Experience and Community

Graduate School is More Than a Degree

Welcome to Penn State University! We're sure this sentiment has been echoed by your program since your acceptance of Penn State’s invitation. We’d like to second it at the Fox Graduate School. Your time and energy spent thinking about your career path, researching programs, preparing an application, considering your options, and eventually committing to continue your journey here have all led you to this moment. You are a member of the Penn State community.

But what does being a Penn Stater actually mean?

While some might believe they are fortunate to be here, and in truth being a part of this place affords a wealth of opportunity, it is also true that  the university is fortunate to have you. The quality of the university and program in which you’ve enrolled is wholly dependent on the quality of students and faculty that have chosen to be a part of it. The wealth of skills, perspectives, and experiences that you bring to Penn State enrich this community as much as your academic achievements. While your being here allows you to refine the gifts you already have and develop new skills, your presence here comes with our trust that you will share these gifts with others.

This is the beauty of the graduate school experience.

Beyond meeting the academic requirements of your program and succeeding in your scholarship, the value of your experience here is equally measured by the relationships you build with others - with those not only within your field of study, but also across disciplines, not only with those whose perspectives align with your own, but also with those whose experiences and views depart significantly from your own. These exchanges and the collaborative relationships that are sustained by them are what enrich your experience here and enrich the larger community.  The question we challenge you to answer each day of your life here at Penn State is:  What can we build together?

We hope that you will build a rich community for yourself at Penn State. The individuals in this community, and how you support and challenge each other, will define your experience at Penn State now, and in the future, as you reflect on your time here after you’ve left campus.

Although this might seem relatively far away, once you’ve graduated and embarked on the careers that your time at Penn State has prepared you for, you will remain a Penn Stater, and a custodian of the values that this university holds dear.  Make the most of your experience here, reach beyond the requirements of your program, and commit yourself to learn from one another.

 

Connections Keep Happening (1:13 minutes)