Plymouth State University

What Plymouth State University does

Plymouth State University is a public comprehensive university and a founding member of the University System of New Hampshire, located in Plymouth, New Hampshire, within the White Mountain National Forest and Lakes Region. Founded in 1871 as Plymouth Normal School and renamed to its current designation in 2003, the institution now offers bachelor's, master's, certificates of advanced graduate study, and select professional doctorates through six academic schools: Business, Education, Health, Human and Public Service, Integrated Liberal Arts, and Science and Technology. Its pedagogical centerpiece is the Cluster Learning Model, an interdisciplinary framework that dissolves boundaries between disciplines, classroom and real-world, and between professor and student, with experiential learning and undergraduate research built into program design. The university serves prospective undergraduate students, graduate and professional students, and working professionals through residential main-campus instruction, satellite continuing-education offerings across New Hampshire, and online/hybrid programs for select degrees including the MBA, counseling, and education graduate tracks.

The university's revenue model is anchored in three streams: tuition and fees (including in-state and out-of-state tuition that varies by residency and program), state appropriations through USNH, and competitive federal grants covering both research (e.g., $208,445 from NASA for solar eclipse atmospheric research) and capital projects (e.g., $4.67 million from the federal government for solar arrays and sustainability infrastructure). Additional congressional earmarks have supported vertical expansion, notably a federal nursing expansion program addressing regional healthcare workforce shortages. The institution carries ACBSP accreditation for business and AAQEP accreditation for education, and maintains a 17:1 student-to-faculty ratio with 100% of incoming undergraduates receiving some form of financial aid.

Distinctive technical and programmatic assets include the Judd Gregg Meteorology Institute (the only nationally recognized meteorology program in New Hampshire), the Cluster Learning Model, accelerated 96-credit three-year Applied Bachelor's degrees, the Doctor of Physical Therapy program, and a long-running atmospheric research portfolio conducted in collaboration with NASA, the University of Michigan Engineering, and the Appalachian Mountain Club. Distribution is executed through traditional higher-education channels: the institutional website (plymouth.edu), campus visit programs, digital recruitment and inquiry portals, alumni and community events through the Silver Center for the Arts, and Panther Athletics. Leadership is anchored by President Donald L. Birx, Ph.D., in office since July 31, 2015, with deep operating experience from Penn State Behrend and the University of Houston System, including prior cluster-based academic reorganization work that aligns with PSU's current model.

Name

Plymouth State University

Legal name

Plymouth State University

Website

https://plymouth.edu

Company type

Public

Founded year

1871

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Plymouth State University is a public comprehensive university in Plymouth, New Hampshire, serving undergraduate, graduate, and professional students through six academic schools anchored by its interdisciplinary Cluster Learning Model and distinctive meteorology and nursing programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education (Public Comprehensive University)

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (611310)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Research Universities with Multi-Campus Systems (EDAHAAAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Public Career & Technical Education (CTE) Centers & Programs (EDAJAAAJ), Public Virtual & Blended Learning Programs (District-Run) (EDAJAAAI)

Keywords

• Higher education services
• Undergraduate degree programs
• Graduate degree programs
• Professional doctorate programs
• Academic research services

Headquarters

HQ city

Plymouth

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Federal Government Grants: Funding from federal agencies including NASA grants for research ($208,445 for solar eclipse study) and federal sustainability funding ($4.67 million for solar arrays). Also includes congressional funding support for nursing expansion programs.
2. Tuition and Fees: Revenue from undergraduate and graduate tuition, fees for academic programs, and associated educational services.
3. State Funding: Public university funding from the University System of New Hampshire and state appropriations as a regional comprehensive institution.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Plymouth State University is a public comprehensive university that delivers undergraduate and graduate degree programs, professional certificates, and selected doctoral degrees across six academic schools. Its core educational product is the bachelor's and master's degree experience delivered through the interdisciplinary Cluster Learning Model, supported by specialized programs in meteorology, nursing, physical therapy, business, education, and the accelerated 96-credit three-year Applied Bachelor's degrees.

Product overview

Plymouth State University is a comprehensive public university offering a diverse portfolio of academic programs through six schools: School of Business (accredited by ACBSP), School of Education, School of Health, School of Human and Public Service, School of Integrated Liberal Arts, and School of Science and Technology. The university's educational approach centers on its Cluster Learning Model, an interdisciplinary framework that connects academic programs with experiential learning. Programs range from traditional undergraduate degrees to accelerated 3-year applied bachelor's programs, graduate degrees including MBA and DPT, and professional doctorates. The institution also provides student support services including Health Services, and research initiatives in meteorology (Judd Gregg Meteorology Institute), atmospheric science, and sustainability. Plymouth State emphasizes sustainability with a Climate Action Plan targeting carbon neutrality by 2050 and has received NASA grants for atmospheric research.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Panthers: The official athletic teams and mascot of Plymouth State University.

