Pennsylvania State University - University Park Overview

Pennsylvania State University - University Park is a public institution located in University Park, Pennsylvania. The city atmosphere of University Park makes it a great place for students who enjoy having lots of educational and entertainment options.

What Is Pennsylvania State University - University Park Known For?

• Students at Penn State University Park have an easier time paying back their loans. The school's student loan default rate is only 5%, compared to the national rate of 10.1%.
• The highest award offered at Penn State University Park is the doctor's degree.
• In 2017-2018, 82% of the faculty were full-time.
• After graduation, Penn State University Park bachelor's degree recipients go on to jobs where they make $50,100 a year. That's about 23% more than their peers at other schools.
• On average, it takes about 4.2 years for students from Penn State University Park to earn a bachelor's degree. This is excellent when compared to the average of 4.4 years.

Pennsylvania State University - University Park Rankings

We have ranked Penn State University Park as #231 out of 2,320 colleges and universities in the country in our 2021 Best Colleges list. This puts it in the top 10% of all schools in the nation. Out of the 137 colleges in Pennsylvania, it is ranked at #21.

Our rankings are based on an outcomes-based approach rather than subjective ones used by other media outlets. As such, we utilize data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and the College Scorecard, among other sources. Visit our rankings and methodology section to learn more.

Penn State University Park has also been awarded the following overall awards by our latest rankings.

Rank	Ranking Name	Share
#8	Most Popular Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#59	Most Popular Doctor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#64	Best Undergraduate Certificate Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#151	Most Popular Master’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It

Program Level Awards

These are highlights of some of the most noteworthy awards granted to specific programs at Penn State University Park.

Rank	Ranking Name	Share
#1	Best Other Agriculture Master’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#1	Best Architectural Engineering Master’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#1	Best Physical Sciences Undergraduate Certificate Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#2	Best Horticulture Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#4	Best Geography & Cartography Master’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#5	Best Information Technology Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#12	Best Engineering Master’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#27	Best Finance & Financial Management Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#27	Best Computer & Information Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#45	Best Business, Management & Marketing Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It

Awards From Around the Web

The following table lists some notable awards Penn State University Park has earned from around the web.

Rank	Ranking Name	Source
#2	Best Colleges for Physical Sciences	College Factual
#5	Best Colleges for Education	College Factual
#6	Best Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies	College Factual
#8	Best Colleges for Communication & Journalism	College Factual
#15	Best Colleges for Engineering	College Factual
#75	Best Business Schools	Business Degree Central

Where Is Pennsylvania State University - University Park?

Contact details for Penn State University Park are given below.

	Contact Details
Address:	201 Old Main, University Park, PA 16802-1503
Phone:	814-865-4700
Website:	www.psu.edu/
Facebook:	http://www.facebook.com/pennstate
Twitter:	http://twitter.com/penn_state

How Do I Get Into Penn State University Park?

You can apply to Penn State University Park online at: admissions.psu.edu/apply/

Admission Requirements for Penn State University Park

Submission	Required?
High School GPA	required
High School Rank	recommended
High School Transcript	required
College Prep Program	recommended
Recommendations	neither required nor recommended
SAT or ACT Scores	required
TOEFL	required

How Hard Is It To Get Into Penn State University Park?

Penn State University Park has an acceptance rate of 50%, which means it is fairly selective. Take that into account when you are working on your application and gathering requested materials. Do what you can to stand out among other applicants.

Approximately 46% of accepted students are men and 54% are women. The acceptance rate for men is 46%, and the acceptance rate for women is 54%.

Average Test Scores

About 65% of students accepted to Penn State University Park submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 580 and 660. Math scores were between 580 and 680.

Penn State University Park received ACT scores from 30% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT English scores ranged between 25 and 31. Math scores were between 25 and 30. Composite scores were between 25 and 30.

Can I Afford Pennsylvania State University - University Park?

The overall average net price of Penn State University Park is $46,324. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group.

The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid.

Student Loan Debt

It's not uncommon for college students to take out loans to pay for school. In fact, almost 66% of students nationwide depend at least partially on loans. At Penn State University Park, approximately 48% of students took out student loans averaging $10,942 a year. That adds up to $43,768 over four years for those students.

The student loan default rate at Penn State University Park is 4.9%. This is significantly lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, which is a good sign that you'll be able to pay back your student loans.

Pennsylvania State University - University Park Undergraduate Student Diversity

There are 76,099 undergraduate students at Penn State University Park, with 66,409 being full-time and 9,690 being part-time.

There are also 15,328 graduate students at the school.

Gender Diversity

Of the 66,409 full-time undergraduates at Penn State University Park, 54% are male and 46% are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

The racial-ethnic breakdown of Pennsylvania State University - University Park students is as follows.

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	4,421
Black or African American	3,651
Hispanic or Latino	4,971
White	42,975
International Students	6,880
Other Races/Ethnicities	3,511

Geographic Diversity

Pennsylvania students aren't the only ones who study at Pennsylvania State University - University Park. At this time, 45 states are represented by the student population at the school.

