Recent Rankings
U.S. News & World Report "Best Colleges" (Undergraduate) 2020
Penn State ranks No. 57 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,” and No. 30 for “Best Colleges for Veterans.”
Best Undergraduate Business Programs
- #22 overall (Smeal College of Business)
- #2 in Supply Chain Management/Logistics (tie)
- #7 in Insurance (tie)
- #13 in Production/Operation Management
- #16 in Marketing (tie)
- #19 in Accounting (tie)
Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs (at schools whose highest degree is a doctorate)
- #25 overall (College of Engineering)
- #3 in Petroleum Engineering (tie)
- #8 in Industrial/Manufacturing Engineering
- #10 in Biological/Agricultural
- #10 in Materials Engineering (tie)
- #12 in Aerospace/Aeronautical/Astronautical Engineering
- #12 in Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering
- #13 in Civil Engineering
- #14 in Mechanical Engineering (tie)
- #18 in Electrical/Electronic/Communications Engineering
- #19 in Computer Engineering
- #20 in Chemical Engineering
U.S. News & World Report, "America's Best Graduate Schools 2020-21"
#41 in Best Business Schools (Smeal College of Business)
- #5 in Supply Chain/Logistics
- #12 in Production/Operations (tie)
- #17 in Real Estate (tie)
#36 in Best Education Schools (College of Education)
- #2 in Higher Education Administration (tie)
- #5 in Student Counseling and Personnel Services
- #10 in Educational Administration and Supervision
- #11 in Education Policy
- #13 in Secondary Teacher Education
- #14 in Special Education (tie)
- #14 in Educational Psychology
- #14 in Elementary Teacher Education
- #15 in Curriculum and Instruction (tie)
#35 in Best Engineering Schools (College of Engineering)
- #5 in Petroleum Engineering (tie)
- #9 in Nuclear Engineering (tie)
- #11 in Industrial/Manufacturing/Systems Engineering
- #11 in Biological/Agricultural Engineering
- #11 in Materials Engineering
- #15 in Aerospace/Aeronautical/Astronautical Engineering (tie)
- #17 in Mechanical Engineering (tie)
Nursing
- #30 in Best Nursing Schools: Master’s (tie) (College of Nursing)
Health Disciplines (last ranked in 2016)
- #10 in Clinical Psychology (tie)
- #4 in Rehabilitation Counseling (tie)
Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities
- #5 in Developmental Psychology (tie)
- #5 in Criminology
- #6 in Ceramics
- #11 in International Economics
- #17 in Sociology (tie)
- #17 in Sociology of Population (tie)
Sciences
- #1 in Geology
- #3 in Environmental Sciences
- #4 in Geochemistry
- #5 in Earth Sciences
- #9 in Cosmology/Relativity/Gravity (Physics)
- #11 in Condensed Matter (Physics) (tie)
- #20 in Statistics (tie)
- #20 in Chemistry
Law
- Penn State Law — #60 in Best Law Schools (tie)
- Penn State Dickinson Law — #62 in Best Law Schools (tie)
U.S. News 2020 “Best Online Programs” Rankings – Penn State World Campus
Penn State is ranked No. 8 (tied) for the best online bachelor's programs in the country in U.S. News & World Report’s 2020 “Best Online Programs." In addition, the University ranks highly in online graduate programs:
- #6 for best online graduate engineering programs
- #6 for best online graduate computer information technology programs
- #6 (tied) for best online MBA programs
- #7 for best online graduate education programs
- #8 (tied) for best online graduate business programs excluding MBA
In addition, U.S. News ranked the University at No. 6 (tied) for Penn State’s online bachelor’s programs for veterans. In addition, online graduate programs for veterans ranked:
- #2 in online graduate education
- #4 in online MBA
- #4 in online graduate business
- #5 in online graduate engineering
- #5 in online graduate computer information technology
Times Higher Education University Impact Rankings 2020
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.
The global rating is a broad multidimensional assessment of a university’s research, community outreach and education, and campus operations, and is linked to the United Nations’ seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In addition to being in the top 5 percent globally, Penn State ranked worldwide No. 6 in SDG 14, Life Below Water; No. 13 for SDG 15, Life on Land; and No. 17 for SDG 6, Clean Water and Sanitation, among international institutions that submitted for specific SDGs.