Facts and Rankings

For more than 150 years we've been leaders in higher education, as shown by rankings from those who monitor academe from the outside. Here are a few examples of recent rankings, primarily relating to our academic standing. Additional information about the University can be found in Penn State’s Data Digest.

Recent Rankings

U.S. News & World Report "Best Colleges" (Undergraduate) 2022-23

Penn State ranks 31st among national public universities in U.S. News' annual "Best Colleges" rankings for 2022-23. Penn State is in the top 25 among American Association of Universities public institutions and tied for 77th overall among 443 institutions included in the overall "National Universities" ranking.

Specialty Undergraduate Programs

Individual undergraduate program rankings released by U.S. News include seven top-10 ratings for select programs in engineering and business, among others.

Best Undergraduate Business Programs

Penn State tied for #23 in “Best Undergraduate Business Programs,” out of 516 ranked institutions. In addition, the University ranked in the following specialties:

  • #4 in Supply Chain Management/Logistics (tie)
  • #9 in Insurance (tie)
  • #10 in Production/Operation Management
  • #13 in Real Estate
  • #14 in Management (tie)
  • #27 in Marketing (tie)
  • #28 in Accounting (tie)
  • #31 in Finance (tie)

Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs (at schools whose highest degree is a doctorate)

Penn State tied for #22 out of 212 ranked institutions in “Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs.” In addition, the University ranked in the following specialties: 

  • #7 in Petroleum Engineering (tie)
  • #8 in Biological/Agricultural Engineering (tie)
  • #9 in Materials Engineering
  • #10 in Industrial/Manufacturing Engineering
  • #14 in Mechanical Engineering (tie)
  • #15 in Civil Engineering
  • #17 in Aerospace/Aeronautical/Astronautical Engineering
  • #18 in Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering
  • #23 in Electrical/Electronic/Communications Engineering (tie)
  • #21 in Chemical Engineering (tie)
  • #27 in Computer Engineering (tie)

 Best Undergraduate Computer Science Programs

  • Penn State tied for 37, out of 537 ranked programs.

Best Undergraduate Nursing Programs 

  • Penn State tied for 39, out of 681 ranked programs.

U.S. News & World Report, "America's Best Graduate Schools 2022-23"

U.S. News “Best Graduate Schools” ranks professional school programs in business, education, engineering, law, medicine and nursing, including specialties in each area.

#33 in Best Business Schools (Smeal College of Business) (tie)

  • #4 in Supply Chain/Logistics (tie)
  • #10 in Production/Operations
  • #26 in Management (tie)
  • #28 in Accounting (tie)
  • #39 in Business Analytics (tie)

#41 in Best Education Schools (College of Education) (tie)

  • #4 in Higher Education Administration (tie)
  • #4 in Student Counseling and Personnel Services (tie)
  • #7 in Educational Administration and Supervision
  • #12 in Special Education (tie)
  • #13 in Secondary Teacher Education (tie)
  • #14 in Curriculum and Instruction
  • #14 in Education Policy (tie)
  • #14 in Educational Psychology (tie)
  • #18 in Elementary Teacher Education (tie)

#32 in Best Engineering Schools (College of Engineering)

  • #7 in Petroleum Engineering
  • #9 in Nuclear Engineering (tie)
  • #10 in Industrial/Manufacturing/Systems Engineering (tie)
  • #11 in Biological/Agricultural Engineering
  • #11 in Materials Engineering
  • #14 in Mechanical Engineering (tie)
  • #15 in Aerospace/Aeronautical/Astronautical Engineering (tie)
  • #17 in Civil Engineering (tie)
  • #24 in Chemical Engineering (tie)
  • #25 in Electrical/Electronic/Communications Engineering (tie)
  • #27 in Computer Engineering (tie)
  • #34 in Biomedical Engineering/Bioengineering (tie)

Humanities and Social Sciences

  • #23 in Sociology
    —#3 in Sociology of Population (tie)
    —#15 in Social Stratification (tie)
  • #26 in Psychology (tie)
    —#5 in Industrial Organizational Psychology (tie)
  • #27 in Criminology
  • #27 in Economics (tie)
    —#9 in International Economics (tie)
    —#13 in Microeconomics
    —#17 in Econometrics (tie)