Over 147 countries are represented at Penn State University Park. The most popular countries sending students to the school are China, India, and South Korea.

Online Learning at Pennsylvania State University - University Park

In 2017-2018, 13,344 students took at least one online class at the school.

The following chart shows how the online learning population at Penn State University Park has changed over the last few years.

Online Growth Rankings of Penn State University Park

The average growth rate over the last four years of online students at Pennsylvania State University - University Park was 0.6%. This is the #1,989 largest growth rate of all schools that are only partially online. This refers to all students at Penn State University Park regardless of major.

When we speak of partially online, we are referring to schools whose online population is less than 50% of its total student body. Mostly online refers to those with online populations greater than or equal to 50%.

Pennsylvania State University - University Park Undergraduate Concentrations

The table below shows the number of awards for each concentration.

Major	Basic Certificate	Associate’s	Undergraduate Certificate	Bachelor’s	Graduate Certificate	Master’s	Doctor’s	TOTAL
Information Science	3	0	0	589	1	7	20	620
Accounting	25	0	0	369	0	159	0	553
Economics	0	0	0	526	0	4	14	544
Finance & Financial Management	0	0	0	473	0	0	0	473
General Psychology	0	0	0	364	0	23	28	415
Mechanical Engineering	0	0	0	351	0	38	23	412
Information Technology	0	0	137	252	0	0	0	389
Other Business, Management & Marketing	283	0	0	103	0	0	0	386
Biological & Biomedical Sciences (Other)	0	0	0	284	0	6	8	298
Public Relations & Advertising	0	0	0	296	0	0	0	296
Electrical Engineering	0	0	0	205	0	44	28	277
General Biology	0	0	0	265	0	1	7	273
Journalism	45	0	0	228	0	0	0	273
Chemical Engineering	0	0	0	228	0	5	12	245
Industrial Engineering	0	0	0	175	0	53	9	237
Human Resource Management	0	0	0	198	0	38	0	236
Teacher Education Grade Specific	0	0	0	220	0	1	4	225
Marketing	0	0	0	221	0	0	0	221
Civil Engineering	1	0	0	178	0	13	14	206
Health & Physical Education	0	0	0	197	0	4	4	205
Mathematics	0	0	0	183	0	5	16	204
Hospitality Management	4	0	0	190	0	1	4	199
Criminal Justice & Corrections	0	0	0	187	0	6	0	193
Computer Information Systems	1	0	0	185	0	1	2	189
Political Science & Government	0	0	0	161	0	5	7	173
Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering	0	0	0	133	0	33	6	172
Nursing	0	0	0	132	6	32	0	170
Geological & Earth Sciences	0	0	1	151	0	10	7	169
Health & Medical Administrative Services	0	0	0	152	0	13	1	166
Communication & Media Studies	0	0	0	147	0	7	8	162
Communication Sciences	0	0	0	125	0	19	6	150
Business Administration & Management	0	0	0	0	0	130	13	143
Law	0	0	0	0	0	0	142	142
Biological & Physical Science	3	0	1	134	0	0	0	138
International Relations & National Security	0	0	0	137	0	0	0	137
Architectural Engineering	0	0	0	87	0	45	4	136
Statistics	0	0	0	100	1	19	8	128
Legal Research	0	0	0	0	0	121	0	121
General English Literature	0	0	0	91	0	20	9	120
Biomedical Engineering	0	0	0	102	0	8	7	117
Other Engineering	14	0	0	91	0	12	0	117
Recreation Administration	0	0	0	105	0	3	4	112
Nutrition Science	0	0	0	97	0	2	11	110
Human Development & Family Studies	3	0	0	91	0	7	8	109
Materials Sciences	0	0	0	109	0	0	0	109
Romance Languages	0	0	0	87	0	17	3	107
Radio, Television & Digital Communication	0	0	0	100	0	0	0	100
Petroleum Engineering	0	0	0	64	0	18	15	97
Animal Science	0	0	0	90	0	4	0	94
Physics	0	0	0	55	0	10	22	87
Biochemistry, Biophysics & Molecular Biology	0	0	0	79	0	2	5	86
Agricultural Economics & Business	0	0	0	83	0	1	1	85
Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions	0	0	0	85	0	0	0	85
History	0	0	0	76	0	3	5	84
Fine & Studio Arts	0	0	0	62	0	15	2	79
Computer Engineering	0	0	0	75	0	0	0	75
Geography & Cartography	30	0	0	29	0	7	9	75
Curriculum & Instruction	0	0	0	0	0	45	28	73
Chemistry	0	0	0	38	0	9	26	73
Film, Video & Photographic Arts	0	0	0	73	0	0	0	73
Environmental Engineering	0	0	0	52	0	5	6	63
Teacher Education Subject Specific	0	0	0	41	0	14	7	62
Health/Medical Prep Programs	0	0	0	61	0	0	0	61
Agricultural Engineering	0	0	0	50	0	6	1	57
Atmospheric Sciences & Meteorology	1	0	0	36	0	9	11	57
Philosophy	0	0	0	48	0	1	7	56
Food Science Technology	0	0	0	42	0	10	3	55
General Architecture	0	0	0	41	0	12	2	55
Sociology	0	0	0	40	0	7	8	55
Music	0	0	0	33	0	16	5	54
Nuclear Engineering	0	0	0	43	0	7	3	53
Engineering Science	0	0	0	33	0	10	9	52
Educational Administration	25	0	0	0	1	18	7	51
Management Information Systems	3	0	0	46	0	0	0	49
Communication & Journalism (Other)	0	0	0	47	0	0	0	47
Computer Science	0	0	0	0	0	27	19	46
International Studies	0	0	0	0	1	45	0	46
Plant Sciences	0	0	0	19	0	10	14	43
Horticulture	0	0	0	41	0	0	0	41
