Prerequisites and Getting Started
If you have questions throughout the admissions process, please contact our admissions counselors.
For admission to the Graduate School, U.S. applicants must have received, from a regionally accredited institution, a bachelor's degree with requirements substantially equivalent to those at Penn State. (Penn State is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools.) International applicants must have a tertiary (postsecondary) degree that is deemed comparable to a 4-year U.S. bachelor's degree to apply for admission.
Technical Requirements
Please review the technical requirements for this program.
Applying
- After reading through the admissions requirements above, start the application process.
- Applicants must submit the following materials via surface mail to the address below:
- Statement of professional experience and goals. This 1-2 page original statement should include a description of your professional experience, as well as a clear statement of how your professional goals may be advanced through participation in the Homeland Security and Defense certificate program. The statement itself should demonstrate your communication skills.
- Résumé (include military background). Your résumé should also include contact information for 2 references.
- One official transcript from each institution attended. Transcript must arrive in an envelope sealed by a registrar in order to qualify for consideration. International applicants: Transcripts/records must be in the official language of the institution(s) attended, but if that language is not English you must also send official English translations.
- Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) score, if applicable. International applicants whose first language is not English or who have received a baccalaureate or master's degree from an institution in which the language of instruction is not English, please refer to the English Proficiency section the graduate school Web site.
Please mail all application materials to:
Kate Corbin Tompkins
School of Public Affairs
Homeland Security and Defense Certificate Program
777 West Harrisburg Pike
153W Olmsted Building
Middletown PA 17057
Phone: 717-948-6058
Fax: 717-948-6484
E-mail: spahlsdinfo@psu.edu
Once all materials have been received, we will notify you about your status and provide guidance about the next steps to becoming a Penn State student.
If you have general program questions or would like to speak with an admissions counselor, please send an e-mail to psuwd@psu.edu or call 800-252-3592 (toll-free within the United States) or 814-865-5403 (local and international).
