The Pennsylvania State University at University Park
The largest of the university's 24 campuses, Penn State University Park is located in State College and College Township in Centre County, in central Pennsylvania. With an undergraduate acceptance rate of 49 percent, it is the most selective campus in the Penn State system.The university ranks among the most selective schools in Pennsylvania, a
ccording to various publications. Of those, 46.5 percent were female and 42.4 percent were non-Pennsylvania residents. The University Park campus is centrally located at the junction of Interstate 99/U.S. Route 220 and U.S. Route 322, and is due south of Interstate 80. Before the arrival of the Interstates, University Park was a short distance from the Lock Haven – Altoona branch line of the Pennsylvania Railroad. The last run of long-distance trains from Buffalo or Harrisburg through Lock Haven was in 1971. Today, the nearest Amtrak passenger rail access is in Tyrone, 25 miles to the southwest. Intercity bus service to University Park is provided by Fullington Trailways, Greyhound Lines, Megabus, and OurBus. The State College Regional Airport, serving two regional airlines, is near University Park. Colleges
Penn State has eighteen colleges, including three at special-mission campuses. The University Park campus is organized into fourteen distinct colleges, plus the graduate school and the division of undergraduate studies:
College of Agricultural Sciences
College of Arts and Architecture
College of Business
College of Communications
College of Science
College of Technology
College of the Liberal Arts
College of Medicine
College of Earth and Mineral Sciences
College of Education
College of Engineering
College of Health and Human Development
College of Information Sciences and Technology
Dickinson Law
Graduate School
Honors College
Penn State Law
Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing
School of International Affairs
The university's board of trustees voted in January 2007 to create a school of international affairs, with the first classes admitted in the fall 2008 semester. The school is part of Penn State Law. Formerly the school of nursing, on September 25, 2013, the board of trustees granted the nursing program college status. Administration
The university president is selected by the board and is given the authority for actual control of the university, including day-to-day management. In practice, part of this responsibility is delegated by the president to other administrative departments, the faculty, and the student body. Neeli Bendapudi became the university's 19th and current president on May 9, 2022, upon the departure of Eric J. Barron. The executive vice president and provost is the chief academic officer of the university. The current provost, Nicholas P. Jones, assumed office on July 1, 2013. Student Government
The University Park Undergraduate Association (UPUA) is the representative student government of the undergraduate students at Penn State's University Park campus, which was established in 2006 after the former student government, Undergraduate Student Government (USG), lost its recognition by way of a student referendum. Graduate and professional students at the university are represented by the Graduate and Professional Student Association (GPSA), the oldest continuously existing student governance organization at Penn State. Academics
University Park Undergraduate Admissions
Admission to Penn State University Park is classified as "selective" by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. The Princeton Review gives Penn State University Park an "Admissions Selectivity Rating" of 90 out of 99. In 2023, the university received 85,957 applications. It extended offers of admission to 46,605 applicants, or 54%, after holistic review that includes examination of academic rigor, performance and admissions test scores. 9,040 accepted students chose to enroll, a yield rate of 14%. The university started test-optional admissions with the fall 2021 incoming class. Of the 33% of incoming students in 2023 who submitted SAT scores, the interquartile range was 1230–1390; of the 6% of incoming students in 2023 who submitted ACT scores, the interquartile range was 27–32. Of all matriculating students, the average high school GPA was 3.67. Penn State's freshman retention rate is 92%, with 85% going on to graduate within six years. Pennsylvania State University Park is a college-sponsor of the National Merit Scholarship Program and sponsored five Merit Scholarship awards in 2020. In the 2020–2021 academic year, 16 incoming freshman students were National Merit Scholars. Rankings
The Academic Ranking of World Universities ranked Penn State between 101 and 150th among universities globally and between 42nd and 56th nationally for 2020. News & World Report ranked the university tied for 63rd among national universities and tied for 23rd among public schools in the United States for 2021. In 2022, the university was ranked 96th in the QS World University Rankings.[96] The 2021 "World University Rankings" by Times Higher Education ranked the university as the 114th best university in the world. The 2021 Global University Ranking by CWTS Leiden Ranking ranked the university as 52nd-best university in the world and 18th in the U.S. Research
