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University Park, PA · Journalism

Journalism at Penn State

Penn State graduates about 182 journalism majors a year, 2% of its graduating class. That puts it 12th of 271 schools we score for journalism, a standout program at 89 out of 100. Graduates in the major earn a median $62,000 four years out, 1.07× what the same major pays nationally. Research spending in the field runs about $3 million a year, a rough guide to how many labs and projects undergraduates can join.

Graduates a year1822% of the class
Median pay 4 years out$62,0001.07× the same major nationally
Research in the field$3Ma year, NSF
Admit rate61%whole school
SAT middle 50%1280–1410whole school

Around Penn State

University Park, PA, USA
University Park, PA, USA - panoramio (8)Photo: thomasrive · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
The Thomas Building at Penn State University Park. It contains classrooms, the s
Thomas Building Penn State University ParkPhoto: JohnDziak · CC0 · source
Hetzel Union Building-Robeson Center at Penn State University
HUB Robeson Center, west side entrancePhoto: JohnDziak · CC0 · source
A view of part of the Penn State University's University Park campus, seen from
Penn State HUB Lawn and Mt Nittany Seen From HUBPhoto: JohnDziak · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Where journalism happens

Buildings on campus that fit the field: Telecommunications Building.

Named buildings on the campus map: Academic 279 · Dorm 62 · Student housing 45 · Athletics 13 · Arts 13 · Dining 8.

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Nearby in the journalism ranking

  1. University of Washington 91
  2. Boston University 91
  3. University of Missouri 90
  4. American University 90
  5. The University of Texas–Austin 89
  6. Rutgers University–New Brunswick 88
  7. Fordham University 88
  8. University of Minnesota–Twin Cities 87

Other strong majors at Penn State

How the score works

The score is out of 100 and compares Penn State with every school we score in journalism. It weighs what graduates earn four years out against the same major nationally (25%), research spending in the field (20%, NSF), how many undergraduate courses the department lists (20%), the student body's test scores (20%) and the size of the program (15%, capped so size alone can't win). 80+ is a standout program, 65+ strong, 45+ solid. Sources: US Department of Education (College Scorecard, IPEDS), NSF HERD, each school's current course catalog, OpenStreetMap and Wikimedia Commons.

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