Choosing Your Campus

Where do you want to be?

Penn State attracts students from more than 130 countries. Our international students do not just study at one campus—they study at campuses across the state, with many taking advantage of the smaller class sizes and personalized attention that can help make transitioning to a new country easier.

To fully understand your Penn State options, it is best to research our campuses early in the application process. Whether you want to study in an urban or rural environment, live on or off campus, or attend a larger or smaller campus, Penn State provides a unique educational opportunity for international students. 

Penn State International Campus Options.

While you may apply to any of our 19 campuses--except Shenango--the Penn State Abington, Penn State Altoona, Penn State Beaver, Penn State Behrend, Penn State Berks, Penn State Brandywine, Penn State Harrisburg, Penn State Lehigh Valley, and Penn State York campuses offer support services for international students.

While the map of Pennsylvania above helps you understand where all of our Penn State campuses are located, each campus is distinctly unique and the location is only one of many differences. To help you understand more about our campuses, visit our complete campus list for further details.

Research Penn State Campuses

Campuses with on-campus housing:

Campuses with privately owned housing in the communities they serve:

Penn State Campuses and the Application Process

Due to a large number of options for students, we encourage international applicants to explore our campus details available above to learn about the different offerings at each campus. Researching multiple Penn State campuses is essential for both first-year and transfer international students as sometimes a student’s desired campus(es) may not be an option for admission.

First-Year International Applicants

Penn State requires students to provide a first choice and an alternate campus when completing their application. Please understand that we evaluate in the order of your preference.

If students are not eligible for admission to their first choice campus, often times, they may receive an offer of admission to their alternate choice campus, then transition to their first choice campus after their sophomore year through the 2+2 plan.

To understand how to complete the application, as well as the review process as it relates to a student’s alternate campus selection, visit exploring Penn State campuses under the first-year student section. 

Penn State's 2+2 Plan for First-Year Applicants

The 2+2 plan allows students admitted to Penn State to spend their first two years at one campus and transition to another for their remaining two years. Whether first-year students apply to a campus with the intention of participating in the 2+2 plan, or they receive an offer to their alternate choice campus and have the option of attending another campus after two years, Penn State’s 2+2 plan gives students options. The vast majority of Penn State’s majors can be completed in this fashion, and it’s actually the most common path to a Penn State degree - more than 50% of our students opt for this path in a typical year. Learn more about the advantages of the 2+2 plan. 

Transfer International Applicants

When applying as a transfer student to Penn State, certain majors and/or campuses may be limited based on program or campus restrictions. For this reason, it is best to familiarize yourself with multiple Penn State campuses because your first choice of campus or program may not be an option. For more details, review our eligibility for transfer students.