In 1923, Pennsylvania State College (not yet a university) established a branch school in Scranton, offering evening technical institute programs. The school was renamed the Scranton Center in 1951 and became part of the General Extension division of the Penn State. In 1953, its courses were restructured as associate degree programs. The school left its first home at the Longfellow School Annex in Scranton in June 1968 and moved to the present site which was purchased with money raised through contributions from private citizens and local industries. The new campus opened in September 1968 as a member of Penn State's Commonwealth Campus System. The first campus baccalaureate degree program was offered in 1995 and on July 1, 1997, Scranton joined 11 other Penn State locations as a campus of the University's Commonwealth College. The name change to Penn State Scranton became effective on May 1, 2018.
