Today, Penn State Harrisburg announced that it will be partnering in a "2+2" program with India's NMAM Institute of Technology of the Nitte Education Trust. The partner program will give Indian students from the Institute the opportunity to transfer directly to Penn State Harrisburg and finish the remaining two years of their bachelor's degree.

To qualify, students must complete the first two years of their undergraduate degree at the NMAM Institute of Technology and meet Penn State admission requirements. Although, Penn State's international partnership may be new, the 2+2 program is not. Mukund Kulkarni, Penn State Harrisburg Chancellor, as quoted in Penn State Live:

“When it was created more than 40 years ago, Penn State Harrisburg was primarily an upper-division institution focused on providing academic programs for juniors and seniors who had transferred from other locations,” Kulkarni said. “The 2+2 arrangement with Nitte fits well with this historic emphasis, as well as with our current expanded mission.”

Transferring from one university or college to another is a very common practice in the United States and therefore relatively easy. Many students also follow the 2+2 formula, including myself! Like many students here in the U.S., I attended a community college for two years before transferring to a four-year university to complete the last two years my bachelor's degree (BA).

Students, both American and international, will choose to attend community college first for a variety of reason: they're undecided on their major; community college is less expensive; learn English; etc. Ken Bus, Director of International Student Programs at Glendale Community College as quoted in Study in the USA:

"Many American universities and colleges have special arrangements known as "articulation agreements" with other institutions. Generally speaking, such agreements allow "seamless" transfer with little or no loss of credit and time. For example, engineering students may study for three years at the undergraduate level at one college, then transfer to another college for two more years and receive both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree at the end of the five-year program of study. Sometimes such arrangements are known as a "3+2" program because they are designed to be completed in a total of five years."

Seamless transfer...let me tell you, that is appealing to any prospective student. To learn more about the 2+2 program and transferring schools, click here!