The Undergraduate Assembly is the elected, representative branch of student government at Penn, charged with improving life for all students through funding, services, and advocacy.

The core of our work is advocating for all undergraduates to administrators, student groups, and the wider world; the UA works with everyone at Penn to deliver tangible change for students.

As the representative organ of student government, we allocate $1.8 million to ourselves and the other five branches each year, money that eventually reaches almost every group on campus. Out of that we reserve a $20,000 Contingency Fund to disburse to student groups throughout the year.

The ultimate authorities in the UA are Penn full-time undergraduates themselves, who act through elections and referenda to set our agenda. On a day-to-day basis, the UA is run by a 33-member General Body, comprised of 24 upperclassmen elected in the Spring and 9 freshmen elected in the fall. In addition, we are guided by UA Steering, a broad deliberative assembly of all coalitions and major undergraduate groups on campus.

We are always here for you. If ever you have a concern, question, or are just itching to change that one thing about Penn, we are only an email away!

About us in video form

Our Mission

The UA’s mission statement comes from the Statutes of the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania, by which we are constituted:

(Article 9, Section 5) There shall be an Undergraduate Assembly… [which] shall provide the opportunity for [its] members to discuss and express their views upon any matter they deem to be of general University interest, and to make recommendations and pass resolutions with respect thereto. In addition, they shall have power to make recommendations directly to the President, the Provost, and the Trustees and request reports from the University administration.

The Trustees also appropriate nearly $2 million for the UA, which we allocate each year to the five branches of Penn Student Government, and by extension every group on campus.

The UA governs itself according to the Statutes, given form in its Constitution (which also serves as the Constitution of the PSG), and Bylaws. The UA Constitution is only amendable by student referendum; the Bylaws detail the UA’s internal operations and can be amended by the General Body.

Still confused as to what the UA does? Check out a more in-depth explanation of what we do.