Penn State in Suburban Philadelphia: Changing Conditions in Graduate Engineerng Education

The Pennsylvania State University's King of Prussia Center, located in suburban Philadelphia, has offered graduate degree engineering programs (extended from its primary campus in central Pennsylvania) for part-time professional engineers since the early 1960's. Initially established and operated with characteristics virtually identical to its host institution at the University Park campus, the Center has changed in response to the needs of its professional engineers-as-students and their employers. This paper traces briefly the history of the Center, describes the current state of the engineering programs offered through the Center, outlines changes which have impacted its programs, and details some unique responses to changing conditions. The authors suggest that the current issues and history associated with the engineering graduate degree programs offered through Penn State's King of Prussia Graduate Center are but a microcosm of the larger issues facing professional engineering educators nationally.