Portland State University is a public research university whose mission is rooted in sustainable living, accessibility, and community engagement. Its location within the city inspires students to solve problems and promote prosperity within rapidly changing, urban environments.
Student Profile
Fall 2016 Enrollment
19,119 undergraduate students
72% of undergrad students are full time
46% male — 54% female
17.4% of students are from out of state
Faculty Profile
2016-2017 Academic Year
889 full-time faculty
706 part-time faculty
20 to 1 student/faculty ratio
Residence Life
Fall 2016
9% of all students live on campus
High-Impact Practices
Read more about the importance of High-Impact Practices
| First-Year Seminars and Experiences | X |
| Common Intellectual Experiences | X |
| Learning Communities | X |
| Writing-Intensive Courses | X |
| Collaborative Assignments and Projects | X |
| Undergraduate Research | X |
| Diversity/Global Learning | X |
| Service Learning, Community-Based Learning | X |
| Internships/Coops/Practicums | X |
| Capstone Courses and Projects/Senior Experience | X |
Retention Fall 2016
73% of students began in Fall 2015 and returned in Fall 2016 (full time, first time freshmen)
6 YEAR GRADUATION RATE 2016
46.5% of students graduated in 6 years
ENROLLMENT BY RACIAL/ETHNIC CATEGORY - FALL 2016
| Nonresident aliens | 5% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 13% |
| Black or African American | 4% |
| White | 57% |
| American Indian or Alaska Native | 1% |
| Asian | 9% |
| Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander | 1% |
| Two or more races | 6% |
| Race and/or ethnicity unknown | 4% |
University Studies Program
The foundation of Portland State’s undergraduate student experience is the four-year, award-winning University Studies Program. Started in 1994, the program has revolutionized general education at PSU, providing students with interdisciplinary, connected learning experiences that lay the groundwork for lifelong learning. In a nutshell, it teaches students how to learn. University Studies brings relevance and meaning to a student’s general education.
Freshman Inquiry
The University Studies Program starts with Freshman Inquiry, a year-long series of interactive courses based around one of ten themes. Recent themes include Design & Society, Power & Imagination, Sustainability, and The Work of Art. Each theme is approached from a variety of different angles that take on life’s big questions and involve students in hands-on activities.
Sophomore Inquiry
The University Studies Program continues the second year with Sophomore Inquiry, which prepares students for upper-division courses and lets them explore topics of interest that are different from, yet complementary to, their majors.
Upper-Division Cluster
Upper-Division Cluster is the third-year segment of the program. Based around the student’s chosen Sophomore Inquiry theme, cluster courses build upon the knowledge and core skills students develop in their first two years.
Senior Capstone
University Studies culminates in the fourth year with the Senior Capstone, which connects the classroom to the community by immersing teams of students in community-based learning projects that address real-world issues. PSU offers more than 200 capstones each year. They have included teaching English as a second language to adults, finding solutions to social justice disparities, working with people with disabilities, and helping design gardens for a women’s prison. In all cases, students are engaged with each other and with the outside world.
Peer Mentors
The program also provides opportunities for student engagement and co-creation in the classroom through its mentoring program. Juniors and seniors also have the opportunity to be peer mentors to students in the Freshman Inquiry courses, providing every student with someone near their age to help them figure out the course and the university. Graduate students can be peer mentors in Sophomore Inquiry. In addition to gaining valuable leadership experience, peer mentors receive awards and stipends, tuition reimbursement, skill training, and professional development.
Activities Offered
| Campus Ministries | X |
| Choral groups | X |
| Concert band | X |
| Dance | X |
| Drama/theater | X |
| International Student Organization | X |
| Jazz band | X |
| Literary magazine | X |
| Marching band | X |
| Model UN | X |
| Music ensembles | X |
| Musical theater | X |
| Opera | X |
| Pep band | X |
| Radio station | X |
| Student government | X |
| Student newspaper | X |
| Student-run film society | X |
| Symphony orchestra | X |
| Television station | X |
| Yearbook |
Portland State University faculty members are prized for their knowledge, achievements, and meaningful engagement with students. Drawn from academic programs around the world, these professors bring with them a rich diversity of culture and background as well as a commitment to Portland State’s unique approach to education.
