Pennsylvania State University

"Pennsylvania State" redirects here. For the U.S. state, see Pennsylvania.
This article is about the state public research university of Pennsylvania. For the list of universities in Pennsylvania, see List of colleges and universities in Pennsylvania. For state owned public universities in Pennsylvania, see Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. For the main campus, see Penn State University Park.
Not to be confused with University of Pennsylvania.

The Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University Seal
Former names
List
  • Farmer's High School of Pennsylvania (1855–1862)
  • Agricultural College of Pennsylvania (1862–1874)
  • The Pennsylvania State College (1874–1953)
  • Dickinson School of Law (1834–2000)
  • The Chestnut Street Female Seminary (1850–1883)
  • The Ogontz School for Girls (1883–1950)
  • Wyomissing Polytechnic Institute (1930–1958)
  • Pennsylvania State Forest Academy (1903–1929)
MottoOn seal: "Virtue, Liberty, and Independence"
TypePublic state-related land-grant research university
EstablishedFebruary 22, 1855; 169 years ago (1855-02-22)
AccreditationMSCHE
Academic affiliations
Endowment$4.5 billion (2022)[1]
Budget$8.6 billion (2022-23)[2]
ChairpersonMatthew W. Schuyler[3]
PresidentNeeli Bendapudi[4]
ProvostJustin Schwartz[5]
Academic staff
8,002[6]
Administrative staff
17,218[6]
Students89,816[7][8]
 • 46,723 (University Park)
Undergraduates74,446[7]
 • 39,809 (University Park)
Postgraduates14,039[7]
 • 6,092 (University Park)
1,331[7]
Location
University Park, Pennsylvania

40°47′54″N 77°51′36″W / 40.79833°N 77.86000°W / 40.79833; -77.86000
CampusSmall city, 7,343 acres (2,972 ha)
Total (statewide), 22,484 acres (9,099 ha)[9]
Other campuses
Newspaper
ColorsBlue and white
   
Nickname
Sporting affiliations
MascotNittany Lion
Websitepsu.edu Edit this at Wikidata
ASN3999 Edit this at Wikidata
Official nameAg Hill Complex
TypeBuilding
CriteriaEvent, Architecture/Engineering
DesignatedJanuary 12, 1979[10]
Reference no.79002191
Official nameFarmers' High School
TypeDistrict
CriteriaEvent, Architecture/Engineering
DesignatedSeptember 11, 1981[11]
Reference no.81000538
Official namePennsylvania State University, The
TypeRoadside
DesignatedApril 30, 1947[12]

The Pennsylvania State University (commonly referred to as Penn State and sometimes by the acronym PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1855 as Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania,[13] Penn State was named the state's first land-grant university eight years later, in 1863. Its primary campus, known as Penn State University Park, is located in State College and College Township.

In addition to its land-grant designation, the university is a sea-grant, space-grant, and one of only six sun-grant universities. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and is a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU).[14][15] The university has two law schools: Penn State Law on the school's University Park campus and Penn State Dickinson Law in Carlisle. The College of Medicine is in Hershey. The university maintains 19 commonwealth campuses and five special mission campuses located across Pennsylvania.[16]

The university competes in the Big Ten Conference in Division I of the NCAA for most of its athletic teams, known collectively as the Penn State Nittany Lions. Since its founding, Penn State has won 82 national collegiate team championships, including 54 NCAA titles across all sports, and Penn State students, alumni, faculty, and coaches have won a total of 74 Olympic medals, including 20 gold medals.

  1. ^ U.S. ENDOWMENT RETURNS TRACKER (Report). Pensions and Investments. Retrieved July 26, 2022.
  2. ^ "Penn State Budget Overview".
  3. ^ "Officers". Office of the Board of Trustees. Penn State. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
  4. ^ "Office of the President". President.psu.edu. Retrieved February 12, 2018.
  5. ^ Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost. Archived January 22, 2014, at the Wayback Machine. Psu.edu (July 2, 2013). Retrieved on April 12, 2014.
  6. ^ a b "Faculty & Staff". Office of Planning, Assessment, and Institutional Research. The Pennsylvania State University. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
  7. ^ a b c d "Student Enrollment". Office of Planning, Assessment, and Institutional Research. The Pennsylvania State University. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
  8. ^ "Undergraduate and Graduate/First Professional Fall Enrollment 2019 and 2018". Budget.psu.edu. Archived from the original on August 6, 2020. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
  9. ^ "Penn State OPP".
  10. ^ "Asset Detail". focus.nps.gov. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
  11. ^ "Farmers' High School". Retrieved May 31, 2018.
  12. ^ "PHMC Historical Markers Search" (Searchable database). Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Retrieved January 25, 2014.
  13. ^ "The Farmers' High School | Penn State University".
  14. ^ "Carnegie Classifications Institution Lookup". Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. Center for Postsecondary Education. Archived from the original on July 26, 2020. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
  15. ^ "AAU Member Universities" (PDF). www.aau.edu. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 4, 2022. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  16. ^ "Penn State University – Campuses and Colleges". Pennsylvania State University. Archived from the original on July 31, 2012. Retrieved September 3, 2011.