Products and services

• School of Business Academic school offering undergraduate and graduate business programs including Accounting, Business Administration, Finance, Management, Marketing, and Sports Management, accredited by the Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP).
• School of Education Academic school offering teacher certification programs, educational leadership degrees, and special education certification, accredited by AAQEP and the state of New Hampshire.
• School of Health Academic school offering health-related programs including Nursing, Athletic Training, Adventure Education, Exercise Science, and Physical Therapy (DPT).
• School of Human and Public Service Academic school offering programs in Criminal Justice, Social Work, Counseling, Political Science, Psychology, and Organizational Leadership.
• School of Integrated Liberal Arts Academic school offering programs in Communication, English, History, Art, Music, Theatre, Digital Media, and Game Design.
• School of Science and Technology Academic school offering programs in Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Cybersecurity, Environmental Science, Mathematics, Meteorology, Robotics, and Sustainability Studies; houses the Judd Gregg Meteorology Institute.
• Applied Meteorology (M.S.) Master of Science program in Applied Meteorology housed in the Judd Gregg Meteorology Institute in the Boyd Science Center, designed to meet regional and national needs for professional meteorologists.
• 96-Credit Three-Year Applied Bachelor's Degrees Accelerated three-year bachelor's degree programs in Business Administration, Cybersecurity, Outdoor Adventure Leadership, Police Studies, and Small Business Administration, allowing students to graduate workforce-ready sooner.
• General Management MBA Master of Business Administration program offered online or through a 4+1 cohort option for strategic, in-depth understanding of business.
• Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) Doctoral program featuring hands-on clinical practice experiences starting in the first semester, preparing students for physical therapy careers.
• Tourism & Hospitality Management (B.A.) Bachelor of Arts degree program training students to assist in tourism development for municipalities, states, federal agencies, and hospitality businesses.
• Theatre Arts (B.A.) Bachelor of Arts program with options in Acting, Dramatic Writing, Music Theatre Performance, and Theatrical Design/Tech.

Quantifiable outcome

• 96% job placement or graduate school enrollment within six months of graduation
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• University of Michigan EngineeringcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 June 2026Collaborative research partnership analyzing 19 years of cloud and rainwater samples from Mount Washington. PSU researchers contributed to a study showing precipitation history's importance in predicting air pollution levels, discovering that combining wind direction and precipitation history captures 55.6% of pollution patterns.
• Appalachian Mountain ClubcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 June 2026Collaborative partner on Mount Washington environmental monitoring, collecting cloud and rainwater samples for air quality research. The Appalachian Mountain Club has expanded sampling to include river water to track how pollution flows into downstream ecosystems.
• NASAcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 October 2021NASA awarded Plymouth State University a $208,445 grant for a three-year atmospheric research project studying responses to solar eclipses in 2023 and 2024 through weather balloon launches. This research is part of a national initiative to better understand atmospheric behavior during eclipses.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Keene State College: Another USNH-system public comprehensive college in New Hampshire with similar size, regional focus, and undergraduate/graduate portfolio. Most direct structural peer within PSU's own system.
• Granite State College: Former USNH adult-learner focused college serving working professionals with online programs — directly comparable to PSU's online MBA, counseling, and education graduate offerings.
• Rivier University: Small New Hampshire private university competing for the same nursing, education, and business students in the Greater Nashua/Manchester and central NH markets.
• Franklin Pierce University: Private regional New England university with comparable program breadth across health sciences, business, and education, and similar geographic service area.
• Vermont State University: Recently consolidated Vermont public university system combining former colleges including the meteorology-focused Lyndon/Johnson campus — overlapping with PSU's regional comprehensive and applied-science positioning.
• Southern New Hampshire University: Large New Hampshire-based not-for-profit university with deep online and adult-learner programs in business, education, and healthcare — overlapping directly with PSU's online MBA, counseling, and education offerings.
• University of Maine at Farmington: Public comprehensive New England college with a comparable small-campus, education/health/liberal arts emphasis and similar enrollment scale.
• Castleton University: Small Vermont public comprehensive university with similar size, regional New England footprint, and mix of undergraduate/graduate professional programs.

Broad incumbents

• University of New Hampshire: Flagship public research university of the USNH system serving as PSU's parent-system umbrella; competes for some New England applicants but at a much larger research-intensive scale.
• University of Vermont: Vermont's flagship public research university; broader incumbent in the regional New England higher-ed market where PSU competes for STEM, health, and out-of-state applicants.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/plymouthstate
• Facebookfacebook.com/36743913619
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/plymouth-state-university

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Plymouth State University