Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus

University Park, PA · Public · 42,284 undergrads (large, city) · website ↗

Test-optional
$65 application fee

What you'll actually pay

Average net price per year — tuition, fees, room & board minus grant and scholarship aid — for in-state students by household income.

Household income	Avg net price / year
Under $30,000	$19,845
$30,000 – $48,000	$20,049
$48,000 – $75,000	$25,667
$75,000 – $110,000	$31,834
Over $110,000	$37,831
All incomes (average)	$32,875

Sticker tuition and fees: $20,644 in-state, $41,790 out-of-state — before aid, from the same earlier College Scorecard release as the net prices above.

These are averages. For an estimate for your family, use Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus's own net price calculator — every college that takes federal student aid must publish one.

Net price calculator ↗

Other costs of attendance, 2025–26

The college's own estimate for a full-time undergraduate for the year, before aid, from the October 2026 College Scorecard. It is a newer year than the tuition and net prices above, so don't add the two together.

Housing and meals, on campus	$15,346
Housing and meals, off campus (not with family)	$18,276
Books and supplies	$1,200
Other expenses, on campus	$5,324
Other expenses, off campus	$5,324

Grants and loans for first-year students, 2022–23

What the college reported for its full-time, first-time students (9,181 of them) in 2022–23; 66% got some kind of aid, loans included. Each average is over the students who received that kind of aid, not over everyone. It is an older year than the 2025–26 costs above.

Type of aid	Students awarded	Average amount
Any grant or scholarshipFederal, state, local and the college's own	36%	$11,577
Federal Pell GrantNeed-based, from the federal government	13%	$5,381
The college's own grants and scholarshipsNeed- or merit-based, funded by the college	35%	$8,733
Federal student loansBorrowed by the student; repaid with interest. No Parent PLUS or private loans	44%	$5,347

IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education, Student Financial Aid 2022–23 (SFA2223, provisional release); full-time, first-time degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates; public domain.

Admissions & outcomes

Acceptance rate: 61%
Average SAT: 1337
Median ACT: —
Students with Pell grants: 14%
Graduation rate (6yr): 86%
Freshman retention: 93%
Median earnings @ 10yr: $63,435
Median debt at graduation: $25,000
International undergrads: 4,169 (9.9%)

For comparison, the median across all 1,596 four-year colleges on this site: graduation rate 56%, earnings ten years after entering $54,869, debt at graduation $23,250.

Admission policy, test scores and teaching

SAT/ACT policy: Test-optional
Application fee: $65
Students per faculty member: 16 to 1
Faculty who are full-time: 87%
Open admission: No

Middle 50% of test scores, fall 2024

25th to 75th percentile of enrolled first-year students who submitted scores. A quarter scored below the first figure and a quarter above the second. Section ranges can't be added together into a total-score range.

SAT Reading and Writing: 620–700
SAT Math: 620–720
ACT composite: 27–32

What the college considers in admission decisions, fall 2023

How the college said it used each item when deciding on first-time, degree- or certificate-seeking applicants for fall 2023. For SAT and ACT scores, see the fall 2024 policy above.

High school GPA	Required
High school class rank	Not considered
High school record	Required
Completion of a college-preparatory program	Considered if submitted
Recommendations	Not considered
Formal demonstration of competencies (e.g. portfolio)	Not considered
English proficiency test (for applicable students)	Required
Other test (Wonderlic, WISC-III, etc.)	Not considered
Work experience	Not considered
Personal statement or essay	Considered if submitted
Legacy status	Not considered

First-time applicants: 85,956
Admitted: 46,605
Enrolled: 9,040

Counts of first-time, degree- or certificate-seeking students, including early decision and early action. The acceptance rate higher up this page comes from a different College Scorecard release, so it may not match these counts.

IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education, Admissions 2023–24 (ADM2023, provisional release), fall 2023; open admission from IPEDS Institutional Characteristics 2023–24 (revised); public domain.

Most popular fields of study

Share of bachelor's degrees awarded.

