Inspire and Impact Good Things: GivingTuesday
Celebrate the "We Are" spirit and power of generosity on GivingTuesday by making a gift to support Penn State engineers. Your generous donations will help fund programs within our college that advocate for students’ success by providing them with the tools they need to excel academically and enhance their overall experience at Penn State.
Early giving starts on Tuesday, November 4 at 8:00 a.m. ET. We hope that you will consider making a gift or becoming an advocate, or offering a challenge or match to help us lead the way this GivingTuesday.
The University’s eleventh GivingTuesday celebration will officially launch at 6:55 p.m. ET on December 1—or 18:55 on the 24-hour clock, a nod to the year of Penn State’s founding—and run until 11:59 p.m. ET on December 2. Any gift, large or small, is greatly appreciated by the students, faculty, and staff in the College of Engineering.
Learn more about the giving opportunities for 2025 below.
College of Engineering
Gifts to the Penn State Fund for the College of Engineering provide flexible support where it's needed most. Your gift supports student recruitment activities, unique educational and professional development opportunities, and scholarships. Beyond students, the Penn State Fund in the College of Engineering empowers the work of our faculty and supports cutting-edge engineering research.
For more than 125 years, the Penn State College of Engineering has been a leader in engineering research and cutting-edge academic programs. Through your generosity, we can continue to uphold our land-grant mission to make a positive impact on our local communities across Pennsylvania and around the world.
Give to the College of Engineering »
Department of Architectural Engineering
In the Penn State Department of Architectural Engineering (AE), we are shaping architectural engineers of the future. This year, we are asking for financial support to help ease unexpected burdens many of our students face during their educational experience at Penn State. Our first goal is to support AE students who are experiencing unexpected financial hardships. Funds will help students cover critical needs such as food, housing, basic needs or unforeseen emergencies. Our second goal is to support AE student-led organizations (SSAE and AEGSA) by providing funding for technical seminars, social events, guest speakers, conference participation, and educational travel experiences.
With your support, we will build a strong community of AE students ready to tackle the challenges of tomorrow. We can ease a student's unexpected hardship or provide them with financial support for additional educational experiences. Your generous donations are essential to providing financial support to students in the AE family, as they strive to succeed in their academic careers at Penn State and will contribute to their career success, solving societal needs of today and beyond.
Engineers in Action
The Penn State chapter of Engineers in Action (EIA) travels to developing nations to build pedestrian bridges. This summer, two students from EIA are set to travel to Eswatini for a seven-week mission to help construct a suspended footbridge. During the rainy seasons, rural communities in Eswatini are often cut off from larger towns and essential resources due to dangerously flooded rivers. The chapter's goal is to provide these communities with access to critical markets, health care, and education by building pedestrian footbridges. Funds raised during GivingTuesday will help to cover the cost of materials and travel and offer this once-in-a-lifetime experience to the team.
Engineering Leadership Development Program
The Engineering Leadership Development (ELD) program provides a challenging, relevant, dynamic cross-cultural experience that further engages students in their education while preparing them for leadership roles in a technical environment. Support to ELD through this campaign will directly offset student expenses for international travel to South Africa and Switzerland. The ELD program collaborates with international partners and integrates their classes with Penn State for a semester-long engineering project that includes an optional ten-day, in-country experience in May.
Global Engineering Engagement
A global experience changes students’ lives, opens minds, expands horizons, and empowers Penn State engineers to become globally minded leaders. Yet for many students, financial barriers stand in the way of studying abroad. The Global Engineering Engagement Scholarship Fund helps make these transformative opportunities possible by reducing financial barriers for deserving students. Your gift will help more students gain the global experiences that shape who they are and what they’re capable of achieving. Together, we can open doors to the world for the next generation of Penn State engineers.
Give to Global Enginering Engagement »
Engineers Without Borders
At Engineers Without Borders at Penn State, we use engineering to create sustainable, community-driven solutions that improve health, safety, and quality of life. Our student-led projects empower both students and communities, turning technical skills into meaningful, lasting impact.
Our current work in San Bartolo de Yuralpa Izquierdo, a rural community in the Ecuadorian Amazon, aims to replace open defecation with safe, sanitary bathroom facilities. Your support provides the materials, transport, and training needed to protect public health, preserve local water sources, and ensure every resident can live with dignity and security.
Give to Engineers Without Borders »
Department of Mechanical Engineering
In the Department of Mechanical Engineering (ME), our faculty and students are innovating today to find solutions that will impact tomorrow's opportunities in energy, security, machine learning and biomedical devices. A gift of $200 to our department's Academic Excellence Fund provides one student with a specialized kit that helps them to excel in their third- and fourth-year mechanical engineering degree program classes. These kits include a microprocessor, sensors such as accelerometers and thermocouples, and output devices like lights and motors.
Penn State Engineering Alumni Society Endowed Scholarship
The Penn State Engineering Alumni Society (PSEAS) provides guidance and support to college leadership, sponsors student programs, awards student scholarships, and recognizes faculty and staff excellence. In 1998, a gift from the members of the PSEAS board helped to establish the PSEAS Endowed Scholarship, which supports undergraduate students in the College of Engineering. Without the kindness of our donors, the road to a degree would likely be much more difficult.
Engineering Summer Bridge Program
Engineering Summer Bridge is a signature academic summer program through the Multicultural Engineering Program that helps incoming first-year students prepare for their engineering major. The program also includes structured social and cultural events that encourage students to build relationships with each other and relate in-class activities to out-of-class experiences. Participants are guided toward academic success to give them a head start in the challenging yet rewarding fields of engineering. By making a gift to the program during GivingTuesday, you will help to ensure that students have the resources they need to explore their passions and thrive in their studies.
Give to Engineering Summer Bridge »
Nittany Motorsports
Nittany Motorsports is Penn State’s Formula SAE Electric team—a student-run organization that designs, builds, and races a fully electric, formula-style vehicle each year at Michigan International Speedway. Our members come from engineering, business, supply chain, and design disciplines to create a car that represents the next generation of automotive innovation and sustainability. Every dollar donated through our university fundraising page directly supports hands-on student learning by funding materials, advanced manufacturing, testing, and competition travel. Your contribution helps us refine our electric powertrain, improve reliability, and push for a top-10 global finish in 2026 while preparing students to become skilled engineers and project leaders.
Penn State Acoustic Waves—PAWSKits for At-Home Learning
PAWKits are at-home activity kits designed to improve student engagement and facilitate better understanding of the fundamentals of acoustics. In the first two years of using the kits, students found that the hands-on PAWKits helped improve their understanding of mass-spring systems, string/membrane modes, source directivities, acoustic filters, etc. by collecting real-data and comparing to the analytical solution. However, we have not used the kits in the last two years due to logistical challenges in assembling kits, collecting student checks (particularly with some students located overseas), and mailing kits to World Campus/distance education students. If we meet our campaign goal, these kits will be provided to resident and World Campus students free-of-charge, enhancing their experience in the Graduate Program in Acoustics through the hands-on learning opportunity.
2025 Giving Opportunities:
- College of Engineering
- Department of Architectural Engineering
- Engineers in Action
- Engineering Leadership Development Program
- Global Engineering Engagement
- Engineers Without Borders
- Department of Mechanical Engineering
- Penn State Engineering Alumni Society Endowed Scholarship
- Engineering Summer Bridge Program
- Nittany Motorsports
- Penn State Acoustic Waves—PAWSKits for At-Home Learning
Additional Ways to Support:
