Penn State University

A university in Pennsylvania, The Pennsylvania State University (commonly referred to as Penn State) was founded in 1855 by order of the Commonwealth government as Agricultural College of Pennsylvania. The campus was designated a land grant college. The main campus, University Park, is found in State College, just east of the geographic center of the state. It is among the top research universities in the country, known for its breadth of strong programs in engineering, business, and the sciences. Only the best students gain admission to the University Park campus for freshman year. Additionally, PSU comprises 19 other campus locations and several "special-mission" campuses. More than 80,000 students attend the university with over half in University Park.

Penn State was the first college in the United States to award baccalaureate and graduate degrees in agriculture, the first to operate a nuclear reactor capable of reaching criticality, and the first to found a graduate program for Native Americans.

Pennsylvania State University should not be confused with the University of Pennsylvania (commonly referred to as "Penn"), another high-quality, research-oriented university located in Philadelphia. Penn State is a public school, while Penn is private, although Penn State actually gets a very small percentage of its budget from public funds compared to most public universities.

Penn State has a large football following and attracts tens of thousands of visitors to its campus, also known a "Happy Valley", Autumn Saturdays for tailgating and games.

Penn State's mascot is the Nittany Lion. They participate in the NCAA Division I-A and in the Big Ten Conference.