Business20%

Engineering14%

Computer Science11%

Communications & Media7%

Biology & Life Sciences6%

Social Sciences6%

Psychology4%

Health & Nursing4%

Agriculture4%

Education4%

Earnings and debt by field of study

Median annual earnings of graduates who received federal student aid and were working, not studying: one year after completing (graduates of 2020–21 and 2021–22) and four years after (2017–18 and 2018–19), measured in 2022 and 2023 and shown in 2024 dollars. Median debt is federal Direct and Grad PLUS loans borrowed at this college by 2022–23 and 2023–24 graduates; it leaves out Parent PLUS and private loans. “National” is the median for the same field and credential across all US colleges.

Bachelor's degrees (111)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Finance and Financial Management Services	533	$69,230	$96,714national $83,343	$22,147
Computer and Information Sciences, General	514	$84,461	$120,729national $92,374	$22,250
Psychology, General	512	$37,593	$49,543national $50,706	$23,642
Information Science/Studies	427	$68,240	$91,671national $85,294	$23,500
Marketing	393	$58,892	$79,343national $69,303	$24,352
Mechanical Engineering	385	$75,796	$87,997national $92,135	$24,250
Economics	355	$60,469	$81,228national $82,686	$21,500
Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Other	330	$44,357	$81,617national $65,681	$25,000
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods	328	$44,879	$53,362national $47,382	$26,000
Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication	320	$55,985	$76,246national $63,560	$24,218
Biology, General	299	$38,378	$64,910national $57,214	$23,250
Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management	272	$73,501	$98,637national $85,063	$26,000
Criminal Justice and Corrections	253	$41,573	$56,877national $55,378	$24,180
Human Resources Management and Services	244	$62,246	$81,755national $68,069	$25,000
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness	221	$38,359	$67,399national $54,562	$25,526
Accounting and Related Services	219	$64,480	$88,192national $76,194	$25,000
Political Science and Government	190	$46,124	$68,918national $63,293	$23,250
Journalism	183	$44,298	$62,336national $56,278	$25,000
Radio, Television, and Digital Communication	176	$49,422	$66,876national $50,497	$22,250
Civil Engineering	165	$70,399	$81,403national $86,517	$25,000
Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering	150	$79,268	$99,159national $98,207	$27,000
Biomedical/Medical Engineering	140	$77,736	$100,416national $93,451	$27,000
Industrial Engineering	139	$81,854	$104,758national $98,442	$25,625
Mathematics	136	$67,059	$77,336national $69,562	$23,250
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering	133	$82,304	$93,277national $100,647	$26,000
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	132	$82,877	$91,032national $88,910	$23,749
Chemical Engineering	130	$84,660	$103,728national $98,158	$26,973
Communication and Media Studies	124	$45,444	$55,505national $56,359	$22,488
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services	124	$27,725	$62,072national $58,928	$24,781
Data Science	122	—	—	$26,000
Architectural Engineering	110	$78,742	$94,483national $89,406	$31,000
Hospitality Administration/Management	109	$54,818	$63,798national $56,726	$24,140
Biological and Physical Sciences	106	$40,786	$69,102national $58,891	$23,601
International Relations and National Security Studies	97	$47,319	$71,001national $66,596	$21,500
Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations	97	$62,105	$78,476national $61,027	$23,250
Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology	93	$47,090	$77,336national $65,466	$26,182
Management Information Systems and Services	87	$68,666	$95,935national $83,290	$25,000
Health and Medical Administrative Services	86	$55,314	$75,396national $58,716	$24,959
Agricultural Business and Management	84	$54,078	$73,471national $66,647	$22,598
Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Facilities Management	83	$44,488	$55,741national $50,468	$23,810
Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences	82	$56,396	$81,092national $60,190	$24,250
Agriculture/Veterinary Preparatory Programs	80	$37,406	$47,620national $49,880	$22,500
Film/Video and Photographic Arts	79	$35,470	$43,919national $43,765	$21,500
Animal Sciences	74	$42,284	$49,772national $49,634	$21,500
Nutrition Sciences	72	$29,775	$63,010national $60,053	$23,250
Computer Engineering	71	$85,528	$112,269national $109,015	$27,000
English Language and Literature, General	71	$35,537	$50,299national $48,590	$23,361
Petroleum Engineering	68	$79,009	$113,669national $104,823	—
Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services, Other	66	$72,869	$104,205national $69,830	$24,250
Architecture	64	$62,516	$76,181national $66,914	$29,000
Statistics	64	$55,273	$86,636national $92,425	$23,250
Sociology	63	$43,918	$49,197national $52,657	$24,211
Physics	62	$55,968	$81,763national $76,786	$20,500
History	58	$37,190	$52,871national $50,680	$21,921
Chemistry	57	$48,918	$65,230national $65,120	$23,182
Materials Sciences	57	$75,929	$92,864national $94,684	$21,670
Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	53	$50,926	$62,831national $55,000	$23,000
Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services	53	$38,150	$45,943national $48,568	$26,000
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions	53	$38,413	$51,635national $55,792	$23,375
Fine and Studio Arts	48	$30,936	$40,036national $41,367	$26,000
Health/Medical Preparatory Programs	48	—	—national $61,911	$14,375
Security Science and Technology	43	$54,657	$66,084national $57,805	$27,000
Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft	42	$36,889	$44,913national $39,775	$25,250
Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods	42	$63,116	$73,308national $86,176	$23,074
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas	39	$47,516	$52,131national $51,389	$22,250
Philosophy	36	$39,593	$65,675national $54,455	$26,000
Plant Sciences	35	$37,667	$52,329national $56,567	$25,000
Food Science and Technology	34	$59,787	$83,112national $70,873	$20,500
Natural Resources and Conservation, Other	34	$30,902	$45,833national $48,754	$24,959
Anthropology	34	$33,249	$50,640national $46,676	$26,000
Veterinary Biomedical and Clinical Sciences	33	$41,859	—national $70,929	$25,250
Astronomy and Astrophysics	33	—	$66,759national $68,333	$27,000
Agricultural Engineering	32	$70,081	$87,564national $84,624	$26,157
Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology	32	$51,331	$69,083national $60,997	$24,000
Landscape Architecture	29	$59,043	$74,363national $66,387	$27,000
Engineering, Other	29	$69,862	$102,134national $93,989	$15,625
Applied Horticulture and Horticultural Business Services	28	$57,028	$69,540national $58,494	$25,000
Natural Resources Conservation and Research	28	$47,703	$60,193national $55,012	$21,500
Music	28	$32,085	$44,241national $42,892	$26,081
Biology/Biotechnology Technologies/Technicians	27	$61,604	$75,919national $63,102	$20,000
Design and Applied Arts	26	$41,905	$58,105national $51,490	$22,648
Agriculture, General	25	$42,740	$52,932national $53,676	$20,000
Engineering Science	25	$85,125	$100,176national $93,782	$26,750
Nuclear Engineering	22	$76,869	$94,365national $99,297	$26,000
Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies	20	$44,102	$72,063national $51,710	$27,000
Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering	19	$72,799	$80,855national $81,171	$26,944
Forestry	15	$46,652	—national $58,784	$22,458
Agricultural Public Services	10	$50,118	—national $54,152	—
Visual and Performing Arts, General	10	—	$45,170national $41,688	—
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities	9	$34,927	$58,195national $53,072	$24,179
Area Studies	6	—	—national $56,625	$24,250
Communication, Journalism, and Related Programs, Other	4	$38,911	$66,866national $55,384	$23,000
Mining and Mineral Engineering	2	—	$91,411national $101,390	—
Environmental/Natural Resources Management and Policy	1	$68,734	—national $56,185	$34,750
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions	1	—	$54,488national $70,786	—
Computer Science	—	$70,117	$101,854national $107,009	$22,750
Computer Software and Media Applications	0	$84,115	—national $58,894	—
Engineering, General	—	$67,873	$88,063national $89,359	$27,000
Polymer/Plastics Engineering	—	$74,572	$87,636national $92,919	$27,000
Surveying Engineering	0	—	$77,094national $78,638	—
Electrical/Electronic Engineering Technologies/Technicians	—	$74,494	—national $84,599	—
Electromechanical Technologies/Technicians	—	$71,604	$81,835national $84,304	$26,730
Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies/Technicians	—	$70,820	$79,342national $82,073	$27,000
Non-Professional Legal Studies	—	$53,147	$60,745national $61,959	$25,000
Multi-/Interdisciplinary Studies, General	—	—	—national $50,532	$25,375
Research and Experimental Psychology	—	$33,367	$48,348national $55,695	$20,500
Social Sciences, General	0	$57,562	$59,883national $53,366	$29,750
Geography and Cartography	0	$45,907	$68,993national $57,853	—
Business/Commerce, General	—	$52,236	$65,292national $68,407	$23,873
Business Administration, Management and Operations	—	$56,682	$72,218national $68,257	$26,375
Business/Corporate Communications	—	$39,635	$55,840national $65,784	$25,000

