Future Students

The College of the Liberal Arts is

the place to find Your Place

Unlimited options and unwavering support to prepare you for life and any career you choose. It all starts here. Launch your legacy with the College of the Liberal Arts.

Liberal Arts by the Numbers

5,300

undergraduates

800

students participating in out-of-classroom experiences

1,000

student organizations

most diverse

student body

(at University Park)

5/5 stars for overall campus climate in the 2022 Campus Pride LGBTQ-Friendly Campus Climate Index

Academics

The College of the Liberal Arts is home to nearly 150 undergraduate majors, minors, integrated undergraduate-graduate degrees (IUGs), associate degrees, and certificates.

Majors

Minors

IUGs

Major of the Month: Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

Each month, we feature one of our 49 majors. Learn about the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Penn State and what our students and alumni are doing with their degrees.

Student Spotlight

Sean Eden

Sean has found numerous ways to pursue his goals and grow personally during his time at Penn State, from his classes to the organizations he’s involved with to the content he creates. Sean is majoring in Sociology and double minoring in Spanish and Deafness and Hearing Studies.

Program Spotlight

Sociology Major

Majoring in Sociology offers a unique opportunity to understand the hidden forces that shape human behavior and social groups, from families to entire nations. It helps you explore how social environments—like family, schools, and communities—affect individuals’ lives. By studying sociology at Penn State, which is ranked seventh in the world, you’ll learn to view complex social situations through a fresh, critical lens, making the invisible workings of society visible and empowering you to think deeply about the world around you. This major opens doors to careers in research, policy, education, and more, where understanding people and society is key.

Program Spotlight

Sociology Student Organizations

There are two student organizations specific to students majoring in Sociology. Sociology Club focuses on community service projects and career development events for sociology students. Students can also apply to join Alpha Kappa Delta International Honor Society of Sociology.

Alumni Spotlight

Azziyah LaRue

Azziyah interned with the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium and said her sociology courses helped her work well with the other interns. Azziyah double majored in Sociology and Security and Risk Analysis and minored in Information Sciences and Technology.

Program Spotlight

Out-of-Classroom Opportunities

Internships:

Office of Attorney General
Pennsylvania Department of Corrections
State College Police Department
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America
Penn State Justice and Safety Institute
Walt Disney Corporation
The Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia
Northeastern Law School Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project
U.S. Department of Justice
Google
Teach for America
Dauphin County DA
Education Abroad

Destinations:

Netherlands
Curaçao
Ireland
Austria
Spain

Alumni Spotlight

Lenneya Murray

Lenneya’s interest in true crime—her love for the law and her interest in people and their stories—has helped the Paterno Fellow and Schreyer Scholar define her undergraduate path in criminology and sociology.

Program Spotlight

Post-Graduation Opportunities

Continuing Education:

Medical school
Law school
Graduate school to study public health, counseling, education, social work, or human resources

Alumni Industries

Legal defense, aid, and alternative justice
Public service
Security/intelligence
Government and politics
Law enforcement

Alumni Spotlight

Jamie Nguyen

Jamie, a 2024 Paterno Fellow, Schreyer Scholar, and Chaiken Scholar alumna, was a first-generation college student who majored in Sociology and Film Production and hopes to create social commentary films about the Asian American diaspora.

Alumni Spotlight

Caroline Fitzgerald

Caroline is the CEO and founder of GOALS—a women’s sports marketing consultancy and media platform based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Caroline launched GOALS in 2020 after recognizing that there was an opportunity to help brands, networks, and fans see the social and economic value that can come from investing in women’s sports. Caroline graduated from Penn State with bachelor’s degrees in Women’s Studies and Marketing in 2012.

Program Spotlight

Transferable Skills

Communication and Presentation Skills
Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving Skills
Data Collection and Analysis
Research and Organization
Leadership

Out-of-Classroom Experiences Spotlight

Triota Honor Society

Iota Iota Iota, known as Triota, is an honor society that encourages and supports scholarship, excellence, and activism in the field of women’s, gender, and sexuality studies.

Program Spotlight

Post-Graduation Opportunities

Continuing Education

Law school
Graduate school to study homeland security, forensic psychology, library and information science, and social work

Alumni Industries

Communications
Consulting
Management
Non-Profit
Risk Analysis
Social Service

Student Spotlight

Alex Herrera

Graduate student Alex Herrera received the Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad fellowship to conduct her dissertation research for six months in Guatemala. Her research examines how transnational networks of doctors, public health officials, politicians, police, and sex workers shaped prostitution regulations and medical knowledge about sexually transmitted infections, particularly syphilis, in Guatemala City from 1890 to 1940.

Program Spotlight

Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Major

This major examines identity, social power, and privilege, focusing on how societies construct inequality and bias. It critically analyzes all aspects of life, considering socio-political inequalities and lived experiences of women and their families.

Out-of-Classroom Experiences Spotlight

Education Abroad

This past summer, ten Liberal Arts students met with many reproductive justice organizations and conducted research for the South African Women’s Legal Center in Cape Town through a faculty-led program that explored the history and contemporary politics of reproductive justice in South Africa.

Out-of-Classroom Experiences Spotlight

Internships

Students in this major have interned with companies and organizations such as:

American Cancer Society
U.S. Department of State
The Borgen Project
Minnesota Women’s Press
Super Purposes, LLC

Student Services

The College of the Liberal Arts is a community of people with a genuine interest in developing long-standing interpersonal relationships that help students succeed before and after they graduate. With this goal in mind, Liberal Arts Student Services connect students with the resources and opportunities they need to be successful. Our Student Services offices are all centrally located on the first floor of Sparks Building.

Academic Advising
Academic Scholarships
Career Enrichment Network
Chaiken Center for Student Success
Office of Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity
Paterno Fellows Program

Beyond the Classroom

Learning outside the classroom is an important part of a Penn State Liberal Arts education. Participating in out-of-classroom experiences like internships, education abroad, and research can play an integral role in personal, academic, and career development, offering students the opportunity to set themselves apart.

Our Career Enrichment Network offers a variety of professional development opportunities for students, including our Alumni Mentor Program, a Living Learning Community, and Liberal Arts Career Week.

I think interning somewhere helps you understand what you like and what you don't like in a company. What I learned from [my experience at Amazon] was culture is big to me. I want a company that has a really healthy culture, really healthy work environment and is very team-oriented.

Sarah Stein

Admissions

Have you already applied or been admitted to the College of the Liberal Arts? There are some next steps you should take, including applying for financial aid and academic scholarships and preparing for New Student Orientation. You can also read through our FAQs.

Parents and Families

Our college prepares students for life beyond the classroom and for whatever career paths they may choose—even if they haven’t chosen a specific path just yet. We also want to make it easy for you to get the information you need.

You can also read and watch our student stories on social media:

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Penn State College of the Liberal Arts (@pennstateliberalarts) • Instagram photos and videos

Future Students

Academics

Major of the Month: Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

Sean Eden

Caroline Fitzgerald

Student Services

Beyond the Classroom

Admissions

Parents and Families

You can also read and watch our student stories on social media:

Academics

Admissions

Academics

Funding

Beyond the Classroom

Professional Development

Student Services

Admissions

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging

Global Asias 7 Conference

Trending Pages

Diversity, Equity,
Inclusion, and Belonging