UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — More than 900 Penn State World Campus students will graduate from Penn State at the culmination of the summer 2025 semester.
The students’ academic achievements will be recognized during the University’s commencement ceremony on Aug. 16.
Penn State World Campus graduates and their families are also invited each semester to attend a reception at the University Park campus to recognize their achievements and meet faculty, academic advisers, and other staff who helped them reach this day.
The big picture
The summer graduates of the Penn State World Campus Class of 2025 include 927 students. They will earn degrees from 94 different academic programs. Here is a breakdown by the level of the degree they will receive:
- 375 students will receive a bachelor’s degree.
- 509 students will receive a master’s degree.
- Two students will receive a doctoral degree.
- 41 students will receive an associate degree.
Students in the summer group of the Class of 2025 hail from 46 states and 20 different countries, including Kenya, Canada, China and Qatar.
The students range in age from 19 to 70. There are 148 graduates with a military affiliation, such as being an active-duty service member, a veteran, a military spouse or a reservist.
Forty-eight of the students are graduating with at least the second degree they have earned online through Penn State World Campus.
Student marshal
Student marshals have the highest grade-point average among all graduates of their academic college, and they lead their fellow graduates as they enter the floor of the arena where the commencement ceremony takes place.
Bryan Wright will lead graduates in the Penn State College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST) ceremony. Wright will graduate summa cum laude with a bachelor of science in security and risk analysis, information and cybersecurity option, a major that stood out to him because of its focus on solving real-world problems with technology.
“I wanted to challenge myself, learn new skills, and build technology that could help and protect people,” he said. “With the demands of military life, it’s taken time to make steady progress. Penn State provided me with the structure and momentum I needed to stay on track and continue working toward a goal I had held for a long time.”
Military students
Twelve of the 927 graduating students are sergeants major in the U.S. Army who completed a master’s degree through a fellowship program.
Through the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy Fellowship, the sergeants major earned a master of education in lifelong learning and adult education while stationed at the academy in Fort Bliss, Texas.
Upon completion of the degree, they will teach the Sergeants Major Course, which prepares the military’s next generation of leaders with skills they need on and off the battlefield and helps them earn college credit.
The fellowship program started in 2015, and 150 sergeants major have graduated with a master’s degree in education.
Graduating with a Penn State degree earned online
Penn State World Campus has been offering a Penn State education online for more than 25 years. It has a comprehensive portfolio of more than 200 degree and certificate programs available in fields such as business, technology, education, health care, liberal arts, and more.
Graduating Penn State World Campus students can be a part of signature Penn State experiences, such as commencement, just like their peers. The students can choose to attend one of the commencement ceremonies across Penn State’s 24 campuses during graduation weekend.