Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Wilkes-Barre

Public · Moderately Selective · PA

Photo: Joe Orbin (CC BY-SA 4.0)

School data & stats

TypePublic

LocationPA · Northeast

SettingRural

Undergrads313

Student:faculty10:1

Outcomes

4-yr grad rate16.9%

6-yr grad rate22.7%

Drop-out rate19.3%

Study abroad—

Cost

In-state tuition$14k

Out-of-state tuition$24k

Application fee—

Community

Racial diversity24.9%

Gender diversity33.9%

International0.3%

Identity—

Overview

Penn State Wilkes-Barre is a commonwealth campus in Lehman, near Wilkes-Barre in northeastern Pennsylvania, one of Penn State's network of smaller campuses that let students begin a Penn State degree without starting at the University Park flagship. Most students complete general education and the first two years of a major here before transferring to a larger Penn State campus to finish, though a handful of complete four-year degrees are offered on-site.

Academics

Surveying engineering is the campus's most distinctive offering — one of only a few such programs in the country — reflecting a broader commonwealth-campus pattern of pairing the standard Penn State two-year pathway with a small number of niche complete degrees.

Campus & student life

The campus is small and serves a largely regional, often commuter, student body from the surrounding coal-region communities of northeastern Pennsylvania, with a culture shaped more by that local commuter character than by a traditional residential college experience.

Worth knowing

Students planning to transfer to University Park or another larger Penn State campus after their first two years should confirm which majors are fully supported at Wilkes-Barre versus requiring a switch partway through.

wilkesbarre.psu.edu ↗

Admissions

Acceptance rate97%

Enrolled mid-50%SAT 1090–1330

Test policyoptional

Rec letters0

Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)

AdmissionRolling

Applying