UNIVERSITY PARK — Penn State crossed a historic threshold over the weekend when it awarded its one millionth degree at summer commencement ceremonies on Aug. 15 at the University Park campus.
The rare milestone comes more than 170 years after the University — Pennsylvania’s first and only land-grant institution — was founded as the Farmers’ High School in 1855. Its first 11 graduates were awarded bachelor of scientific agriculture degrees in 1861.
Since then, Penn State has awarded more than 999,400 cumulative degrees. This weekend, the institution expects to award approximately 2,700 diplomas to students University-wide, officially crossing the millionth-degree milestone.
“This remarkable milestone honors the lasting legacy of Penn State’s past graduates, while illustrating the University’s ongoing commitment to educate, empower and support future generations,” said Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi. “We are incredibly proud of our alumni, whose achievements and leadership are making a profound difference in communities across Pennsylvania. Our newest graduates — like those before them and those still to come — join a remarkable network of Penn Staters committed to the pursuit of knowledge, community impact and service, and we can’t wait to see how they continue to change the world.”
Penn State marked the milestone during commencement ceremonies on Aug. 15, in addition to a variety of celebratory events throughout the fall semester. A few of the many commemorations include:
A statewide proclamation marking the historic milestone and Penn State’s impactful history across Pennsylvania, issued by Gov. Josh Shapiro, in addition to local proclamations from State College Mayor Ezra Nanes and the Borough of State College, and Centre County commissioners.
A limited-time commemorative ice cream flavor, voted on by the University community, to be unveiled by the Penn State Berkey Creamery. The winning flavor will be announced this week and will be available during the fall semester.
An opportunity for members of the Penn State community to support the next million degrees through a 1 Million Gifts campaign.
A mission-driven legacy
Penn State has built upon its land-grant mission to advance teaching, research and engagement to become a Top 25 U.S. research institution, offering more than 275 majors and 11,000 course offerings. Penn State remains a top higher education destination for students from Pennsylvania and beyond, with 86,557 students enrolled across the University, according to the annual enrollment snapshot released in October 2025.
August graduates join more than 800,000 living alumni around the world, and its alumni network — one of the largest in the world — provides networking, career services and mentoring services for all graduates, from first jobs to career changes.
