Students walking on campus

Welcome to the Graduate School at Penn State!

You have joined a large and dynamic community of scholars at one of the top Universities in the world, and we are truly excited to have you as a member of our community.

The next few years will be very busy for you as you take graduate courses, may engage in teaching and research activities, and pursue your area of scholarship. However, you are encouraged to take the time to engage in intellectual opportunities outside of your disciplinary field. You have a rare opportunity to sample knowledge across an incredible array of research domains. Take advantage of this: attend seminars or lectures outside of your field; engage graduate students outside of your program in discussions of their area of scholarship. The greatest advances are occurring at the cross-section of disciplinary fields and exposing yourself to what is occurring in other fields will best position you to be part of those advances.

Graduate students are critical to the mission and success of Penn State. Your contributions are an important part of the learning that occurs by all members of the graduate education community, as well as the research/scholarship, teaching, and outreach conducted all across the University, and your participation in each of these areas is truly valued.

Each of you has a home with your graduate program and in the department and college/school where your adviser is located. In addition, every graduate student has a home in the Graduate School, which is located in Kern Graduate Building at University Park, and includes our administrative and student services offices such as Graduate Enrollment Services, the Thesis Office, and the Office of Graduate Educational Equity Programs.

We hope you will visit the Kern Graduate Building and when you do, take a look at the plaques located on the wall outside the adjacent auditorium in the lobby that honor the 50th anniversary of degree conferral for every doctoral alum of the Graduate School. Many of you are here for a doctoral degree, and we look forward to the day that your name will be placed on one of those plaques.

To each and every one of you, best wishes for a successful academic year!

Welcome from Levon T. Esters, Dean of the Graduate School and Vice Provost for Graduate Education at Penn State