Associate degrees (13)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities	2	$39,818	$54,654national $44,125	$16,000
Applied Horticulture and Horticultural Business Services	—	$57,972	$60,464national $45,283	$15,250
Forestry	—	—	$42,466national $48,725	—
Wildlife and Wildlands Science and Management	—	—	$37,069national $37,155	$12,000
Computer and Information Sciences, General	—	—	—national $54,246	$19,948
Information Science/Studies	—	$49,860	$69,394national $56,799	—
Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies/Technicians	—	$58,264	$57,997national $64,773	—
Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services	—	$38,145	$40,545national $34,184	$19,500
Criminal Justice and Corrections	0	—	—national $46,706	$16,625
Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services	—	$41,132	$46,356national $42,269	$15,250
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions	—	$61,201	$65,110national $65,389	$13,000
Business/Commerce, General	—	$38,044	$61,596national $49,927	$13,687
Human Resources Management and Services	—	$40,234	—national $54,425	—

Undergraduate certificates (19)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services, Other	241	$61,875	$82,162national $79,067	$21,000
Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management	174	$72,546	$102,874national $52,615	$26,000
Real Estate	112	$74,053	$100,940national $46,762	$22,247
Journalism	68	$42,179	$63,138national $55,137	$25,125
Geography and Environmental Studies	34	—	—	$19,500
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities	28	$60,044	$93,527national $44,906	$23,750
Hospitality Administration/Management	25	$51,779	—national $40,962	$21,500
Geography and Cartography	17	$38,806	—national $58,705	—
Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences	12	$53,216	—national $63,448	—
Computer and Information Sciences, General	8	—	—national $50,984	$27,000
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	7	$95,718	$108,264national $80,020	$18,750
Management Information Systems and Services	3	$65,324	$81,794national $65,682	$26,000
Engineering, General	2	$74,477	—national $79,019	—
Business Administration, Management and Operations	2	—	$79,292national $47,440	—
Plant Sciences	1	$62,775	—national $48,404	—
Sociology	0	—	—national $50,205	$20,500
Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants	—	$59,098	$63,384national $56,073	—
Accounting and Related Services	0	—	$87,526national $44,589	—
Finance and Financial Management Services	—	$52,980	—national $53,418	$26,945

Master's degrees (45)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods	223	$116,437	$139,676national $124,807	$28,431
Accounting and Related Services	138	$81,321	$110,498national $95,833	$20,500
Architectural Engineering	75	$84,576	$98,877national $98,356	—
International/Globalization Studies	60	$71,600	$81,832national $86,219	$41,000
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering	42	$111,392	—national $133,654	—
Applied Mathematics	41	$102,245	—national $116,060	$35,625
Mechanical Engineering	36	$114,915	—national $115,974	—
Public Health	36	$62,094	$90,383national $82,751	$20,500
Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering	32	$92,359	—national $122,434	—
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions	31	$111,020	$129,975national $127,347	$107,823
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services	30	$58,726	$68,105national $67,030	$41,000
Engineering, Other	27	$95,734	$107,278national $129,974	$40,650
Public Policy Analysis	25	$58,138	—national $93,020	—
Business Administration, Management and Operations	25	$122,042	$127,665national $103,485	$44,875
Human Resources Management and Services	24	$92,380	$103,541national $83,558	$41,000
Computer and Information Sciences, General	23	$133,941	$166,387national $124,201	—
Student Counseling and Personnel Services	22	$44,164	$57,055national $60,111	—
Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management	19	$119,536	—national $121,855	$36,202
Music	19	$32,151	—national $48,285	—
Special Education and Teaching	18	$60,560	$63,109national $64,397	$35,499
Curriculum and Instruction	17	$59,068	$62,403national $63,399	$31,500
Health and Medical Administrative Services	14	$81,337	$111,065national $89,981	$48,158
Statistics	13	$117,206	$129,392national $123,816	—
Educational Administration and Supervision	10	$57,192	$63,797national $71,685	$35,314
Physics	9	$106,704	$150,865national $96,478	—
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas	6	$61,781	$69,663national $63,707	—
Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology	6	$46,486	$56,114national $65,184	$51,162
Manufacturing Engineering	5	$118,435	—national $122,873	—
Information Science/Studies	1	$129,630	$158,815national $112,705	$41,000
Nutrition Sciences	1	$60,104	—national $67,126	—
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	1	$107,187	$117,728national $120,193	$41,000
Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication	—	$83,910	—national $80,125	—
Educational/Instructional Media Design	0	$80,769	—national $70,644	—
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods	0	$69,658	—national $59,916	—
Computer Engineering	—	$131,945	$140,393national $136,736	$35,500
Systems Engineering	—	$112,580	$145,507national $144,565	$38,146
Computational Science	—	$120,316	$137,367national $138,757	$26,776
Psychology, Other	—	$107,800	$99,841national $61,796	—
Criminal Justice and Corrections	—	$47,359	—national $66,714	$30,750
Homeland Security	—	$84,946	$106,535national $96,660	$39,600
Community Organization and Advocacy	—	$80,894	$84,981national $67,597	—
Public Administration	—	$74,027	$87,710national $81,408	$44,375
Geography and Cartography	0	$79,400	$102,798national $79,784	$36,671
Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations	—	$138,103	—national $97,366	—
Marketing	—	$91,554	—national $79,106	$33,000

