The USA has more than 5,000 universities and colleges and houses some of the world’s best educational institutions that are listed high in the world rankings. These universities and colleges offer a wide range of higher education degrees, promoting research opportunities to transform every industry. Also, one more important reason for Indian Students choosing the USA over other countries is the excellent academic standards and ever-evolving curriculum, which attracts students and helps them find exceptional career opportunities wherever they go. Therefore, emphasizing on one of the very premier universities from the USA, which is proud of being different from its competitors – Harrisburg University of Science and Technology is a dedicated entity focused towards education in the STEM fields.
Known for educating its students in the heart of the beautiful capital city of Pennsylvania, HU’s main campus houses a signature 16-story, $73 million state-of-the-art academic center, and a second downtown education tower. At HU students are provided with an engaging learning experience, which is filled with real-life and hands-on experiences, giving downright importance to experiential learning. Here, students are prepared to stand confidently in front of employers and demonstrate the knowledge and skills they have earned at Harrisburg University. “Comprising students from 110 countries and boasting a 34 percent female student body, our university truly stands upon the pillars of progressiveness, excellence, and diversity”, states – Dr. Eric Darr, the President of the University. Adding a point on the long association between HU and India/Indian Students, he continued – “Students from India have long been part of the University student body, and a majority of the University’s more than 4500 graduate students are from India”.
Delivering hands-on education
HU offers graduate programs in more than 30 fields, where all of the science and technology curriculum and pedagogy is curated in response to market needs. Also, by partnering with companies like Google and Deloitte, all the students land jobs often with the same companies they interned with while attending the university. Moreover, every undergraduate major at HU requires an internship, so each student is guaranteed to receive real-world experience that is valued by employers.
All the HU graduate and doctoral programs are approved by Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) to enroll non-immigrant students. CPT is available for qualifying F1 Visa holders at the master’s level. CPT authorization is determined by the program goals under the degree program the students elect to enroll. Graduate students maintain the full-time status of being active in TWO 3 credit hour classes per semester (one online and one on campus), where each semester is 14 weeks, students take 3 semesters per year to total 6 semesters to complete a master’s degree. HU also offers an executive hybrid program. meant for career-minded individuals.
Furthermore, at the M.S. level, the university offers a stream-lined simplified admissions process via an electronic portal. The Ph.D. programs too spread across streams like Data Science, Computational Sciences, and Information Systems Engineering and Mathematics have very competitive admissions processes, taking in only 10 students per intake.
An all-rounded hub that fosters learning outside the classroom
“Our students enjoy high quality, affordable undergraduate student housing and residence life services in the heart of the capital city”, shared Dr. Darr. He also stated – “Harrisburg University is an entrepreneurial school with an environment that fosters learning inside and outside the classroom premises, where students are encouraged to get involved in organizations, clubs, interest groups, and sports groups”. Also, if students do not see anything of their particular interest in the current groups on the campus, they are free to take the initiative to start a new group, and lead with confidence.
The main driving force behind Harrisburg University is their onboard professors and faculty members, who are perhaps the ones who deliver the mission. They are the reason 94 percent of the students land family sustaining jobs in their fields or get accepted to graduate school within six months of graduation. The professors are the foremost experts in their fields, many of which have led impressive careers in the fields they teach. They deliver hands-on education that prepares HU students for life after college, by harnessing technology and the resources to remain in contact with students on a regular basis.
Beyond placements
Harrisburg University of Science and Technology is a powerful incubator of ideas.
Whether it involves the development of an early-stage dementia detection tool, breaking down the cause of addictive behaviors or the discovery of a previously unknown meteor strike, HU encourages professors to harness their passions and team with students to launch breakthrough research projects that are changing the world around, one step at a time. At HU, teaching and research are not mutually exclusive. All the students gain invaluable hands-on experience by working closely with faculty on research that instills critical reasoning skills, solves community problems, and propels economic development. Research at HU leads to new technologies, commercial products, processes, intellectual properties, and so much more.
Loans and scholarships
At Harrisburg University, the management strives on philanthropic gestures, by letting students from historically underserved communities from around the world get an unmatched and affordable private college education focused on the STEM fields. As a living proof, about 99 percent of the full-time undergraduate students receive some form of financial aid at HU. The University considers every undergraduate student for a scholarship of between $6,000-$20,000, and according to comparisons – Harrisburg University offers one of the lowest private university tuitions in the entire state of Pennsylvania.
Also, not only does HU offer quality education at a super affordable price, but it guarantees merit scholarships up to full tuition, and need-based grants up to full tuition, privately funded scholarships, low interest loans, and work-study opportunities that allow students to earn money while they attend college. In fact, these types of financial assistance are why Harrisburg University is ranked the #1 private university for awarding scholarship aid in the U.S., indeed – transforming futures, and in turn, transforming the world.
Dr. Eric Darr – President
Appointed as the President of Harrisburg University by the Board of Trustees, Dr. Darr previously served as interim president and prior to that, he served as a consultant to help create Harrisburg University. Eric joined the University full-time as the founding Vice President of Finance and Administration & has served as a member of the faculty, Executive Vice President, and Provost. Under his able leadership, Harrisburg University’s enrollment has grown from 500 to more than 6,000 students, where the university added 33 new graduate and undergraduate concentrations and degree programs. Faculty have secured many grants and student scholarship support, throughout Dr. Darr’s term and the University’s Market Street Tower were completed, adding more classrooms and laboratory space to meet the needs of growing academic programs and enrollment. Dr. Darr has opened two facilities and is presently securing a third. One of the new facilities is in center-city Philadelphia. And, in 2019, the University broke ground on a $100 million Health Science Education Center in downtown Harrisburg, a project Dr. Darr has spearheaded to address the growing need for healthcare professionals throughout Central Pennsylvania.