For more than 150 years we’ve been leaders in higher education, but it’s our community of shared pride that motivates us to do good around the world.
We are Penn State
QS World University Rankings, 2025
Land, space, sun, or sea, Penn State is the place to be
As one of only three land- space- sun-, and sea-grant universities in the U.S., Penn State is on the cutting edge of research, education, and service to Pennsylvania communities.
Explore Penn State's rankings.
Athletics
Penn State has one of the nation's most comprehensive and successful athletic programs, featuring 29 varsity programs and participates in the Big Ten Conference at the NCAA Division I level for most sports. At Penn State’s 20 undergraduate campuses, 75+ NCAA Division III teams and 100+ PSUAC teams qualify for national championships through the USCAA.
Our community of Penn Staters
Nearly 88,000 students
58%
Of students are Pennsylvania residents.
Students from 50 states and 140+ countries
Nearly 10,000 international students
40%
Of students are from diverse backgrounds.
7,900+ faculty across all campuses
775,000+ alumni
Innovation ecosystem
Invent Penn State’s 21 innovation spaces across the state work with students, alumni, corporate partners, and community innovators to accelerate the movement of great ideas and economic development in the Commonwealth and beyond.
Penn State rankings
Often ranked as a top thirty research university, our quality is reflected in Penn State’s worldwide standings as a leader in research, education, and community. Our record-breaking research expenditures exceed $1.239B, ranking 12 disciplines in the top 10 by the National Science Foundation.
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U.S. News & World Report “Best Colleges” (Undergraduate) 2024
Penn State ranks 28th among national public universities and 60th overall out of 435 national universities listed in U.S. News World Report’s “Best Colleges” ranking for 2024. Penn State also ranks 23rd among Association of American Universities public institutions and is the top-ranked public university in Pennsylvania.
Undergraduate Programs
Undergraduate program rankings released by U.S. News include 16 top-25 ratings (four in the top 10) ratings for select programs in engineering and business, among others.
Best Undergraduate Business Programs
Penn State tied for #21 in “Best Undergraduate Business Programs,” out of 523 ranked institutions. In addition, the University ranked in the following specialties:
- #8 in Supply Chain Management/Logistics
- #11 in Production/Operation Management
- #17 in Management (tie)
- #25 in Accounting (tie)
- #24 in Marketing (tie)
- #50 in Finance (tie)
Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs (at schools whose highest degree is a doctorate)
Penn State tied for #19 out of 208 ranked institutions in “Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs.” In addition, the University ranked in the following specialties:
- #9 in Materials Engineering
- #9 in Industrial/Manufacturing Engineering
- #10 in Biological/Agricultural Engineering (tie)
- #13 in Civil Engineering
- #15 in Aerospace/Aeronautical/Astronautical Engineering (tie)
- #15 in Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering (tie)
- #15 in Mechanical Engineering (tie)
- #20 in Chemical Engineering
- #25 in Computer Engineering (tie)
- #27 in Electrical/Electronic/Communications Engineering
Best Undergraduate Computer Science Programs
Penn State tied for 40 out of 554 ranked programs.
Best Undergraduate Nursing Programs
Penn State tied for 31 out of 656 ranked programs.
Best Undergraduate Economics Programs
Penn State tied for 41 out of 309 ranked programs.
Best Undergraduate Psychology Programs
Penn State tied for 34 out of 542 ranked programs.
