Incoming First-Year Students

Admission to the Honors Program at Penn State New Kensington is by invitation only. After applying for admission and being accepted to Penn State New Kensington, qualified students, with a 3.5 GPA or above, will be invited to apply to the Honors Program. 

If invited to apply, you are required to complete the honors application and ask a teacher to submit a letter of recommendation.

  1.  Application to the Honors Program at Penn State New Kensington.
  2.  Teacher Letter of Recommendation online form

Completing these steps will allow you to be considered for our Honors Program. The submission deadline for the Honors Program application and teacher recommendation is March 14, 2025 for the 2025-2026 academic year. 

Current Penn State New Kensington Students

The Honors Coordinators determine each semester if there will be any openings for current Penn State New Kensington students for the following semester, based on the number of students leaving the program. If there are openings, we will announce an application window. Current Penn State New Kensington students who have at least a 3.5 Cumulative GPA are encouraged to apply. First semester students are also encouraged to apply if you think you are likely to have a 3.5 Cumulative GPA. 

There will be a few openings in the program for Spring 2025. The application window will be from October 21 - November 15, 2024.

How to apply:

  • Fill out and submit the application.
  • Ask at least one faculty member to send a letter of recommendation to Jennifer Gilley, the head Honors Coordinator. 

The Honors Coordinators vote on the applicants and offers are made at the end of the semester. This point of entry for current students is extremely competitive due to the small number of openings and high number of applications. 

Students changing campus

Students transitioning to University Park or another Penn State campus can apply to be a Scholar in the Schreyer Honors College. If you are interested, please see Apply as a Current Student on the Schreyer Honors College web page.