Penn State's 20 Commonwealth campuses throughout Pennsylvania give you the freedom to live and learn in an environment that suits you best and have access to our 275+ majors.
Some students choose to remain at one campus for all four years, while other students spend their first two years at one campus and transition to another for their remaining two years.
We call it the 2+2 plan and it’s the most common path to a Penn State degree - more than 60% of our students begin their Penn State experience at a Commonwealth campus.
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Check out our selection of open houses, application workshops, and personalized visits to discover why Penn State Shenango is the perfect place for you.
This listing of interest areas can help you narrow down a major to explore 2+2 Plan possibilities.
- Agriculture and natural resources
- Architecture and environmental design
- Arts (visual and performing)
- Biological sciences
- Business and accounting
- Communications
- Computer and information systems
- Education
- Engineering
- Health professions
- Humanities and languages
- Interdisciplinary studies
- Physical sciences and mathematics
- Recreational services
- Social sciences
If none of those are quite what you're looking for, check out all of Penn State's 275+ majors.
What to expect
Most of our majors can be started at any campus, where you will take your General Education and prerequisite courses for your major before moving to your ending campus to complete the remaining courses for your major.
Your academic adviser will also make sure that you are on track to meet the entrance to major requirements for your chosen program. These requirements are the same whether you start at University Park or a Commonwealth campus.
Once you enroll at your starting campus, you do not need to reapply for admission when it's time to move to your second campus.
Instead, students work with their academic advisers to complete the change of campus process. This process happens during the fourth semester (end of sophomore year) for most students, in anticipation of moving to the second campus for the fifth semester (junior year).
You might like this plan if...
Some students do the 2+2 plan for the chance to stay close to home, others do it to save money after checking out the cost savings. Still others are looking for a particular campus environment, perhaps smaller classes or particular sports.
Whatever their reason and wherever their campus, they are excited to embark on their Penn State experience.