Fox Graduate School Impact
A Look Back at the 2024-25 Academic Year
A Message from Levon T. Esters
Greetings! As we reflect on the past academic year, it’s a perfect moment to celebrate the many accomplishments of our dedicated Fox team, consider opportunities for growth, and set our sights on an even more impactful year ahead.
Despite the challenges we've faced, we’ve made tremendous strides toward our core goals: supporting graduate student success and advancing excellence across our graduate programs.
Below, you will find highlights of what we've accomplished this year and how we have supported the broader graduate education community. I encourage you to reach out to me anytime at graddeansoffice@psu.edu with questions or feedback.
Levon T. Esters, Ph.D.
Vice Provost for Graduate Education
Dean, J. Jeffrey and Ann Marie Fox Graduate School
Enabling Graduate Student Success
Number of total graduate degrees conferred. Earning a degree is the culmination of every student’s journey, and the Fox Graduate School works in many ways to support their students—including hosting five commencement ceremonies every year and conferring students' degrees.
Number of benchmark exams processed by Fox Graduate School staff. Benchmark exams are critical milestones on doctoral students’ journeys. The Fox Graduate School collaborates with graduate program faculty and staff to ensure all graduate student records are updated accurately and on time.
Number of graduate applications processed. Fox Graduate School staff review all applications for eligibility for admission into the Fox Graduate School, including reviewing official documents from hundreds of countries worldwide.
Number of master’s degree theses (865) and doctoral dissertations (795) reviewed and approved. These valuable manuscripts document students’ scholarly contributions to their fields, directly resulting from their graduate education.
Supporting Military and Veteran Students
Discounted application fee for family members of military personnel and veterans after implementing a $25 discount for military personnel in October 2024.
Money awarded to military and veteran students through the Graduate Veterans Scholarship, organized in partnership with the Office of Veterans Programs.
Funding Excellence in Graduate Education
Commitment from Jeff and Ann Marie Fox to endow the Fox Graduate School in July 2024. In May 2025, the Fox Graduate School announced that applications opened for the first round of scholarships from the endowment. The Fox Endowment will allow the Fox Graduate School to provide scholarships to graduate students in perpetuity.
Amount donated by Dr. Linda Reilly to endow a new graduate assistantship, to honor the tremendous impact an assistantship made in her and her husband’s careers.
Number of graduate assistants appointed in the University. Graduate assistantships provide a comprehensive funding package that allows graduate students to focus on their academics.
Number of students awarded University Graduate Fellowships and Distinguished Graduate Fellowships, the most prestigious offered by the Fox Graduate School and academic colleges.
Value of travel grants given, in collaboration with Penn State Global, to graduate students annually to support travel to international conferences where they can present their research, network with other scholars, and build their expertise.
Strengthening Pathways to Graduate Education
Number of students who participated in the summer 2024 Penn State Summer Research Opportunities Program (SROP). The program provides a summer-long research and professional development experience for undergraduate students from underrepresented backgrounds who plan to pursue a graduate degree. For summer 2025, Penn State SROP anticipates hosting more than forty students.
Number of McNair Scholars mentored through the Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program, a federally funded initiative to support first-generation, low-income, and underrepresented students. Now in its thirty-third year on the University Park campus, the program provides undergraduate students with access to academic programming, summer internships, professional development, cultural events, and more.
Number of master's degrees conferred to students in integrated undergraduate-graduate (IUG) programs, through which students can earn both a bachelor's and master's degree in five years. Another 287 students in IUG programs earned their bachelor's degree this year and anticipate earning their master's degree next year. The Fox Graduate School works closely with the Registrar, graduate programs, and other offices to ensure graduate students' records are accurate.
Building Community
Number of student lunch events held by Dean Esters in collaboration with academic colleges. These community events served as opportunities for graduate students to meet Dean Esters and their college's graduate education leadership, to share perspectives on graduate education and networking with community members.
Number of doctoral candidates who were hooded on stage by their faculty adviser at commencement. This new tradition began with the spring 2025 doctoral ceremony and will continue at future Fox Graduate School commencement ceremonies.
Number of graduate students participating in the 2025 Graduate Exhibition, the highest number since 2013. Celebrating its fortieth anniversary in 2025, this annual event is an opportunity for graduate students to both showcase their academic projects to the public while getting feedback on their communication and presentation skills.
Number of online comments made during the live stream of our second-annual Three Minute Thesis competition. More than 500 people attended the final round either online or in-person, showing tremendous support for graduate students.
Celebrating the Impact of Community Members
Amazing alumni honored with Fox Graduate School Alumni Society (FGSAS) Awards. Each year, the Fox Graduate School partners with FGSAS to celebrate the impacts of our many accomplished alumni.
Outstanding graduate students recognized with annual University awards honoring their impact in research, scholarship, teaching, mentoring, outreach, and more.
Prize money given to all first-place award recipients for the Graduate Exhibition and Three Minute Thesis, the two signature professional development events that the Fox Graduate School hosts for the University community.
Fostering Program Excellence and Faculty Engagement
Number of new graduate programs launched, increasing the number of programs offered to 205 as of the spring 2025 semester. The Fox Graduate School collaborates closely with the Graduate Council, the University's faculty governance group that creates academic graduate policies, to administer curricular and policy decisions.
Number of new graduate courses created for different graduate degree programs. All new courses are reviewed in collaboration with the Graduate Council.
Number of programs reviewed, in conjunction with the Graduate Council, during the first full 5-year cycle of graduate program reviews, which wrapped up in 2025. The Fox Graduate School has now successfully reviewed all graduate programs on offer by the University.
Newly appointed Graduate Faculty members, increasing the total to 2,873 as of spring 2025. The Graduate Faculty consists of Penn State faculty members whose qualifications, experience, and institutional appointments enable them to make significant contributions to the education and training of graduate students in research and/or professional graduate degree programs in a comprehensive and sustained manner.