Indiana University of Pennsylvania

During the 2024–25 academic year, IUP students were awarded more than $26 million in scholarships from the university in addition to state and federal aid, and more than $2.5 million in housing scholarships have been given annually to students, for a total of more than $10 million in housing scholarships since 2021. A total of 78 percent of fall 2024 new, first-time students were offered renewable merit scholarships averaging $4,009. IUP provides more than $6 million annually in graduate student scholarships, graduate assistantships, teaching associateships, and funds to support graduate student research grants, professional development, and presentation of original scholarship at scholarly conferences.

IUP’s National Achievement Scholarships Office helps undergraduate and graduate students apply and get selected to some of the nation’s most prestigious scholarships and fellowships. IUP students and alumni have won a total of 21 Fulbright awards, 12 Barry M. Goldwater Scholarships, 21 Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarships, and 10 Freeman-Asia study abroad awards. 

In 2022, IUP was designated as a Doctoral University–High Research Activity (R2) by the National Center for Postsecondary Research’s Carnegie Classification in recognition of its commitment to research and student success; this ranking was reaffirmed in February 2025. IUP is one of only two public universities in Pennsylvania and one of only 97 public universities with this ranking in the United States. More than 3,900 colleges and universities are included in the ranking system. Annually, IUP faculty and staff secure an average of  $10 million in funding; about 20 percent of IUP faculty participate in some kind of grant-funded activity.

IUP is also the only member of Pennsylvania's State System of Higher Education selected for the 2025 “Opportunity College and University-Higher Access, Higher Earnings” designation, which recognizes institutions with graduates who earn salaries that are 50 percent above (or more) than their peers in similar fields and institutions that provide access to students that reflect the communities that they serve. Only 20 Pennsylvania public institutions earned the “Higher Access, Higher Earnings” designation, and only 16 percent (479) of colleges and universities in the nation earned the recognition, which was also open to career-focused area institutions.

Consistently ranked nationally as a "Best for Vets" university, a "Military Friendly School," a “Best for Military Spouses” school and serving as a Yellow Ribbon university, IUP is also home to an ROTC program that has produced more than 2,000 U.S. Army second lieutenants,  12 generals, a number of Navy admirals, along with the 2009 ROTC Top Cadet in the Nation.

IUP has been included Princeton Review's Best Colleges guidebook for more than 20 years, based on students telling guidebook editors that the university is a place of “truly stellar academic departments” and “Professors feel like family and express that they genuinely care about the students outside of just the classroom situation.” IUP is also listed in Forbes Magazine as a top college and Money Magazine’s “Best College for You” list.

Notable Alumni

Notable Alumni

Debra Evans Smith ’81 - Retired Senior Executive, Federal Bureau of Investigation

Nicolas Arino M'91 - Regional Head, Latin America, Bermuda, and the Caribbean; New York Stock Exchange