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Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Harrisburg Overview

2 awards Ranking Badges
Fair Price Value for Your Money
98% Acceptance Rate

Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Harrisburg is a public institution in Middletown, Pennsylvania enrolling 4,031 undergraduates. It accepts 98% of applicants and has an on-time graduation rate of 26%, below the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #981 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 19%), and its Value for Your Money analysis rates it a Fair Price.

Source: IPEDS 2025; College Scorecard July 2026; College Factual rankings 2027. Data as of: July 2026.

How Is Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Harrisburg Ranked?

Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Harrisburg ranks #981 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 19%.

#981 Best Colleges in Nation
#70 Best Colleges in PA
Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Harrisburg ranking badge

2027 Rankings

In its yearly rankings, College Factual analyzes over 2,000 colleges and universities to determine which ones are the best in a variety of categories, such as overall value, quality, diversity, which schools are the best for each major, and much more.

Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Harrisburg was awarded 2 badges in the 2027 rankings.

Overall Quality

Penn State Harrisburg is ranked #981 out of 5,159 schools in the nation for overall quality on College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges list. This puts it in the top 20% of all schools in the nation.

Within the state, Penn State Harrisburg holds the #70 spot on the Best Colleges in Pennsylvania ranking.

See all of the rankings for Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Harrisburg.

Is It Hard to Get Into Pennsylvania State U-Penn State Harrisburg?

98% Acceptance Rate
98% Of Accepted Are Women
23% Submit SAT Scores

Acceptance Rate

With an acceptance rate of 98%, Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Harrisburg is easier to get into than many other schools. But that doesn’t mean you can slack off on your application. Make sure to treat this school like any other when submitting requested materials and documents.

Average Test Scores

About 23% of students accepted to Penn State Harrisburg submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 550 and 650. Math scores were between 570 and 660.

SAT Reading and Writing Scores for Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Harrisburg  ( 550 to 650 )
200
800
SAT Math Scores for Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Harrisburg  ( 570 to 660 )
200
800

Penn State Harrisburg received ACT scores from 3% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT Composite scores ranged between 22 and 31.

ACT Composite Scores for Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Harrisburg  ( 22 to 31 )
1
36

Learn more about Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Harrisburg admissions.

What Is the Student-to-Faculty Ratio at Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Harrisburg?

15 to 1 Student to Faculty
60% Full Time Teachers

Student to Faculty Ratio

With a student to faculty ratio of 15 to 1, Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Harrisburg is about average in this regard as the nationwide rate is 15 to 1. While this does not translate directly to class size, it’s a good indicator of how much time professors will have to spend with their students on a one-on-one basis.

Percent of Full-Time Faculty

In addition to the student to faculty ratio, some people look at what percentage of faculty members are full-time as a sign of how much time professors will be able to spend with their students. This is because part-time teachers may not be on campus as much as their full-time counterparts.

The full-time faculty percentage at Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Harrisburg is 60%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.

Full-Time Faculty Percent  60 out of 100
0
100

What Are the Graduation and Retention Rates at Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Harrisburg?

82% Freshmen Retention
26% On-Time Graduation Rate

Freshmen Retention Rate

Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Harrisburg has a freshmen retention rate of 82%. That’s a good sign that full-time students like the school and their professors enough to want to stick around for another year. It’s also a sign that the admissions team did a good job in choosing applicants who were a good fit for the school.

Freshmen Retention Rate  82 out of 100
0
100

Graduation Rate

When we say that a student has graduated on time, we mean that they have finished their bachelor’s degree within four years. The on-time graduation rate at Penn State Harrisburg is 26%. That’s lower than the national rate of 33.3%.

On-Time Graduation Rate  26 out of 100
0
100

Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Harrisburg.

How Diverse Is Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Harrisburg?

4,031 Undergraduate Students
38.0% Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
40.5% Percent Women

In the current academic year, there are 4,031 undergraduates at Penn State Harrisburg.

Get more detailed information on the diversity at Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Harrisburg.

How Much Does Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Harrisburg Cost?

$17,140 Net Price
41% Take Out Loans
$24,856 Total Student Loans

The average net price of Penn State Harrisburg is $17,140. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group. See the table below for the net price for different income groups.

Net Price by Income Group for Penn State Harrisburg

$0-30 K $30K-48K $48-75 $75-110K $110K +
$16,219 $16,221 $21,176 $25,103 $29,834

The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid. Note that the net price is typically less than the published price for a school. For more information on the sticker price of Penn State Harrisburg, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.

Student Loan Debt

It’s not uncommon for college students to take out loans to pay for school. In fact, almost 66% of students nationwide depend at least partially on loans. At Penn State Harrisburg, approximately 41% of students took out student loans averaging $6,214 a year. That adds up to $24,856 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 6.4%. Although this is lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, you’ll still want to keep this in mind when taking out student loans. Get more details about paying for Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Harrisburg.

How Much Do Pennsylvania State U-Penn State Harrisburg Graduates Earn?

$63,435 Avg Salary of Grads
High Earnings Boost

Although some majors pay more than others, students who graduate from Pennsylvania State U-Penn State Harrisburg with a bachelor’s degree go on to jobs where they make an average salary of $63,435 in their early years. That’s great news for Pennsylvania State U-Penn State Harrisburg students since it is 29% more than the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year. Average Salary for Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Harrisburg Graduates

See which majors at Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Harrisburg make the most money.

Where Is Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Harrisburg Located?

Pennsylvania State
4,031 Undergraduate Students
Suburb Campus Setting

Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Harrisburg is an public institution located in Middletown, Pennsylvania. Penn State Harrisburg is located in a safe and convenient suburb. Get more details about the location of Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Harrisburg.

Location of Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Harrisburg

Get in touch with Pennsylvania State U-Penn State Harrisburg are listed below.

Contact Details
Address: 777 West Harrisburg Pike, Middletown, PA 17057-4846
Phone: 7179486250
Website: harrisburg.psu.edu
Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penn_State_Harrisburg
Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Penn-State-Harrisburg/335939599276?v=wall&filter=1
Twitter: twitter.com/PSUHarrisburg

What Majors Does Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Harrisburg Offer?

21 Majors With Completions
1,810 Undergraduate Degrees

In the latest year of available data, students from 21 majors graduated from Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Harrisburg. The following table lists the most popular undergraduate majors along with the average salary graduates from those majors make.

Most Popular Majors Completions Average Salary of Graduates
Multi-Disciplinary Studies 905 NA
Computer Information Systems 110 $78,445
Mechanical Engineering 78 $65,376
Civil Engineering 56 $61,387
Management Sciences & Methods 54 $93,250
General Psychology 42 $29,652
General Biology 35 $28,620
Nursing 33 $67,759
Electrical Engineering 32 $67,461
Criminal Justice & Corrections 32 $35,077

Learn more about the majors offered at Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Harrisburg along with which ones have the highest average starting salaries.

Does Penn State Harrisburg Offer Online Classes?

32% Take At Least One Class Online
0% Take All Classes Online

1,307 students took at least one online class at Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Harrisburg.

Online learning is becoming popular at even the oldest colleges and universities in the United States. Not only are online classes great for returning adults with busy schedules, they are also frequented by a growing number of traditional students.

Learn more about online learning at Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Harrisburg.

Want to see how other colleges compare to Penn State Harrisburg? Compare them side by side using College Combat, our free tool for head-to-head college comparisons.

Notes and References

Footnotes

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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