The premier student-run debate association at the University of Pennsylvania
Penn Debate Society
Our team is our family, and we are striving to reach new heights.
As the fourth-ranked college debate team in the United States, we field teams to 10+ tournaments a semester, including majors like the World Universities Debating Championships (WUDC), US Universities Debating Championship (USUDC), American Parliamentary Debate Association Nationals (APDA Nats), North American Championships, and more! We compete primarily in the British Parliamentary and American Parliamentary debate formats.
Over the course of many years, our team has accumulated several accolades including some of the highest ranked teams, novices and speakers in the nation and world.
Watch our demo debate!
Watch our stellar debaters provide an illustration of what the parliamentary debate format looks like. They are debating the motion “THBT children of immigrants living in Western nations should choose not to change their names to Western variants.”
Contribute To Our Mission
We are striving to elevate our team’s capabilities and increase our reach around the world. To help contribute to that, we encourage donations to our university administered Giving page.