Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus

Location and Contact Information

The campus is in a small city.

Overview

Pennsylvania State University, also known as Penn State, is a public, land-grant, research university located in University Park, Pennsylvania.

Penn State was established in 1855, when the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania chartered the school at the request of the Pennsylvania State Agricultural Society. Its goal was to apply scientific principles to farming--a radical departure from the traditional college curriculum grounded in mathematics, rhetoric, and classical languages.

Centre County became the site of the new college in response to a gift of 200 acres from agriculturist and iron master James Irvin of Bellefonte.

In 1863 the Agricultural College of Pennsylvania became the Commonwealth's sole land-grant institution. By 1950 Penn State was distinguished for its research in dairy science, building insulation, diesel engines, and other specialized fields.

In 1953 University President Milton Eisenhower changed the name of the school to The Pennsylvania State University and established a campus post office designated as University Park.

The university has more than 20 campuses in Pennsylvania, including a Virtual World Campus. The main campus is spread aver 5,448 acres.

Penn State is organized into the following academic divisions:

• College of Agricultural Sciences
• College of Arts and Architecture
• College of Communications
• College of Earth and Mineral Sciences
• College of Education
• College of Engineering
• College of Health and Human Development
• College of the Liberal Arts
• Eberly College of Science
• Graduate School
• School of Information Sciences and Technology
• Smeal College of Business

In addition, Pennsylvania State University contains several special-mission units, including Penn state Great Valley; the School of Graduate Professional Studies; Penn State Milton Hershey Medical Center; and Penn State Dickinson School of Law.

U.S. News & World Report America's Best Colleges for 2010 named Penn State tied for 47th nationally among Best National Universities and tied for 15th nationally for Best Undergraduate Top 50 Public National Universities. The magazine also ranked Penn State tied for 17th nationally among undergraduate engineering specialties.

The University Park campus is the administrative and research hub of the University, with more than 40,000 graduate, undergraduate, and professional students and more than 159,000 alumni worldwide.

Penn State has won 64 National Team Championships. The athletic teams are known as the Nittany Lions.

Among the famous alumni of Penn State are Robert Jubelirer, former President Pro Tempore of Pennsylvania State Senate and Lt. Governor of Pennsylvania; Jean Craighead George, Newberry Medal-winning children's author; Steve McCurry, photojournalist; John Pielmeier and Susan Miller, playwrights; Tom Clarke, former president, CEO of Nike, Inc.; Richard A. Zimmerman, former president, CEO of Hershey Foods; Margaret Carlson, first female columnist for Time magazine; Julius J. Epstein, screenwriter ("Casablanca"); John Lewis, dancer, inventor of "Big Baby Shuffle"; Terry Bartlett, Olympic gymnast; Courtney Brown, NFL defensive end; Nate Bump, pro baseball player; and Dan Heisman, chess master.

Highlights (vs. Other Schools)

• Many students concentrating in engineering, computer science and engineering, media, science, and nutrition and exercise therapy.
• Large number of programs of study offered.
• Large number of students.
• High faculty salary.
• High SAT scores (combined Verbal and Math).
• Good faculty-to-student ratio.
• High male/female ratio.
• High percentage of students are from out-of-state.
• Number of dorm rooms for students.
• Selective admissions.

School characteristics:

• The school is public.
• Academic calender: Semester.
• Carnegie classification: Doctoral/Research Universities, Extensive.

Features of note:

• The school offers a faculty tenure system.
• There is a hospital on campus.
• There are one or more libraries on-campus.
• Campus housing is available.
• Students may study abroad.
• Distance learning is available.
• Weekend study is an option.
• Part-time classes are available.
• ROTC.
• Athlete financial aid is awarded.

Tuition and Financial Aid (2009-2010)

Financial Aid

Penn State participates in US Title IV financial assistance programs.

In 2009-2010, 70% of students received financial aid of some sort.

(Please refer to BrainTrack's financial aid articles section for background information.)

Similar Schools

Based on proprietary BrainTrack computer comparisons against all other US colleges, these schools appear to be most similar to Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus:

Click a column header to sort.