Public Affairs

  • #70 in Best Public Affairs Programs, University Park (tie)
  • #70 in Best Public Affairs Programs, Penn State Harrisburg School of Public Affairs (tie)

Sciences

  • #1 in Geology
  • #4 in Geochemistry
  • #6 in Earth Sciences (tie)
    —#2 in Environmental Sciences (tie)
    —#3 in Geology
    —#3 in Geochemistry (tie)
    —#7 in Paleontology (tie)
    —#9 in Geophysics (tie)
  • #19 in Statistics (tie)
  • #23 in Physics (tie)
    —#12 in Cosmology/Relativity/Gravity
    —#14 in Condensed Matter (tie)
    —#16 in Atomic/Molecular/Optical (tie)
  • #28 in Biostatistics (tie)
  • #30 in Chemistry (tie)
    —#16 in Biochemistry (tie)
    —#22 in Physical Chemistry (tie)
  • #32 in Mathematics (tie)
    —#32 in Applied Mathematics (tie)
  • #34 in Computer Science (tie)
    —#34 in Artificial Intelligence (tie)
  • #46 in Biological Sciences (tie)
  • #58 in Biology (tie)

Law

  • Penn State Law — #64 in Best Law Schools (tie)
  • Penn State Dickinson Law — #58 in Best Law Schools (tie)

U.S. News “Best Online Programs” Rankings, 2022 – Penn State World Campus

Penn State World Campus ranked in these graduate degree disciplines and the overall bachelor’s degree programs category.

  • #3 (tie), online graduate engineering
  • #8 (tie), online graduate education
  • #12 (tie), online graduate business (non-MBA)
  • #13 (tie), online graduate computer IT
  • #15 (tie), online MBA
  • #16 (tie), online bachelor’s programs

Specific disciplines within the program categories were also ranked. The specialties rankings were based on ratings provided by peer institutions. Read more here.

In addition, U.S. News ranked “Best Online Programs for Veterans” in six categories, with Penn State’s online bachelor’s programs at:

  • #3 (tie), online graduate engineering
  • #5, online graduate business (non-MBA)
  • #3, online graduate education
  • #8, online computer IT
  • #10 (tie), online MBA
  • #11 (tie), online bachelor’s programs

International University Rankings

Center for World University Rankings 2021-22

Penn State is ranked 54th among the best universities in the world for the quality of education of its students and the research prowess of its faculty.

QS World University Rankings 2023

Penn State is ranked at #93 internationally among 1,400 schools ranked in the 2023 QS World University Rankings, and ranked #9 among public universities in the United States.

U.S. News & World Report “Best Global Universities” 2022

Penn State is ranked at #80 internationally, among 1,750 institutions evaluated, across 91 countries, in U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Global Universities” for 2022.

Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2022

Penn State is ranked #119 internationally, among more than 1,600 institutions across 99 countries, by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings for 2022. The rankings are based on performance indicators that measure an institution’s performance across four areas: teaching, research, knowledge transfer, and international outlook.

Academic Ranking of World Universities (AWRU) 2022

The Academic Ranking of World Universities ranked Penn State in the range of 101-150 in its 2022 listing of the top 1,000 world-class universities, out of more than 1,800 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.

Additional Rankings

Times Higher Education University Impact Rankings 2021

Penn State ranked 3rd in the U.S. and 47th in the world out of 1,406 participating institutions in the 2022 Times Higher Education University Impact Rankings, placing Penn State in the top 3% 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 2021

Penn State has been ranked as the #21 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 Northeast, Penn State came in at #5.

Campus Pride Index 2022

Penn State has received 5 out of 5 stars for overall campus climate in the 2022 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 2022

Penn State ranked 22nd among all large U.S. employers for new college graduates entering the workforce, according to a Forbes survey.

Open Doors: Institute of International Education report, 2021

Penn State is listed among the top 14 U.S. institutions hosting international students in 2020-21, with 8,267 students at University Park in addition to more across the Commonwealth. Penn State is the #1 receiving institution in the state and #2 in the Big Ten.

Penn State also ranks 18th in study abroad programs, sending 1,189 University Park students abroad in 2020-21 as well as more from campuses across the Commonwealth.

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