Penn State is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity". Over 10,000 students are enrolled in the university's graduate school (including the law and medical schools), and over 70,000 degrees have been awarded since the school was founded in 1922. According to the National Science Foundation, Penn State spent $971 million on research and development in 2021, ranking it 26th in the nation. The Applied Research Lab (ARL), located near the University Park campus, has been a research partner with the United States Department of Defense since 1945 and conducts research primarily in support of the United States Navy. It is the largest component of Penn State's research efforts statewide, with over 1,000 researchers and other staff members. The Materials Research Institute (MRI) was created to coordinate the highly diverse and growing materials activities across Penn State's University Park campus. With more than 200 faculty in 15 departments,four colleges, and two Department of Defense research laboratories. Housing
There are seven housing complexes on campus for students attending the University Park campus: East Halls, North Halls, Pollock Halls, South Halls, West Halls, Eastview Terrace, and Nittany Apartments. Each complex consists of a few separate buildings that are dormitories and a commons building, which has: lounges, the help desk for the complex, mailboxes for each dormitory room, a convenience store, a food court, an all-you-care-to-eat buffet. Different floors within a building may be designated as a Living Learning Community (LLC). LLCs are offered to members of certain student groups, such as sororities, students studying particular majors, students who wish to engage in a particular lifestyle (such as the alcohol-free LIFE House), or other groups who wish to pursue similar goals. Student Organizations
As of September 2014, 864 student organizations were recognized at the University Park campus. In addition, the university has one of the largest Greek systems in the country, with approximately 12 percent of the University Park population affiliated. Additional organizations on campus include Thespians, Blue Band, Chabad, Glee Club, Aish HaTorah, Student Programming Association (SPA), Lion's Pantry, Boulevard, Apollo, 3D Printer Club, Digi Digits, and the Anime Organization, which hosts an annual Central Pennsylvania-based anime convention, Setsucon. THON
Annually in February, thousands of students participate in the Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon (THON), the largest student-run philanthropy in the world. Every year, participants stand for 46 hours nonstop and perform a line dance at least once every hour to stay alert alongside other events hosted throughout the weekend such as concerts, games, athlete hour, family hour, and a tribute to all of the children with cancer. In 2007, THON was moved to the Bryce Jordan Center and shortened from 48 to 46 hours, due to potential conflicts with basketball games. THON raises millions of dollars annually for childhood cancer care and research for its sole beneficiary, Four Diamonds. In 2024, THON raised a program record of $16.9 million. Student media
Student media groups on campus include: The Daily Collegian, Penn State's student-run newspaper; Onward State, a student-run blog; The Underground, a multi-cultural student media site; The LION 90.7 FM (WKPS-FM), a student-run radio station; CommRadio, a student-run, internet-based radio program; La Vie, the university's annual student yearbook; Kalliope, a student-produced literary journal; Valley, a student-run style and life magazine; and, Phroth, a student-run humor magazine; and Penn State Live, the official news source of the university published by its public relations team. The Daily Collegian, founded in 1904, provides news, sports, and arts coverage and produces long-form features. It publishes in print on Mondays and Thursdays while classes are in session. Since the summer of 1996, the traditional paper publication has been supplemented by an online edition. Online content is published every day. Penn State's commonwealth campuses receive a weekly copy of the paper titled The Weekly Collegian. Onward State is a student-run blog geared towards the university's community members. The blog, which was founded in 2008, provides news, event coverage, and opinion pieces. News & World Report named the blog the "Best Alternative Media Outlet" in February 2009. The Underground is a multicultural student-run media site devoted to telling the untold stories within the Penn State community. The publication seeks to foster the multicultural student voice through creating an open forum of discussion and promoting diversity and community involvement. The media site was founded in 2015. The LION 90.7 FM (WKPS-FM) was founded in 1995 as a replacement for Penn State's original student