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U.S. News & World Report, “America’s Best Graduate Schools”
U.S. News “Best Graduate Schools” ranks professional school programs in business, education, engineering, law, medicine, and nursing, including specialties in each area. (Updated as of April 2024)
Overall
- #46 in Best Education Schools (tie)
- #32 in Best Engineering Schools (tie) (2023)
- #68 in Best Law Schools (tie)
Programs and Specialities
Arts
- #6 in Ceramics
- #64 in Best Fine Arts Programs
Business
- #5 in Supply Chain/Logistics
- #9 in Business Production/Operations (tie)
- #22 in Accounting (tie)
- #22 in Business Management (tie)
- #30 in Business Analytics (tie)
Earth and Mineral Sciences and Engineering
- #3 in Environmental Sciences (tie)
- #4 in Geochemistry (tie)
- #6 in Petroleum Engineering
- #7 in Earth Sciences (tie)
- #9 in Geophysics and Seismology (tie)
- #10 in Geology (tie)
- #11 in Materials Engineering
Education
- #4 in Higher Education Administration
- #6 in Rehabilitation Counseling (tie)
- #6 in Student Counseling and Personnel Services (tie)
- #11 in Educational Administration and Supervision
- #13 in Secondary Teacher Education (tie)
- #13 in Educational Psychology (tie)
- #15 in Special Education
- #15 in Education Policy
- #19 in Curriculum and Instruction (tie)
- #19 in Elementary Teacher Education (tie)
Engineering
- #3 in Petroleum Engineering
- #11 in Materials Engineering
- #11 in Nuclear Engineering
- #11 in Industrial/Manufacturing/Systems Engineering (tie)
- #12 in Biological/Agricultural Engineering (tie)
- #16 in Aerospace/Aeronautical/Astronautical Engineering (tie)
- #17 in Mechanical Engineering (tie)
- #23 in Civil Engineering (tie)
- #25 in Chemical Engineering (tie)
- #25 in Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering (tie)
- #26 in Electrical/Electronic/Communications Engineering (tie)
- #29 in Computer Engineering (tie)
- #42 in Biomedical Engineering/Bioengineering (tie)
Health and Human Development
- #19 in Health Care Management (tie)
- #21 in Speech-Language Pathology (tie)
Humanities and Social Sciences
- #5 in Criminology
- #5 in Industrial Organizational Psychology (tie)
- #3 in Sociology of Population (tie)
- #8 in American Literature before 1865 (tie)
- #9 in International Economics (tie)
- #11 in African-American Literature (tie)
- #13 in American Literature after 1865 (tie)
- #13 in Microeconomics
- #15 in Political Methodology
- #15 in Social Stratification (tie)
- #17 in Econometrics (tie)
- #17 in International Politics
- #23 in Sociology
- #25 in Comparative Politics
- #26 in English (tie)
- #27 in Economics (tie)
- #34 in Political Science (tie)
- #35 in Psychology (tie)
- #38 in History (tie)
Public Affairs
- #70 in Best Public Affairs Programs, University Park (tie)
- #89 in Best Public Affairs Programs, Penn State Harrisburg School of Public Affairs (tie)
Sciences
- #9 in Cosmology/Relativity/Gravity
- #11 in Condensed Matter
- #16 in Analytical Chemistry (tie)
- #19 in Statistics (tie)
- #21 in Physics (tie)
- #22 in Inorganic Chemistry (tie)
- #26 in Applied Mathematics (tie)
- #34 in Chemistry (tie)
- #37 in Mathematics (tie)
- #58 in Biological Sciences (tie)
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U.S. News “Best Online Programs” Rankings, 2024 – Penn State World Campus
Penn State World Campus ranked in these graduate degree disciplines and the overall bachelor’s degree programs category.
- #3 (tie), master’s in engineering
- #7, master’s in information technology
- #18 (tie), master’s in business (non-MBA)
- #19 (tie), master’s in education
- #22 (tie), MBA
- #32 (tie), bachelor’s degree programs
The “Best Online Programs” 2024 edition also includes rankings of specific disciplines within the program categories. These specialty program rankings were measured by U.S. News from ratings provided by national peer institutions, collected via surveys.
In addition, U.S. News ranked “Best Online Programs for Veterans” in six categories, with Penn State’s online bachelor’s programs at:
- #2, master’s in engineering
- #4, master’s in information technology
- #8 (tie), master’s in education
- #9 (tie), master’s in business (non-MBA)
- #20 (tie), bachelor’s degree programs
- #20 (tie), MBA
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QS World University Rankings 2025
Penn State ranked No. 89 in the world in the 2025 QS World University Rankings, placing the University in the top 6% worldwide among the 1,503 institutions ranked by QS. Penn State also tied for No. 24 out of 197 ranked U.S. institutions, and is at No. 8 among public universities nationally and tied for No. 4 among Big Ten institutions.
In addition, Penn State ranked in 49 out of 55 subjects in the 2024 QS World University Rankings by Subject, released April 10. The University had a strong showing worldwide, ranking in the top 25 in seven subject areas and in the top 50 in 17 areas. Also, for the first time, Penn State participated in the QS Stars rating process, receiving 5 stars, the highest rating.
