Pennsylvania State University is one of the “Public Ivies”: a publicly funded institution that is thought to provide a standard of education comparable to that offered by the elite Ivy League. Penn State is one of the largest universities in the US. It offers more than 160 undergraduate degree programs and a similar number of postgraduate qualifications while conducting more than $800 million-worth of research every year. The majority of students are based on the main campus, University Park, located in the center of the state.

Penn State has two law schools, as well as the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, which treats more than 1 million patients every year. The institution also operates Penn State World Campus, allowing students from around the world to study for the university’s qualifications online. All this growth was unimaginable when Penn State began in 1855, as the Farmers’ High School of Pennsylvania.

Some popular programs at Pennsylvania State University are Petroleum Engineering, Marketing, Supply chain management, and many more.

Pennsylvania State University World Ranking

  • For the Global Ranking of 2022, Times Higher Education World University Ranking ranked the Pennsylvania State University on the 119th position where it was tied with the University of Bonn.
  • In the QS World University Ranking, this renowned University bagged the #93 rank for the year 2023.
  • Penn State is ranked No. 54 internationally among 2,000 schools ranked in the most recent Center for World University Rankings.
  • Penn State is ranked No. 80 internationally, among 1,500 institutions evaluated, in U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Global Universities” for 2022.
  • Academic Ranking of World Universities has ranked Penn State at No. 98 in its 2019 listing of the top 1,000 world-class universities, out of more than 1,800 institutions ranked worldwide
  • Penn State ranked third in the U.S. and 35th in the world out of 767 international institutions that participated in the Times Higher Education (THE) University Impact Rankings.
Agency / Publication Ranking
ARWU 101-150
QS 93
THE 119
U.S News and World Report 80

Pennsylvania State University National Ranking

  • QS ranked Penn State University as the 47th Top University in USA.
  • Times Higher Education ranking, awarded the 109th position to the Pennsylvania State University in the US College Ranking 2021.
  • Penn State ranks No. 63 overall among national universities in U.S. News & World Report’s 2020 “Best Colleges” rankings. In addition, U.S. News ranked the University at No. 18 nationally among “Top Public Schools
  • In the most recent Center for World University Rankings and ranked No. 43 in the United States.
  • The Penn State University is touted as the 63rd Best National University by the U.S.News Ranking 2022.
  • U.S. News & World Report, “America’s Best Graduate Schools 2020-21”
  • #41 in Best Business Schools in US (Smeal College of Business)
Agency / Publication Ranking
ARWU 42 - 56
Forbes 117
THE/WSJ 109
Washington Monthly 63
U.S. News and World Report 108

Pennsylvania State University Subject Specific Ranking

U.S News ranked the subjects offered by Penn State University for the year 2022.

Subject Name Ranking
Management 12
Production/ Operation management 12
Biological/ Agricultural 6
Supply Chain Management 4

Penn State ranks No. 57 overall among best universities in U.S. News & World Report’s 2020 “Best Colleges” rankings. In addition, U.S. News ranked the University at No. 18 nationally among “Top Public Schools,” and No. 30 for “Best Colleges for Veterans.”

Pennsylvania State University Best Undergraduate Business Programs

  • #33 overall (Smeal College of Business) (tie)
  • #4 in Supply Chain Management/Logistics (tie)
  • #10 in Production/Operation Management

Pennsylvania State University Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs

  • #32 overall (College of Engineering)
  • #7 in Petroleum Engineering (tie)
  • #10 in Industrial/Manufacturing Engineering
  • #11 in Biological/Agricultural
  • #11 in Materials Engineering (tie)
  • #9 in Neuclear Engineering

QS World University Ranking ranks the subjects offered by Pennsylvania State University. The subjects considered as top, are –

  • Geophysics – #15
  • Archaeology – #15
  • Engineering Mineral & Mining – #20
  • Earth & Marine Sciences – #18
  • Nursing – #35

Pennsylvania State University v/s Other Universities

Given below is the comparison of Penn State University v/s University of California and University of Michigan – Ann Arbor as per Times Higher Education:

University Name Pennsylvania State University University of Michigan – Ann Arbor University of California
Ranking 119(THE) 24 (THE) 20 (THE)
Status Public Public Public
Teaching 49.3 78.6 82.1
Research 60.3 85.4 89.8
Overall Score 60.1 83.1 86.7

Pennsylvania State University Miscellaneous Ranking

Penn State U.S. News & World Report, “Best Children’s Hospitals 2020”

For the 10th consecutive year, Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital ranks among the nation’s best hospitals for children in multiple specialties—cardiology and heart surgery (No. 16), cancer (No. 38), pulmonology (No. 38), neonatology (No. 40), and nephrology (No. 48).

Penn State Design Intelligence 2019-20 Ranking

Penn State’s undergraduate landscape architecture programs have been ranked No. 1, and its graduate programs ranked at No. 11, by DesignIntelligence’s annual Architecture Schools Survey.

In addition, Penn State’s undergraduate architecture programs rank No. 13 nationwide, and its graduate programs at No. 28.

Penn State Gartner Inc. Ranking

According to technology research firm Gartner Inc. Penn State Smeal College of Business ranks No. 3 in undergraduate and graduate programs in supply chain management in the country in 2020.

Penn State Campus Pride Index 2019 Ranking

Penn State has received 5 out of 5 stars for overall campus climate in the 2019 Campus Pride Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Questioning-Friendly Campus Climate Index for 2019. Campus Pride is a national nonprofit organization for student leaders and campus groups working to improve LGBTQ environments at colleges and universities.

Penn State Institute of International Education Open Doors Report Ranking

Penn State ranks 13th in the U.S. and 1st in Pennsylvania for institutions hosting international students in 2018-19, with 9,396 students at the University Park campus, in addition to several more thousand at its campuses across the Commonwealth, according to the latest IIE annual Open Doors report.

Penn State Association of Research Libraries Ranking

The Association of Research Libraries Library Investment Index Rankings list of top research universities in North America ranks the Penn State University Libraries at No. 7 among top national research libraries, and No. 2 among top national public research libraries, for 2017-18, the latest report available.

Penn State Top Producers of Fulbright U.S. Scholars and Students Ranking

The Chronicle of Higher Education ranked Penn State as the top producer of Fulbright U.S. scholars among research institutions in the nation, with thirteen awards for 2019-20.