & Career Planning
You won’t be a graduate student parent forever. These programs will help you and your family make decisions about what happens after you earn your graduate degree.
- Family Connections: Support, Wellness, & Community for Graduate Student Parents
Parenting as a student takes a village. These programs will help graduate student parents find their community and feel comfortable leaning on others when needed.
Community & Engagement
There are a number of ways that graduate student parents can connect with other parents and help advocate on behalf of student parents at Penn.
Parents at Penn is a private community group for expecting and parenting Penn staff, students, postdocs, faculty, alumni, and partners. Members use the group to connect and share information with each other about parenting related topics and resources.
The Family Center Advisory Board works together with staff of the Family Resource Center to ensure the delivery of relevant programming and resources for student parents and postdoc parents and their families at Penn. Current Penn student and postdoc parents and their legal spouses/partners can serve as members.
Penn Parental Wellness Coalition
The Penn Parental Wellness Coalition focuses on the needs of parents and caregivers throughout the University of Pennsylvania, including students, staff, and faculty. The Coalition was established in Fall 2024 to bring together existing committees, working groups, and centers that address the needs of parents, expecting parents, and caregivers across the University. As a united entity, the Coalition’s mission is to create a culture of support for parents at Penn. We seek to incorporate information and perspectives from all areas of the University to use the most up-to-date research and theory on parental well-being and life satisfaction. As an anchor institution and the largest employer in Philadelphia, we believe that Penn should be a pioneer in this field. For more information and to get involved, contact elisaf@upenn.edu.
ChildCare Information & Resources
Family Leave & Accommodation for PhD students
Financial Resources & Assistance
Financial Wellness, Assistance Programs, & Discounted/Free Services
Resources related to individual personal finances and financial assistance, including food and nutritional support and tax credits for parents.
Student Funding & Financial Support @ Penn
Resources related to graduate funding and finances at Penn, including financial aid, emergency grants, and more.
PhD Family & Dependent Insurance Grants
The University offers two grant programs for PhD students to help offset the cost of purchasing dependent health insurance and/or costs related to documented childcare and family expenses for those with dependent children.
Free & Discounted Access with PennCard
Student spouses and children can access a range of campus amenities with a PennCard, including Penn Transit Services, recreational facilities, museums, and more.
Additional Resources & Support
Resources for Expecting Student Parents
Information about Family-Friendly policies, leaves of absence, and accommodations for expecting and new parents.
Lactation Resources
Campus lactation spaces, breastfeeding resources & services, and community resources for lactating & breastfeeding parents.
Penn Parenting Resource Center
The Penn Parenting Resource Center (part of Penn Medicine) offers support for new and expectant parents from the prenatal period through early childhood.
The Pregnant Scholar Initiative
Legal resource center for pregnant and parenting students. The Pregnant Scholar’s team provides resources, training, and implementation assistance with strategies that center student voice, destigmatize pregnancy and parenthood in academia, secure legal rights for students, and integrate family-responsive practices into the campus environment.
Please use the form below to send questions, suggestions, and general feedback about this initiative.