First professional degrees (2)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Law	230	$73,461	$90,775national $107,773	$65,500
Medicine	135	$66,744	$110,814national $112,460	$203,207

Doctoral degrees (7)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Chemistry	32	$107,736	$115,630national $115,386	—
Materials Engineering	24	$121,313	—national $130,845	—
Biology, General	23	$78,257	—national $92,983	—
Research and Experimental Psychology	20	$81,836	—national $103,410	—
Communication and Media Studies	19	—	$75,616national $77,931	—
Curriculum and Instruction	17	$69,534	$74,098national $83,031	—
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	2	$114,544	—national $138,131	—

Graduate certificates (1)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Geography and Cartography	0	$72,514	—national $72,959	$20,500

Post-baccalaureate certificates (11)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Information Science/Studies	—	$114,402	$141,703national $125,864	—
Educational Administration and Supervision	—	$90,275	$111,979national $88,516	—
Special Education and Teaching	—	—	$69,106national $63,623	—
Statistics	—	—	$128,684national $115,923	—
Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, Firefighting and Related Protective Services, Other	—	$115,795	—national $82,066	—
Geography and Cartography	—	—	$83,548national $78,228	—
Business/Commerce, General	—	$100,934	$134,050national $129,561	—
Business Administration, Management and Operations	—	$129,844	$140,589national $104,114	$24,000
Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations	—	$134,369	—national $76,065	—
Human Resources Management and Services	—	—	$80,436national $79,861	—
Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods	—	$129,315	—national $146,711	$25,437

A dash means the Department of Education suppressed the figure because too few graduates were measured — not zero. 283 more programmes at this college have every figure suppressed and are not listed. These figures are calculated for all 22 campuses that share this college's federal student-aid ID, so a branch campus shows its institution's figures.

Contact and accreditation

Address: 201 Old Main, University Park, PA 16802-1503
Phone: (814) 865-4700
Institutional accreditor: Middle States Commission on Higher Education

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Sources: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts) and IPEDS Fall Enrolment for international student counts. College Scorecard, October 2026 release: net price calculator link, mission flags and religious affiliation (2025–26), enrolment shares, test policy, SAT/ACT ranges and student-to-faculty ratio (fall 2024), cost-of-attendance components (2025–26), and earnings and debt by field of study. IPEDS Institutional Characteristics 2023–24 for the application fee and the IPEDS 2024 directory for the phone number. IPEDS Admissions 2023–24 (ADM2023, provisional release) for admission requirements and first-time applicants, admits and enrolments (fall 2023). IPEDS Student Financial Aid 2022–23 (SFA2223, provisional release) for grants and loans to full-time, first-time students. All are U.S. Department of Education data in the public domain. Verify current costs and requirements with the school.

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