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The Campus of Drexel University is divided into: four sites in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania — the University City Campus, the Center City Hahnemann Campus, the Queen Lane College of Medicine Campus, and the Academy of Natural Sciences; and one in California — the Drexel University Sacramento Campus.
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Philadelphia campuses
Free shuttles connect the Philadelphia campuses.
University City Main Campus
The University City Main Campus of Drexel University is located in the University City district of West Philadelphia. It is Drexel's largest and oldest campus.
Description
The University City Main Campus is located just west of the Schuylkill River. The campus reaches: from Chestnut St. in the south to Powelton Ave in the north; and from the Amtrak rail yard in the east to 34th St. in the west. The campus originally consisted of only the Main Building, dedicated in 1891, and its additions. The Main Building's facade is decorated with glazed architectural terra-cotta pattern reliefs and architectural sculptures.
In the 1960s the campus expanded greatly and several new buildings were constructed, mainly in the International Style, with orange brick facades. Since then the University has bought nearly all the remaining buildings within the campus perimeter, and has adaptively reused many of them for academic and residential purposes. The university has since built another wave of new buildings, primarily in the Modern and Postmodern styles, with metal and glass facades.
North of the Drexel campus lies the Powelton Village district, a neighborhood of primarily Victorian homes. Drexel's continued efforts to expand the university and its dormitories have brought them into conflict with the Powelton Village Civic Association, which has attempted to block university projects on several occasions.
Art galleries
Drexel maintains several art galleries on its main campus. The Drexel Collection is housed primarily in the Westphal Picture Gallery, on the third floor of the Main Building. The collection was established by the university's founder, Anthony J. Drexel, who collected many types of art. The collection continued to receive donations after his death from family, friends, and alumni. The collection has a large variety of artworks and artifacts, including porcelains and furniture.
The Leonard Pearlstein Gallery is an aluminum and slate structure connected to Nesbitt Hall, the College of Media Arts and Design building, in which art exhibitions are frequently held. The slate side of the building is frequently covered with chalk messages about upcoming events.
Student life
The main campus is home to several student-life related locations, including the Creese Student Center, the Mandell Theater, and Lounge 101 in the basement of the Main Building. The main campus also includes Ross Commons, a remodeled old house converted for students' enjoyment to a restaurant, and meeting, leisure, and study space.
On the south end of campus the Creese Student Center has a cafe, information desk, and sitting areas and tables for students. In the basement are the commuter lounge and the Greenawalt Student Development Center, which houses offices and meeting rooms for many student organizations such as the Undergraduate Student Government Association (USGA).
All first year resident students are required to purchase either a Gold, Blue or Platinum dining plan. The Gold plan entitles them to unlimited visits to the recently renovated Handschumacher Dining Center on Chestnut Street, while the Blue and Platinum plans allows 12 meals per week. They also receive a per-term allowance of dining dollars which can be spent at any of several campus locations including TAKE 3! featuring Freschetta at Ross Commons, the Creese Cafe at the Creese Center, the Taco Bell at Hagerty Library, Starbucks located on the ground level of the Pearlstein Business Learning Center. ThirtyOne41 in the Main Building and the Northside Dining Terrace, featuring a Subway, Chik-Fil-a and Currito, on the first floor of Kelly Hall. Upperclassmen may purchase dining plans that allow them a limited number of visits and a different amount of dining dollars.
Non Drexel-owned food options include more than 10 lunch trucks, some spread out around campus and some on Ludlow St. behind the Main Building.
Department of Public Safety
Drexel has a large urban campus, so the risks of crime are assertively addressed. Drexel aims to maintain a secure campus for students, staff, and local neighbors. Drexel's solution to the issue of crime is a three—layers of defense: Drexel Police, Philadelphia Police, and Drexel Public Safety (staffed by Allied Barton). Drexel has its own police force, and Drexel Police Officers are armed and have the same powers as the Philadelphia Police. Drexel and Philadelphia Police officers, and Drexel Public Safety staff, conduct regular patrols on campus and several blocks beyond the campus perimeters, on foot, bicycle, and in police vehicles. Drexel also has hundreds of constantly monitored surveillance closed-circuit television (CCT) cameras around campus linked to an on-site security headquarters.
In conjunction with these surveillance cameras, Drexel operates over fifty emergency call boxes located around campus. Should a student feel endangered, they simply press a box's call button, and will be immediately connected to a security officer. The officer are able to see and speak with the caller via camera and phone. Officers are dispatched to the location, usually arriving within 45 seconds. Students may also request a walking escort 24 hours a day, to/from any campus location.
Center City Hahnemann Campus
The Drexel University Center City Hahnemann Campus is the location of the Drexel University College of Medicine. It is located in Center City, Philadelphia, straddling the Vine Street Expressway and centered on the Hahnemann University Hospital.
Queen Lane Campus
The Drexel University Queen Lane Campus is located at 2900 Queen Lane, giving it its name, in the East Falls neighborhood of northwestern Philadelphia. The Queen Lane Campus houses first and second-year medical students as well as biomedical graduate students of the Drexel University College of Medicine.
The Queen Lane campus was formerly a part of the now defunct MCP Hahnemann University, until Drexel acquired it in a $7.25 million purchase from MCP on July 23, 2003.
Academy of Natural Sciences
The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University was formed when the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia became a subsidiary of the university in 2011. Founded in 1812, the Academy of Natural Sciences is America's oldest natural history museum, and is a world leader in biodiversity and environmental research.
Drexel University Sacramento
The Drexel University Sacramento campus is located on the Capitol Mall, next to the Tower Bridge over the Sacramento River, in downtown Sacramento, California. It was opened in 2008 as the Drexel University Sacramento Center for Graduate Studies, and renamed Drexel University Sacramento in 2012. In June 2011 the first commencement ceremony outside of Philadelphia in Drexel's 120-year history occurred here. The Downtown Sacramento campus offers an Ed.D. program in Educational Leadership and Management; and master's degree programs in Business Administration, Finance, Higher Education, Human Resource Development, Public Health, and Interdepartmental Medical Science. A Bachelor of Science in Business Administration transfer program will commence in Fall 2013.
Drexel University will be closing the Sacramento campus although students enrolled as of the announcement of the closure in the spring of 2015 will be allowed to complete their studies. Negotiations are underway to transition some of the Drexel University Sacramento graduate degree programs to the University of the Pacific.