Pennsylvania State University - Harrisburg Overview

Pennsylvania State University - Harrisburg is a public institution situated in Middletown, Pennsylvania. The suburban atmosphere of Middletown makes it a great place for students who want the amenities of city life without actually living in the middle of a constant hustle and bustle.

What Is Pennsylvania State University - Harrisburg Known For?

• Students at Penn State Harrisburg 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%.
• Although it may not be available for every major, the doctor's degree is the highest award a student can attain at Penn State Harrisburg.
• In 2017-2018, 63% of the faculty were full-time.
• After graduation, Penn State Harrisburg 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.

Pennsylvania State University - Harrisburg Rankings

Penn State Harrisburg landed the #381 spot in our 2021 ranking of best colleges. We analyzed 2,320 colleges and universities across the nation to determine this ranking.

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.

Program Level Awards

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

Rank	Ranking Name	Share
#12	Best Information Technology Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#13	Best Information Science Master’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#47	Best Computer Information Systems Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#51	Best Computer & Information Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#62	Best Marketing Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#67	Best Finance & Financial Management Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#71	Best Teacher Education Subject Specific Master’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#90	Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Associate’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#90	Best Liberal Arts General Studies Associate’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#144	Best Accounting Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It

Awards From Around the Web

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

Rank	Ranking Name	Source
#5	Highest Paid Information Technology Graduates	College Factual
#19	Highest Paid Computer Information Systems Graduates	College Factual
#27	Highest Paid Marketing Graduates	College Factual
#51	Best Computer Science Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Computer Science Degree
#76	Best Colleges for Teacher Education Grade Specific	College Factual
#110	Highest Paid Business, Management & Marketing Graduates	College Factual

Where Is Pennsylvania State University - Harrisburg?

Contact details for Penn State Harrisburg are given below.

	Contact Details
Address:	777 West Harrisburg Pike, Middletown, PA 17057-4846
Phone:	717-948-6250
Website:	harrisburg.psu.edu
Facebook:	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Penn-State-Harrisburg/335939599276?v=wall&filter=1
Twitter:	https://twitter.com/PSUHarrisburg

How Do I Get Into Penn State Harrisburg?

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

Admission Requirements for Penn State Harrisburg

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 Harrisburg?

With an acceptance rate of 84%, Penn State Harrisburg may not be as selective as some schools, but you should not take admittance for granted. Be sure to submit the best application you can.

Approximately 57% of accepted students are men and 43% are women. The acceptance rate for men is 83%, and the acceptance rate for women is 85%.

Average Test Scores

About 75% of students accepted to Penn State Harrisburg submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 510 and 610. Math scores were between 520 and 650.

Penn State Harrisburg received ACT scores from 16% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT English scores ranged between 21 and 26. Math scores were between 22 and 32. Composite scores were between 22 and 27.

Can I Afford Pennsylvania State University - Harrisburg?

The overall average net price of Penn State Harrisburg is $36,971. 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

Almost 66% of college students who graduated with the class of 2018 took out student loans, but that percentage varies from school to school. At Penn State Harrisburg, approximately 51% of students took out student loans averaging $8,668 a year. That adds up to $34,672 over four years for those students.

The student loan default rate at Penn State Harrisburg 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.

Online Learning at Pennsylvania State University - Harrisburg

In 2017-2018, 591 students took at least one online class at the school.

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

Online Growth Rankings of Penn State Harrisburg

The average growth rate over the last four years of online students at Pennsylvania State University - Harrisburg was -25.6%. This is the #2,698 largest growth rate of all schools that are only partially online. This refers to all students at Penn State Harrisburg 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 - Harrisburg Undergraduate Concentrations

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

Major	Associate’s	Undergraduate Certificate	Bachelor’s	Graduate Certificate	Master’s	Doctor’s	TOTAL
Mechanical Engineering	0	0	113	0	1	0	114
Civil Engineering	0	0	78	0	0	0	78
Management Sciences & Quantitative Methods	0	0	9	0	57	0	66
Computer Information Systems	0	0	48	0	17	0	65
Business Administration & Management	0	0	49	2	0	0	51
Marketing	0	0	50	0	0	0	50
Electrical Engineering	0	0	39	0	6	0	45
General Psychology	0	0	42	0	0	0	42
General Biology	0	0	41	0	0	0	41
Criminal Justice & Corrections	0	0	33	0	8	0	41
Teacher Education Subject Specific	0	0	11	6	22	0	39
Communication & Media Studies	0	0	33	0	3	0	36
Information Science	1	0	15	0	17	0	33
Nursing	0	0	32	0	0	0	32
Finance & Financial Management	0	0	31	0	0	0	31
Information Technology	0	11	17	0	0	0	28
Curriculum & Instruction	0	0	0	0	26	0	26
Teacher Education Grade Specific	0	0	16	0	2	7	25
Area Studies	0	0	8	0	8	8	24
Accounting	0	0	22	0	0	0	22
Human Development & Family Studies	0	0	21	0	0	0	21
Public Administration	0	0	0	5	13	3	21
Health & Medical Administrative Services	0	0	7	0	12	0	19
Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology	0	0	0	0	18	0	18
Health & Physical Education	0	0	16	0	0	0	16
Biological & Physical Science	0	0	12	0	0	0	12
Liberal Arts General Studies	3	0	2	0	5	0	10
Human Resource Management	0	0	0	4	5	0	9
General English Literature	0	0	9	0	0	0	9
Management Information Systems	0	0	8	0	0	0	8
Political Science & Government	0	0	8	0	0	0	8
Teaching English or French	0	0	0	5	0	0	5
Applied Mathematics	0	0	5	0	0	0	5
Sociology	0	0	5	0	0	0	5
Ethnic Studies	0	0	0	4	0	0	4
General Business/Commerce	2	0	1	0	0	0	3
Engineering Science	0	0	0	0	3	0	3
Environmental Engineering	0	0	0	0	3	0	3
Environmental Control Technology	0	0	0	0	2	0	2
Public Policy	0	0	2	0	0	0	2
Pharmacology & Toxicology	0	0	1	0	0	0	1
Public Relations & Advertising	0	0	1	0	0	0	1
Museum Studies	0	0	0	1	0	0	1
Religious Studies	0	1	0	0	0	0	1
International Business	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Writing Studies	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Statistics	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Behavioral Science	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
International Studies	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Other Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Natural Resources Conservation	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Other Homeland Security	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Economics	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Geography & Cartography	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
TOTAL	6	12	785	27	228	18	1,076

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

More about our data sources and methodologies.