Pangasinan State University can trace its history back to teacher training colleges founded in the 1920s. It was formed to serve the Filipino coastal province on Luzon Island in 1979 through the merger of the Colleges of Art and Trades, Agriculture and Fisheries.
Students can study across schools of arts, science and letters, business and public administration, computer science, hospitality and tourism management, teacher education, and Industrial technology.
The headquarters remains on Alvear Street in Lingayen, but there are also campuses at Urdaneta, which is home to the school of advanced studies, Asingan, Bayambang, Binmaley, Infanta, Carlos City, Santa Maria and in Alaminos.
In 2021 roughly one quarter of PSU students were supported by scholarships, with around 16 per cent funded by the government and nine per cent by institutional awards.
Some students have been enrolled on the "cash for work" programme, providing campus jobs.