Campus Life

Voluntary COVID-19 testing remains available for all students, employees

Testing is open to students and employees at all Penn State campuses, regardless of vaccination status

At University Park, drop-in COVID-19 testing is available from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday through Friday at Pegula Ice Arena and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday through Friday at the White Building during the fall semester. Voluntary COVID-19 testing is available to students and employees regardless of vaccination status. Credit: Patrick Mansell / Penn StateCreative Commons

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State is continuing to offer voluntary COVID-19 testing for any student or employee, including vaccinated individuals, who are asymptomatic of COVID-19 but want to be tested because of possible virus exposure or other reasons. 

Voluntary student testing

Voluntary COVID-19 testing is available for any student taking in-person classes or living near a Penn State campus, regardless of vaccination status.

At University Park, drop-in testing is available from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday through Friday at Pegula Ice Arena and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday through Friday at the White Building for all students living on or near campus. The Pegula and White Building testing sites will be closed, however, on Monday, Sept. 6, in observance of the Labor Day holiday.

At all Commonwealth Campuses, student tests will be distributed by the student health center or designated office, or ordered through the mail via the Vault Health mail-in test kit. Students should contact their campus student health center or Student Affairs office for more information.

Students who test positive will be referred to isolation and the University’s contact tracing process will be initiated.

Voluntary employee testing

All employees may seek testing through their health care provider or other local COVID-19 testing options.

At any Penn State location, employees working on campus may order a Vault Health mail-in test kit. Voluntary testing is available to employees even if they have been vaccinated for COVID-19. 

Employees working on campus at University Park also may utilize the drop-in testing available on campus. However, they are strongly encouraged to use the at-home Vault Health mail-in test kit as the best test option.

Symptomatic testing 

Students who are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 should seek symptomatic testing through a University or local health care provider. Although more protected from serious illness, if at any time vaccinated individuals experience COVID-19 symptoms, they should still seek testing to minimize spread of the virus.

At University Park, students living on campus or in the local community who are exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19 should continue to schedule testing appointments with University Health Services (UHS) via myUHSUHS's hours of operation are available here.

Students living on or near other Penn State campuses should seek symptomatic testing via their campus’ health services or a local provider.

Employees experiencing COVID-19 symptoms are advised to schedule an appointment with their health care provider.

Additional information about Penn State’s COVID-19 testing program is available on the Testing and Support page on virusinfo.psu.edu.

Last Updated September 2, 2021