radio station WDFM. The LION broadcasts from the ground floor of the HUB-Robeson Center, serving the Penn State and State College communities with alternative music and talk programming, including live coverage of home Penn State football games. CommRadio is operated by the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications. It was founded in the spring of 2003 as an internet-based audio laboratory and co-curricular training environment for aspiring student broadcasters. It airs both sports coverage and news. Other programming includes student talk shows, political coverage, AP syndicated news, and soft rock music. In recent years, CommRadio broadcasters have won numerous state awards for their on-air work. La Vie (the Life), the university's annual student yearbook, has been published continuously since 1890. La Vie 1987, edited by David Beagin, won a College Gold Crown for Yearbooks award from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association. Kalliope is an undergraduate literary journal produced by students and sponsored by the university's English Department. It is published in the spring. Kalliope includes works of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and visual art. In addition, Klio, an online publication, provides students with literary pieces in the fall semester. Valley is Penn State's student-run life and style magazine. It was founded in 2007. The student-run humor magazine, founded in 1909 as Froth, is Phroth, which publishes two to four issues each year. Notable Penn State alumni who worked at the magazine include Julius J. Epstein, who wrote the screenplay for Casablanca in 1942 and won three Academy Awards. Penn State's newspaper readership program provides free copies of USA Today, The New York Times, and local and regional newspapers depending on the campus location. This program, initiated by then-President Graham Spanier in 1997, has since been instituted on several other universities across the country. Athletics
Penn State's mascot is the Nittany Lion, a representation of a type of mountain lion that once roamed what is now University Park. The school's official colors, now blue and white, were originally black and dark pink. Originally introduced back when athletics were introduced at Penn State, this was changed in 1890 after the pink faded to white and to avoid ridicule from opposing teams. Pink and black still will make periodic appearances at athletic events in the modern era as a special student "S" section during certain games. Penn State participates in NCAA's Division I FBS for football and in the Big Ten Conference for most sports. Two sports participate in different conferences: men's volleyball in the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) and women's hockey in College Hockey America (CHA). The fencing teams operate as independents. Penn State athletic teams have claimed a total of 82 national collegiate team championships since the university's founding, including 54 NCAA, two consensus Division I football titles, six AIAW, three USWLA, one WIBC, four national titles in boxing, 11 in men's soccer, and one in wrestling in years prior to NCAA sponsorship. The university ranks fifth all-time in NCAA championships in NCAA Division I, and first among Big Ten schools. Since joining the Big Ten in 1991, Penn State teams have won 124 conference regular season and tournament titles, through June, 2023. Penn State has one of the most successful overall athletic programs in the country, evidenced by its rankings in the NACDA Director's Cup, a list compiled by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics that charts institutions' overall success in college sports. From the Cup's inception in the 1993–1994 season, the Nittany Lions have finished in the top 25 every year. Alumni Association
Established in 1870, nine years after the university's first commencement exercises, the Penn State Alumni Association has the stated mission "to connect alumni to the University and each other, provide valuable benefits to members and support the University's mission of teaching, research, and service."The Alumni Association supports a number of educational and extracurricular missions of Penn State through financial support and is the network that connects alumni through over 280 "alumni groups", many of which are designated based on geographical, academic, or professional affiliation. As of July 1, 2010, the alumni association counted 496,969 members within the United States, with an additional 16,180 in countries around the globe. About half the United States alumni reside in Pennsylvania, primarily in the urban areas of Philadelphia and its surrounding counties, the Greater Pittsburgh area, and the Centre County region surrounding State College. About 34 percent of United States alumni and 21 percent of international alumni are members of the alumni association. Membership totaled 176,426 as of 2016, making the Penn State Alumni Association the largest dues-paying alumni association in the world, a distinction it has held since 1995. We are...Penn State.
