Institutional Overview
Pitt-Bradford was established in 1963, in effect because there were no colleges or universities in the northcentral region of Pennsylvania. In the early years, most of its students came from the local area, but since then, the campus has grown significantly.
Pitt-Bradford’s students come from nearly every county in Pennsylvania, more than 20 states—as far away as Alaska and California—and many countries, including China, India, Nepal, Philippines, Nigeria, Russian Federation, Bangladesh, Dominican Republic, and Pakistan.
The 470-acre campus has developed into a vibrant learning community where students are challenged to discover more than they imagined; nurtured to help them develop into happy, healthy people; and encouraged to go beyond their comfort zones and achieve more than they thought possible.
Pitt-Bradford is a regional campus of the University of Pittsburgh. It is a four-year undergraduate institution in a friendly, welcoming campus community with strong ties to the Bradford region. Over its 56-year history, Pitt-Bradford has grown from one building, 288 students, and two majors, to a campus with 35 buildings, over 1,300 students, and more than 40 academic majors. Additionally, Pitt-Bradford provides administrative oversight of the Titusville Campus, which is located approximately 144 miles west of Bradford.
Pitt-Bradford has a history and culture of facilities master planning that led to the development of the beautiful park-like campus. Pitt-Bradford enjoys outstanding facilities. The campus is situated on roughly 320 acres, which includes a 130-acre forest reserve.
It is a very exciting period in Pitt-Bradford’s history, with the recent appointment of Dr. Catherine Koverola as campus president and plans to move forward with the design and construction of a new 40,000 square-foot, $24 million engineering technology building. Additional residence halls, a stadium project, an athletic fieldhouse, and a future academic administration building are in various phases of planning and development. The Titusville Campus location has several major building renovation projects totaling $17.5 million slated to occur over the next several years.
In the fall of 2020, Pitt-Bradford recruited a strong and diverse freshman class despite the challenges presented by COVID-19. The class totaled 373 new first-year students, of which 36 percent were underrepresented populations – 24.0 percent Black students, 4.0 percent Hispanic students, 7.3 percent Asian students, and .8 percent Native American students.
The fall 2020 headcount enrollment is 1,321 students. Seventy-one percent are from 60 counties in Pennsylvania, 15 percent are from 31 counties in New York, and 12 percent are from 29 other states and six countries; 74 percent lived on campus in 2019 (59% in 2020 due to instructional options created due to COVID-19). Though the Bradford region is not especially diverse, 20.0 percent of Pitt-Bradford students are Black/African American, 3.8 percent are Hispanic, and 4.7 percent are Asian. Pitt-Bradford’s faculty and staff provide a personalized and inclusive environment for the students. Its 76 full-time and 22 part-time faculty create a 15:1 student-to-faculty ratio. Sixty-nine percent of its classes have fewer than 20 students; 91 percent have fewer than 30.
Pitt-Bradford consistently has been recognized nationally for the quality of its education, as well as for the financial support it provides its students. The Princeton Review has named Pitt-Bradford one of the “Best Colleges in the Northeast” for 16 consecutive years. G.I. Jobs has named Pitt-Bradford a “Military Friendly School” for the past ten years and most recently a “Military Friendly Spouse School.” The RN Careers website ranked Pitt-Bradford’s associate of science in nursing program fifth in the state, and Washington Monthly magazine has named Pitt-Bradford a top college for earning a bachelor’s degree and a “best bang for the buck” university. The Council for Aid to Education ranked Pitt-Bradford fourth on a list of colleges that devote the highest percentage of dollars to financial aid, and in 2016, President Obama recognized Pitt-Bradford as one of 13 institutions excelling in enrolling and graduating Pell-eligible students.