The Supreme Court ruled last week that it was constitutional for Joshua Davey, a student in Kirkland, Washington, to be denied a scholarship because he was a theology major at a Baptist college. But Penn State officials say his case would not happen to a student at Penn State for several reasons.

Penn State does not discriminate against students' majors, said Kerstin Roan, director of student aid.

"We don't deny scholarships depending on a major," Roan said.

Davey's case is irrelevant and would not apply to any state-sponsored university, said William Petersen, director of religious studies program.

"He was majoring in theology at a church-related college, not at a secular university like Penn State," Peterson said.

But Penn State does not offer a theology major, Petersen added.

The reason the government was not obligated to fund Davey was that he was training for pastoral ministries at a Baptist college, Petersen said.

Penn State spokesman Bill Mahon, said he has never heard of any case in which a student was denied a scholarship because of his or her major at Penn State.

However, he said many scholarships that are geared toward a specific major or campus come from alumni who want to give back to their Penn State community.

"The way most people give money is if they majored in journalism then they'll give money to a journalism major, or if they went to another campus like Altoona and really enjoyed their time there, they'll donate to the Altoona campus," Mahon said.

Scholarship guidelines are always worded in a positive way, such as by only saying who is eligible, said Mike Bezilla, director of advancement projects.

While there are many scholarships for under-represented groups, there is still something for everyone, said Vivienne Wildes, director of the Undergraduate Fellowship Office. However, she doesn't think Penn State students take advantage of them.

She also said there is not enough money for everyone to receive scholarships.

"There aren't enough [national scholarships] for white people, different ethnicities, smart people," Wildes said.

Not everyone can be given scholarships; there has to be a way to determine who's eligible and who's not, Bezilla said.

Scholarships are not a form of discrimination, he added.

The Undergraduate Fellowship Office does not discriminate against students, they simply choose their scholarship nominees based on the scholarship's requirements, Wildes said.

They usually follow four requirements to base their decision on: good grades, services and leadership, great references, and a personal essay, she added.

"You can't apply the word discrimination to our scholarships," Bezilla said.