The Pennsylvania State Institution (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities spread across the state of Pennsylvania. Penn State Institution, founded in 1855 as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, became the state's only land-grant university in 1863. Penn State is now a large research university that focuses on teaching, research, and public service. Its instructional objective encompasses undergraduate, graduate, professional, and continuing education programmes delivered in-person and online. The University Park campus has been designated as a "Public Ivie," or a publicly funded university that provides a quality education comparable to that of the Ivy League.
Pennsylvania State University Campuses
University Park Campus
University Park, the largest of the university's 24 campuses, is located in State College borough and College Township in Centre County, near the state's geographic centre. It has its own ZIP code, which is 16802. It is the most selective campus in the Penn State system, with an undergraduate acceptance rate of 49 percent, owing to the fact that students choose University Park as their first-choice college at a much higher proportion than the university's other undergraduate campuses. According to several publications, it is one of the most selective schools in the state of Pennsylvania. University Park has 40,363 undergraduate students and 5,907 graduate students enrolled for the fall 2018 semester. 46.5 percent of individuals were female, and 42.4 percent were non-Pennsylvania residents.
Commonwealth campuses
In addition to the University Park site, there are 19 other campus locations throughout the state where undergraduate students can enrol. Over 60% of Penn State's first-year students begin their education somewhere else than University Park. Based on the student demographics, each of these commonwealth campuses offers a distinct set of degree options.
- Penn State World campus provides over 60 online programmes, degrees, and certificates.
- Penn State's main campus contains seven on-campus housing buildings that can house 35% of its student population.
Pennsylvania State University Ranking
Ranking By |
Rank |
Year |
World University Rankings |
119 |
2022 |
QS World University Rankings |
96 |
2022 |
Academic Ranking of World Universities |
101 |
2021 |
Best Global Universities Rankings |
79 |
2021 |
Pennsylvania State University Fee Structure
Expenses |
Cost in USD |
Tuition and Fees |
33,664 |
Additional Estimated Costs |
13,120 to 16,342 |
Room and Meals |
11,280 |
Miscellaneous cost |
1,840-5,062 |
Pennsylvania State University Scholarship
- Scholarships, grants, loans, and work-study programmes are available at Pennsylvania State University.
- Financial aid is received by 46 percent of students.
- The university provides an average need-based scholarship of USD 6,377 per year.
Pennsylvania State University Alumni
Penn State boasts a global alumni network of nearly 645,000 people. These alumni are eligible for the following university benefits:
- Access to and invitations to sporting, cultural, and educational activities
- Access to The Penn Stater and AlumnInsider Discounts on alumni tours, worldwide vacation rentals, healthcare facilities, house, car, health, auto, and life insurance
- Financial services as well as alumni career services are available.
Pennsylvania State University Research Program
Penn State is among the "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very High Research Activity" institutions. Over 10,000 students are enrolled in the university's graduate school (which includes the law and medical schools), and more than 70,000 degrees have been conferred since the school's inception in 1922.
Penn State's research and development spending has increased in recent years. According to the National Science Foundation's institutional rankings of total research expenditures for science and engineering released in fiscal year 2013, Penn State ranked second in the nation, trailing only Johns Hopkins and tied with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in the number of fields in which it is ranked in the top ten. Overall, Penn State ranks 17th in overall research expenditures nationally. However, in 12 specific subjects, the university was ranked in the top ten nationally.Materials (1st), psychology (2nd), mechanical engineering (3rd), sociology (3rd), and earth sciences (9th), total engineering (5th), aerospace engineering (8th), electrical engineering (4th), atmospheric sciences (9th), computer science (8th), agricultural sciences (8th), civil engineering (9th), are the fields and sub-fields in which Penn State ranked in the top ten (9th). Furthermore, the university has consistently ranked in the top ten in eleven of these categories since at least 2008. Penn State spent $794.846 million on research and development in fiscal year 2011, ranking 15th among U.S. universities and colleges in R&D spending, according to the National Science Foundation.
Pennsylvania State University Admission Process
Both undergraduate and graduate applications must be filed through the university's official website. The application fee for undergraduate programmes is $75, and the application fee for graduate programmes is $65.
Admission to Pennsylvania State University requires the following prerequisites:
- Official transcripts
- Test score – ACT/SAT for UG programs; GMAT/GRE for graduate programs
- English language test scores – TOEFL, IELTS
- Standard operating procedure (SOP)
- Letter Of Recommendation (LOR)