Anthropology	0	0	0	31	0	5	5	41
Real Estate	40	0	0	0	0	0	0	40
Special Education	0	0	0	14	0	20	6	40
Natural Resources Conservation	0	0	0	39	0	0	0	39
Student Counseling	0	0	0	0	0	30	8	38
General Agriculture	0	0	0	36	0	0	0	36
Natural Resources Conservation (Other)	1	0	0	28	0	3	4	36
Landscape Architecture	0	0	0	32	0	3	0	35
Astronomy & Astrophysics	0	0	0	20	0	11	4	35
Drama & Theater Arts	0	0	0	24	0	11	0	35
Entrepreneurial Studies	0	0	0	32	0	0	0	32
Materials Engineering	0	0	0	0	0	16	15	31
Ethnic Studies	0	0	0	28	0	0	0	28
Design & Applied Arts	0	0	0	25	0	0	0	25
Linguistics & Comparative Literature	0	0	0	12	0	5	7	24
Allied Health Professions	0	0	0	24	0	0	0	24
Microbiological Sciences & Immunology	0	0	0	19	0	0	4	23
Biology & Biotech Lab Technician	0	0	0	20	0	0	0	20
General Visual & Performing Arts	0	0	0	20	0	0	0	20
Teaching English or French	0	0	0	0	1	18	0	19
Veterinary Biomedical & Clinical Services	0	0	0	19	0	0	0	19
Liberal Arts General Studies	7	2	0	8	2	0	0	19
Computer Software & Applications	0	0	0	18	0	0	0	18
Educational Assessment	0	0	0	17	0	1	0	18
Classical Languages & Literature	0	0	0	18	0	0	0	18
East Asian Languages	0	0	0	18	0	0	0	18
Forestry	0	0	0	15	0	2	1	18
Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology	0	0	0	0	0	8	8	16
Biotechnology	0	0	0	0	0	15	0	15
Sustainability Science	0	0	0	15	0	0	0	15
Education Philosophy	0	0	0	0	0	5	8	13
Instructional Media Design	0	0	0	0	0	4	9	13
Germanic Languages	0	0	0	12	0	0	1	13
Agricultural Public Services	0	0	0	6	0	3	3	12
Pharmacology & Toxicology	0	0	0	11	0	0	1	12
Mining Engineering	0	0	0	11	0	0	0	11
Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology	0	0	0	0	0	3	7	10
Zoology	0	0	0	0	0	3	7	10
Slavic, Baltic & Albanian Languages	0	0	0	8	0	1	0	9
General Business/Commerce	3	0	0	4	0	0	0	7
Dietetics & Clinical Nutrition Services	0	0	0	0	7	0	0	7
Science, Technology & Society	0	0	0	7	0	0	0	7
Criminology	0	0	0	0	0	2	5	7
Other Social Sciences	0	0	0	0	0	1	6	7
Other Agriculture	0	0	0	4	0	1	1	6
Data Processing	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	6
Botany/Plant Biology	0	0	0	0	0	3	2	5
Area Studies	0	0	0	5	0	0	0	5
Soil Sciences	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	4
Biomathematics & Bioinformatics	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	4
Physiology & Pathology Sciences	0	0	0	0	0	1	3	4
Medical Science	0	0	0	0	4	0	0	4
Religious Studies	0	0	1	3	0	0	0	4
Neurobiology & Neurosciences	0	0	0	0	0	2	1	3
General Engineering	2	0	0	0	0	1	0	3
Surveying Engineering	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	3
Nanotechnology	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	2
Manufacturing Engineering	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	2
Other Homeland Security	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	2
Archeology	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	2
Cell Biology & Anatomical Sciences	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1
Genetics	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1
Management Sciences & Quantitative Methods	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1
Non-Professional General Legal Studies	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1
Medieval Studies	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1
Natural Resource Management	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1
General Social Sciences	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1
Agricultural Mechanization	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Business/Managerial Economics	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Other Education	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Engineering-Related Technologies	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Environmental Control Technology	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Engineering Mechanics	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Food, Nutrition & Related Services	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Mental & Social Health Services	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Public Health	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Wildlife Management	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Other Physical Science	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Community Organization & Advocacy	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Public Administration	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Social Work	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
TOTAL	500	2	140	10,893	27	1,409	774	13,745

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics
• Image Credit: By George Chriss under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.