Degrees Awarded (in 2009-2010)

Faculty

Tenure (2009-2010):

Students

Student enrollment was 44,406 in 2009-2010 (45,964 full-time equivalent).

About 53% of the freshmen class in 2009-2010 was male and women were 47% of the class.

Undergrads are 55% of enrolled students and graduate students are 45%.

Students under 25 years old represent 87% of the student body. About 2% of the school is at least 40 years of age.

Among freshmen students, 100% are full-time and 0% are part-time.

Admissions Summary (2009-2010)

SAT Test Scores:

Room and Board

Penn State provides on-campus housing for 13,664 of its 45,964 (full-time) students (as of 2009-2010). The school requires freshmen to live on campus.

Athletics

School sports include football, basketball, baseball, and track. The school is in the Big Ten Conference for major sports.

The school offers financial aid for athletes. Of students receiving athletic financial aid, 290 male students received the aid (men were 60% of those receiving aid) and 193 women were awarded financial aid based on athletics (representing 40% of students receiving such aid) .

Graduate School Focus

Penn State offers graduate (post-Bachelor) studies. The highest degree offered is the Doctorate (Research/Scholarship & Professional Practice).

Graduate offerings include continuing professional education.The school's Graduate School Carnegie Classification is Comprehensive Doctoral (No Medical/Veterinary).

Programs of Study

(Number of degrees in 2009-2010 in parentheses)

AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE AND MANAGEMENT (124 awarded)

• Agribusiness/Agricultural Business Operations
• Agricultural Business and Management
• Agricultural Economics
• Agricultural Mechanization
• Agricultural and Extension Education Services
• Agriculture
• Food Science

ANIMAL SCIENCE AND CARE (110 awarded)

• Animal Sciences

ARCHITECTURE AND PLANNING (94 awarded)

• Architecture (BArch, BA/BS, MArch, MA/MS, PhD)
• Landscape Architecture (BS, BSLA, BLA, MSLA, MLA, PhD)

ART STUDIES (124 awarded)

• Art/Art Studies
• Visual and Performing Arts

BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT (1,799 awarded)

• Accounting
• Actuarial Science
• Business Administration and Management
• Business/Commerce
• Business/Managerial Economics
• Finance
• Labor and Industrial Relations
• Management Information Systems
• Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods
• Marketing/Marketing Management
• Organizational Behavior Studies

COMPUTER SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING (801 awarded)

• Computer Engineering
• Computer Programming/Programmer
• Computer Science
• Computer and Information Sciences
• Information Science/Studies

CONSERVATION AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (97 awarded)

• Forest Sciences and Biology
• Forest Technology/Technician
• Forestry
• Natural Resources and Conservation
• Natural Resources/Conservation

DESIGN (13 awarded)

• Design and Applied Arts
• Graphic Design

DRAMA AND PERFORMING ARTS (52 awarded)

• Acting
• Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts
• Technical Theatre/Theatre Design and Technology

EDUCATION AND TEACHING (763 awarded)

• Adult and Continuing Education Administration
• Adult and Continuing Education and Teaching
• Agricultural Teacher Education
• Art Teacher Education
• College Student Counseling and Personnel Services
• Counselor Education/School Counseling and Guidance Services
• Curriculum and Instruction
• Educational Evaluation and Research
• Educational Leadership and Administration
• Educational/Instructional Media Design
• Elementary Education and Teaching
• Foreign Language Teacher Education
• Higher Education/Higher Education Administration
• Music Teacher Education
• Secondary Education and Teaching
• Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education
• Special Education and Teaching
• Teaching English as Second/Foreign Language/ESL Language Instructor

ENGINEERING (1,696 awarded)

• Aerospace, Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering
• Agricultural/Biological Engineering and Bioengineering
• Archeology
• Architectural Engineering
• Biomedical/Medical Engineering
• Chemical Engineering
• Civil Engineering
• Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering
• Engineering Mechanics
• Engineering Science
• Engineering
• Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering
• Industrial Engineering
• Materials Engineering
• Materials Science
• Mechanical Engineering
• Mining and Mineral Engineering
• Nuclear Engineering
• Petroleum Engineering
• Surveying Engineering