Center for World University Rankings 2024
Penn State is ranked 56th among the best universities in the world out of 2,000 ranked, placing the University in the top 3% for the quality and research prowess of its faculty, by the Center for World University Rankings for 2024.
Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2024
Penn State is 20th among U.S. public universities, and placed 42nd in the nation overall, in the 2024 Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings. Penn State placed in the top 6% globally among about 1,900 ranked institutions, rising 29 places from last year to No. 122 in the world.
Academic Ranking of World Universities (AWRU) 2023
The Academic Ranking of World Universities ranked Penn State in the range of 101-150 in its listing of the top 1,000 world-class universities, out of more than 2,500 institutions ranked worldwide.
AWRU 2022 Global Ranking of Academic Subjects
Penn State ranks in the top 50 in 16 subject area rankings and in the top 100 in the world in an additional 14 subjects, according to the 2022 Global Ranking of Academic Subjects, released by the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), which evaluates the performance of world universities in relevant subjects, using a number of metrics including research output, research influence, international collaboration, research quality, and international academic awards.
U.S. News & World Report “Best Global Universities” 2024-25
Penn State is ranked at #96 internationally, among 2,250 institutions evaluated, across 100 countries, in U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Global Universities” for 2024-25. In the U.S., Penn State ranks at #38 nationally, among U.S. public institutions at #17, and at #7 among our Big Ten peers.
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QS World University Rankings: Sustainability 2024
Penn State tied for No. 4 among 210 ranked universities in the United States in the QS World University Rankings: Sustainability for 2024, released Dec. 5. Internationally, the University ranked No. 37 out of 1,403 participating institutions worldwide. Penn State also tied with the University of Minnesota Twin Cities for No. 1 among Big Ten institutions and No. 2 among all U.S. public universities.
The 2024 rankings provide a framework to show how universities are taking action to tackle the world’s greatest environmental, social and governance challenges, according to international rankings organization Quacquarelli Symonds (QS).
Campus Pride Index 2023
For the third year in a row, Penn State has received 5 out of 5 stars for overall campus climate — and included among the “Best of the Best,” a list of 30 four-year public and private colleges across the nation — in the 2023 Campus Pride Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Questioning-Friendly Campus Climate Index. Campus Pride is a national nonprofit organization for student leaders and campus groups working to improve LGBTQ environments at colleges and universities.
Forbes “Best Employers for New Grads” survey 2023
Penn State ranked No. 21 among all large U.S. employers — public, private and nonprofit — for new college graduates entering the workforce, according to Forbes magazine’s “America’s Best Employers for New Grads” survey.
Penn State ranked first in the nation in faculty Fulbright Scholar awards for 2023-24
Penn State has been ranked first in the nation in faculty Fulbright Scholar awards by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, with 12 faculty members offered Fulbright awards for academic year 2023-24. Penn State also is listed among the top-producing institutions for Fulbrights in STEM fields. This is the second year in a row and the third time in the last five years that Penn State has been the No. 1 producer of Fulbright Scholars, with the University also achieving this status in 2019 and 2022.
Times Higher Education University Impact Rankings 2024
Penn State ranked 4th in the U.S. and 51st in the world out of 1,963 participating institutions in the 2024 Times Higher Education University Impact Rankings, continuing Penn State’s placement in the top 2.5% of universities worldwide.
The global rating is a broad multidimensional assessment of a university’s research, community outreach and education, and campus operations. The criteria used in the assessment are linked to the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals, global goals adopted by all U.N. Member States that look to improve life for all people and help protect the planet.
The Princeton Review/Entrepreneurship Magazine, Top Schools for Entrepreneurship 2024
Penn State has been ranked as the #33 school for undergraduate entrepreneurship studies in the U.S. in annual ratings of the top schools for entrepreneurship studies, by the Princeton Review and Entrepreneurship Magazine. Among schools in the Mid-Atlantic region, Penn State came in at #4.
U.S. News & World Report, “Best Children’s Hospitals 2022-23”
Penn State Health Children’s Hospital ranks among the nation’s best hospitals for children in multiple specialties—cardiology and heart surgery (#33), diabetes and endocrinology (#41), and pulmonology (#42).
Compiled by Penn State's Office of Strategic Communications
