Plymouth State University Admissions

About Plymouth State University

Plymouth State University (located in Plymouth, New Hampshire) is a coeducational, residential university with an enrollment of approximately 4,300 undergraduate and 2,700 graduate students.  PSU offers nearly 50 majors and more than 60 minors, including education, business, the humanities, arts, and natural and social sciences. Founded in 1871, the university’s 170 acres and 46 buildings preserve the bricks-and-ivy look of the New England small college heritage while integrating state-of-the-art technology and facilities into an attractive, contemporary campus design. The University’s beautifully maintained grounds and mountain vistas inspire all who study, work, and live here. Students come to Plymouth State for our caring academic community and friendly campus, the Main Street New England setting and easy access to New Hampshire’s great outdoors.

PSU offers you distinctive programs and an exceptional level of excellence, including:

• New Hampshire’s only Bachelor of Science program in meteorology
• New state-of-the-art science facility
• College of University Studies mentoring program for first-year students still deciding on a major
• One of New England’s best education programs
• New program in Environmental Science and Policy
• Campus-wide focus on environmental issues and initiatives
• Extensive Athletic Training and Sport Physiology lab

The University motto, Ut prosim (That I may serve), underscores the values upon which PSU’s mission is built.  These values are supported by the faculty and administration through a commitment to excellence in teaching based on scholarship and creative endeavor, active involvement in university activities, and service to the wider community.

Located in the Welcoming Town of Plymouth

With the White Mountains and the Lakes Region in our back yard, and the Pemigewasset and baker rivers bordering our campus, we are surrounded by some of the country’s most beautiful and accessible natural landscape. And our great host community of Plymouth was featured in the April 2008 New Hampshire Magazine article entitled “Why Plymouth Rocks: Our insider’s guide to a town right in the middle of it all.”

Recent Distinction

Plymouth State University has been nationally recognized for its commitment to the environment and for innovative programs that are making an impact both regionally and globally. PSU is a green campus and has a history of championing initiatives, buildings, programs, and curricula that are environmentally responsible. In May 2007, PSU’s newest residence hall, Langdon Woods, was the first building in New Hampshire and one of the first and largest residence halls in the country to receive gold-level certification from the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program.

PSU offers an educational experience that you’d expect from a small private school: small classes taught by dedicated professors; personal attention from faculty and staff; and outstanding opportunities to lead and to serve—all at state school costs. You won’t sit in the back of a huge lecture hall taking notes; you’ll take an active role in your learning process.

At PSU, you will

• Participate in lively, interactive classes.
• Build strong relationships with your professors whose passion for teaching will spark both your intelligence and your imagination.
• Get real-world experience through our extensive network of undergraduate research opportunities, professional internships, national and international study programs, and service learning and community service opportunities.
• Sharpen your critical thinking and communication skills as you participate in hands-on learning experiences.
• Encounter experiences that will challenge your assumptions and change your perceptions about the world—and your place in it.

Explore, Focus, Excel

At PSU both classroom and practical experiences are designed to prepare you to succeed now and in the future.

• Writing Across the Curriculum: From e-mails to business plans, sales reports to scientific presentations, press releases to articles for professional journals, good writing skills can play a critical role in your success. PSU’s program helps you develop and hone your skills so that you learn how to communicate your knowledge and ideas most effectively.
• Academic Advising: Whether you need help organizing your class schedule or your life, the Undergraduate Academic Advising Center and your personal academic advisor are dedicated to assisting you.
• Career Services: Searching for the perfect internship? Need to spruce up your résumé? The staff at Bagley Center is there to help you find and secure internships and prepare for job searches.
• Math Activities Center: If you need help with your algebra class or are simply seeking a quiet place to study, this student-run service provides resources and peer tutoring services.
• Writing Center: Improve your writing and reading skills with the help of peer-tutors. Honors Program: high-achieving students participate in small classes that focus on discussion, collaborative academic challenges, and the development of closer intellectual relationships.

Simply Incredible

PSU offers you access to some of the most comprehensive state-of-the-art laboratories, research facilities, and learning environments in the region.

• The Judd Gregg Meteorological Institute, including the PSU Weather Center, is one of the most sophisticated weather centers in the country.
• The music, theatre, and dance facilities include the 665-seat Hanaway Theatre, as well as dance and acting studios, and theatre shops.
• The Boyd Science Center features climate-controlled chambers, an electron microscopy suite, a 1,400-liter marine aquarium, a human physiology lab, and a rooftop greenhouse with computerized temperature controls.
• Lamson Library and Learning Commons combines the best features of a traditional library with the latest in information technology resources.
• The Mark Sylvestre Planetarium features a Starlab Sky Projector.

Student Success

• PSU Meteorology students recently won four of 101 of the nationwide Hollings Awards awarded to students of extraordinary promise in Atmospheric and Oceanic Studies.
• The Center for the Environment supports environmental projects focusing on regional ecological issues.

Outstanding Opportunities

• Student to faculty ratio: 17 to 1
• Average class size: 23
• Student body: About 4,300 undergraduate students from 25 states and 16 foreign countries attend PSU; approximately 46 percent are from out of state.
• Residence life: About 60 percent of our students live on campus in one of our eight residence halls or 160 student apartments.
• Campus life: PSU’s active and engaged students participate in more than 80 student clubs and organizations, 19 NCAA Division III Athletic Teams, plus club sports and intramurals.
• Athletics: The PSU Panthers field eight men’s and 11 women’s athletic teams competing in NCAA Division III.
• Location: Located in central New Hampshire at the gateway to the White Mountains and the Lakes Region in the town of Plymouth, PSU is within minutes of ski resorts, lakes, and parks and only two hours from Boston.
• Technology: Our computer network has over 500 computers in 30 campus locations and every student room is wired for Internet access.
• Outcomes: PSU graduates have an outstanding record of professional achievement in fields ranging from adventure education to television meteorology.
• Green resources: A University-wide focus on environmental issues and initiatives means that students and faculty members are working on the front lines of the sustainability movement.