The
Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, Penn State becam ...
is a geographically dispersed university system with campuses located throughout the
Commonwealth
A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...
of
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
. While the administrative hub of the university is located at its flagship campus,
University Park, the 19 additional commonwealth campuses together enroll 37 percent of Penn State's undergraduate student population.
Organization
Under the present administrative structure, enacted by the Penn State
Board of Trustees
A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit org ...
in 2005, the 19 undergraduate campuses (not including
University Park and Penn State's special-mission campus, the
Pennsylvania College of Technology
Pennsylvania College of Technology (Penn College) is a public college in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. It is affiliated with, but a self-governing entity of, Pennsylvania State University. As an applied technology college (known by the locals and ...
) are overseen by the Vice President for Commonwealth Campuses. Each campus is led by a chancellor who reports to the Vice President. (This position replaced the existing titles of ''campus dean'' and ''campus executive officer'')
All 19 campuses are considered part of Penn State's Commonwealth campus system, and all offer Penn State baccalaureate degrees. Five campuses are considered “college” campuses. Those five are Penn State Abington, Penn State Altoona, Penn State Berks, Penn State Behrend, and Penn State Harrisburg. The other fourteen campuses are referred to collectively as the "University College". These campuses, while having their own chancellor, also report to the Dean of the University College, a position concurrently held by the Vice President for Commonwealth Campuses.
List of Commonwealth campuses
The first two years of education for any Penn State major are available at all campuses; however, some majors can be completed only at specific campuses.
;Notes:
See also
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Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education
The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) is a state agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania that oversees 10 state-owned universities. Collectively, it is the largest provider of higher education in the commonwealth. All ...
References
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*
Campuses of Penn State Accessed 23 November 2005
External links
Office of the Vice President for Commonwealth Campuses
{{The Pennsylvania State University
Satellite campuses