Mission

Upward Bound Programs at Penn State University is an academic program empowering a diverse population of motivated low-income and potential first-generation to college high school students to reach their full potential, while positively impacting their families and communities.  The program provides opportunities for its scholars to succeed in their precollege performance and ultimately in their higher education pursuits. 

Upward Bound Programs creates a supportive community and implements comprehensive services and opportunities which foster student growth through academic and cultural enrichment, social interaction, and service to others.

Upward Bound Programs at Penn State University aspires to empower and inspire its scholars to succeed, to celebrate their cultural identities and those of others in whatever postsecondary path they choose, and to increase the number of students in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania who enroll and succeed in post- secondary education.

Upward Bound Programs East and West - Upward Bound, Upward Bound Migrant, Upward Bound Altoona, Upward Bound Clairton/McKeesport, and Upward Bound Math and Science, are offered through federal grants totaling $1,809,624 annually through fiscal year 2027 through the U.S. Department of Education, with facilities and administrative support provided by The Pennsylvania State University.