ENGINEERING TECHNICIAN (5 awarded)

• Electrical/Electronic Engineering Technologies/Technicians
• Environmental Engineering Technology/Environmental Technology
• Mechanical Engineering/Mechanical Technology/Technician

FAMILY AND SOCIAL WORK (245 awarded)

• Community Organization and Advocacy
• Human Development and Family Studies
• Human Nutrition

FINE ARTS (35 awarded)

• Art History, Criticism and Conservation

HOSPITALITY (232 awarded)

• Hospitality Administration/Management

LANDSCAPING AND HORTICULTURE (122 awarded)

• Agronomy and Crop Science
• Horticultural Science
• Landscaping and Groundskeeping
• Plant Sciences
• Soil Science and Agronomy
• Turf and Turfgrass Management

LAW (77 awarded)

• Law (LLB, JD)
• Programs for Foreign Lawyers (LLM, MCL)

LIBERAL ARTS (1,860 awarded)

• African Studies
• African-American/Black Studies
• Anthropology
• Applied Economics
• Chinese Language and Literature
• Classics/Classical Languages, Lit & Linguistics
• Comparative Literature
• East Asian Studies
• Economics
• English Language and Literature
• French Language and Literature
• Geography
• German Language and Literature
• History
• International Relations and Affairs
• International/Global Studies
• Italian Language and Literature
• Japanese Language and Literature
• Latin American Studies
• Liberal Arts and Sciences/Liberal Studies
• Linguistics
• Medieval and Renaissance Studies
• Near and Middle Eastern Studies
• Political Science and Government
• Russian Language and Literature
• Social Sciences
• Sociology
• Spanish Language and Literature
• Technical and Business Writing
• Women's Studies

MATHEMATICS (156 awarded)

• Mathematics
• Statistics

MEDIA (921 awarded)

• Advertising
• Communication Studies/Speech Communication and Rhetoric
• Communication, Journalism, and Related Programs
• Journalism
• Mass Communication/Media Studies

MEDICAL ADMINISTRATION (122 awarded)

• Health/Health Care Administration/Management

MEDICINE (45 awarded)

• Neuroscience
• Pre-Medicine/Pre-Medical Studies

MUSIC (60 awarded)

• Conducting
• Music Performance
• Music Theory and Composition
• Music
• Musicology and Ethnomusicology
• Piano and Organ
• Voice and Opera

NURSING AND EMERGENCY MEDICINE (231 awarded)

• Nursing
• Nursing/Registered Nurse (RN, ASN, BSN, MSN)

NUTRITION AND EXERCISE THERAPY (461 awarded)

• Dietitian Assistant
• Kinesiology and Exercise Science
• Parks, Recreation and Leisure Facilities Management
• Parks, Recreation and Leisure Studies
• Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions

PHOTOGRAPHY AND COMMERCIAL ART (72 awarded)

• Film/Cinema Studies

RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY (53 awarded)

• Jewish/Judaic Studies
• Philosophy
• Religion/Religious Studies

SCIENCE (1,016 awarded)

• Acoustics
• Animal Physiology
• Astronomy
• Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology
• Biochemistry
• Biological and Biomedical Sciences
• Biological and Physical Sciences
• Biology/Biological Sciences
• Biotechnology
• Chemistry
• Ecology
• Entomology
• Genetics
• Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences
• Geology/Earth Science
• Immunology
• Medical Microbiology and Bacteriology
• Molecular Toxicology
• Oceanography, Chemical and Physical
• Pathology/Experimental Pathology
• Physical Sciences
• Physics
• Plant Pathology/Phytopathology
• Plant Physiology
• Science, Technology and Society
• Toxicology

SCIENCE AND LABORATORY TECHNICIAN (7 awarded)

• Biology Technician/Biotechnology Laboratory Technician

SECURITY AND LAW ENFORCEMENT (360 awarded)

• Criminal Justice/Law Enforcement Administration
• Criminal Justice/Safety Studies
• Forensic Science and Technology
• Security and Protective Services

THERAPY AND COUNSELING (532 awarded)

• Communication Disorders
• Counseling Psychology
• Educational Psychology
• Psychology
• School Psychology