The Nittany Lion mascot points his finger at the camera while posing with a bunch of students on the Carnegie Building steps

Prospective

Prospective Student Overview

Big School Resources, Small School Feel

We combine the opportunities and resources of a large university with the personalized feel and support of a small school. Recognizing the best learning environments are not limited to classrooms, our program is grounded in “The Three C’s” of classroom instruction, campus media opportunities and career preparation.

Explore the College
Facilities
Student Support
Media Opportunities
Internships
Alumni
At-a-Glance
Virtual Tour
Our Location

A fancy concrete and wood lobby with brightly-colored chairs is buzzing with activities as students move through

Our Facilities

Our state-of-the-art facilities include the Bellisario Media Center, which houses classrooms, control rooms, production studios, team spaces, voiceover booths and more.

An adviser in a plaid Penn State dress shirt helps a young woman in a red sweater review potential majors.

Student Support

We take student support seriously. Our advising and career services offices are here to assist you with course and major selection, study abroad opportunities and career preparation.

Our Office of Diversity and Inclusion provides important services to students. In addition, Penn State provides a variety of resources for parents.

Ranked #2

The 10 Colleges with the Best Career Services, CollegeMagazine.com, 2014

A young woman's face and camera are lit by stylish light with a very dark, moody background

Campus Media Opportunities

Opportunities on campus are where you expand your experience, start building your portfolio, and prepare for internships and a career.

A redheaded student wearing a black jacket concentrates while typing a story on a laptop

Group of students posing behind a newscasting set

Colorful illustration of a large group of people observing a meeting and taking notes

A student wearing a green shirt lies on the grass with headphones on and a recording microphone while another student poses in the background for a video shoot

Two students smile while doing a radio broadcast

Composite image with The Daily Collegian newspaper masthead in the foreground and four students hunched over papers spread across a floor

The letters HVC in 3 shades of blue with smaller text that reads Happy Valley Comm

Two students stand on the set of a sports show. At left is a woman with long blond hair wearing a red sleeveless dress. At right, a man in gray suit jacket with a striped tie.

La Vie

Words Onward State on a light blue background

PSNtv

Arianna Eichhof - Journalism major at the News Lab

Words reading The Underground in all caps on a black background

A student with light streaks in the foreground holds their hands around their chin

The word Valley set in a thin serif in all caps on a pink background

A young woman with long blonde hair wears a blue sweater as she talks on air surrounded by lots of microphones

White letters WPSU subtagged with Penn State on a dark blue background

Internships & Employment

If you read on a college message board that you must attend a city school because of the internship opportunities, don't believe it. Our students complete more than 350 for-credit internships each year.

Our dedicated internship office has built relationships with thousands of companies all across the country.

: Students complete more than 350 for-credit internships every year, and they have done so at literally thousands of sites across a variety of different disciplines. Students are encouraged to complete internships and can get abundant support from the Office of Internships and Career Services.
: Students are encouraged to complete multiple internships, because they provide real-world experience and allow students to sample a variety of different positions and working environments — enabling them to know both what they like and do not like about a specific career path.
: Internships are highly recommended — employers value hands-on, real-life experience — but not required.
: Each internship location has its own policies about compensation. In general, those close to the TV/media industry are unpaid, simply because they are so popular with many students competing for coveted spots. Some other internships are paid positions.

A mixed group of faculty and students on an international course experience pose in front of a Polish Airlines jet.

Other Opportunities

Expand your horizons across the country, or the world as you prepare for the professional environment of the 21st century with our wide variety of academic, professional and cultural opportunities.

Skyline of a city with a tripod sculpture and woods in the foreground

International Opportunities

Two-story white building with four columns and twenty-two windows with a fountain and green lawn in the foreground

Washington Program

Sun dappled image of the famous hollywood sign set as individual white letters on a dusty hillside

Hollywood Program

Alumni

Our alumni return to campus often, visit classes and regularly host events and students at their places of business. Our mentoring program, special events and resources make networking a part of the educational process and help lead students to success.

A singer holding a microphone in his right hand and raising his left arm performs in front of a bright pink, yellow, and orange lit background

Three story building on a corner is lit up with holiday lights and shot in time-lapse so there are light streaks in the foreground

Student on a green bike with a colorful basket of flowers stands at campus gates with a view looking at a downtown block of small shops and lined with trees

Stone building with large doors and two big columns lit up at night and framed behind softly-focused yellow leaves in the foreground

An arena full of dancing people on the floor is framed behind two people forming triangles with their fingers in the foreground

An aroboretum in the foreground with lots of pink and orange flowers with a large brick and glass building in the distance

A tan limestone statue of a mountain lion is framed by purple and yellow flowers

A stone clock tower lit up at night is framed by tree leaves in the foreground

A drone image of a clock tower and campus grounds with a mountain and clouds in the background

Several people walk on a broad sidewalk with leaves turning colors for the fall season

A student wearing headphones and backwards baseball cap studies in a library with his yellow skateboard resting against the desk

Penn State At-a-Glance

#1

Best Alumni Network

Princeton Review, 2019

#1

Best Average Finish in Big Ten and Northeast, Hearst Journalism Awards Program, 2007-2019

#1

Three Consecutive National Championships, Hearst Journalism Awards Program, 2012-14

#2

Colleges with alumni who will jump-start your career

Business Insider, 2016

Top 50

Undergrad Entrepreneurship Program

The Princeton Review, 2024

Top Ten

Top Journalism Schools, #8

CollegeMagazine.com, 2019

Top Five

Outstanding Education Program

PRWeek, 2019

“Strong Curriculum”

Recruiter Comment

Cream of the Crop, Wall Street Journal, September 12, 2010

Most Promising

Annual Ranked as a Leader by Students

American Advertising Federation's Most Promising Minority Students Program

Top 50

Public National University

U.S. News and World Report

100 Best Values

Ranked in the Top 100 Best Values in Public Colleges

Kiplinger's Personal Finance

40,000

Undergraduates at the University Park Campus

In the Middle of Nowhere, and The Center of It All

Campus and town offer a lot, and the mountains and cities are not far away. With many large East Coast cities nearby (more than 20 million people live within a half-day drive) and the University Park Airport conveniently close to campus, road trips, internships, international opportunities and potential jobs are all within your grasp.