public, coeducational institution of higher learning in Clarion, Pennsylvania, U.S. It is part of Pennsylvania's State System of Higher Education. The university consists of colleges of Arts and Sciences, Business Administration, Education and Human Services, and Graduate Studies, as well as a School of Nursing. Clarion University offers approximately 70 baccalaureate programs and 11 master's degree programs. The university's Venango campus is in Oil City. Total enrollment is approximately 6,000.

The university was founded in 1867 as Carrier Seminary and went through a series of changes, becoming a state normal (teacher-training) school, a state teachers college, a state college, and finally, in 1983, a university. Campus facilities include a planetarium, a greenhouse, and an art gallery.