Multidisciplinary Education
Faculty in the multidisciplinary University Studies program take students through an educational journey that draws connections between history, art, science, politics, urban planning, and other disciplines. These connections—as well as their application in solving real-world problems—are part of the reason the University Studies program has won awards from numerous organizations, including Council for Higher Education Accreditation, US News & World Report, Corporation for National Service, and the W.K Kellogg Foundation. Portland State was a recipient of the Pew Leadership Award for the Renewal of Undergraduate Education.
A Practical Urban Focus
Engaged professors also provide rigorous instruction and personalized academic support at PSU’s University Honors College, the only urban-focused honors college in the United States.
Guided by PSU’s motto “Let knowledge serve the city,” faculty scholarship and research addresses some of society’s most pressing challenges. Student learning converges with real opportunities, created through community collaborations that faculty facilitate.
Faculty Connections
PSU’s faculty’s expertise also serves the region through partnerships with businesses, nonprofits, and government agencies. Many enjoy a national (even international) profile through leadership positions in academic, professional, and research organizations. Research at PSU has produced a growing number of spinoff companies and patent applications from faculty.
Common Core
| Arts/fine arts | |
| Computer literacy | X |
| English (including composition) | X |
| Foreign languages | |
| History | X |
| Humanities | X |
| Mathematics | X |
| Philosophy | X |
| Sciences (biological or physical) | X |
| Social science | X |
Class Size Breakdown
| Size | 2-9 | 10-19 | 20-29 | 30-39 | 40-49 | 50-99 | 100+ | Total |
| Number of Classes | 159 | 353 | 361 | 324 | 220 | 213 | 51 | 1681 |
The Center of the City
Portland State is a vibrant campus located within an equally vibrant city. With some 50 academic buildings, the campus boundaries dovetail almost seamlessly with the rest of downtown. Portland’s bus and light rail lines, as well as its ubiquitous bike paths, give students easy access to the campus and to the surrounding city, which is a magnet for foodies, book store lovers, and microbrew enthusiasts. PSU’s Urban Plaza, occupied by the College of Urban and Public Affairs and the Academic and Student Recreation Center, is Portland’s busiest transit hub.
Community Engagement
One of PSU’s distinguishing features is its engagement with the greater community. Through community-based projects and internships, PSU students live the university’s urban-serving mission. Faculty regularly bring businesses, nonprofits, government, and citizens into their classrooms. Those connections enable students to earn a quality education while learning how to apply it.
Campus Diversity
Portland State boasts the most diverse student population of any public Oregon university. Students of all nationalities, backgrounds, ethnicities, and preferences are welcome, which shows in the many cultural resource centers and student groups on campus.
Campus Housing Options for Undergraduates
| Coed dorms | X |
| Men’s dorms | |
| Women’s dorms | |
| Apartments for married students | X |
| Apartments for single students | X |
| Special housing for disabled students | X |
| Special housing for international students | X |
| Fraternity/sorority housing | X |
| Cooperative housing | X |
| Theme housing | |
| Wellness housing | |
| Other housing options |
Portland State’s University Studies program equips students with the core skills and perspectives to be successful throughout life. These include an ability to communicate effectively, to think creatively and critically, to be curious about the diversity of the human experience, and to wrestle with understandings of ethics and social responsibility. These are the four goals of the University Studies curriculum, and employers report that they desire graduates with mastery in each of these areas.
Senior Capstone
The senior capstone portion of the curriculum takes those skills and applies them in a way no other classroom experience can. PSU believes that giving something back to the community is an important college outcome, and working with community partners is good preparation for citizenship, work, and life.
Professional Connections
PSU has formed strong partnerships with such large players in the business community as Daimler, Nike, and Intel. It is with these connections that students has direct access to life-changing internships as well as promising job prospects after they graduate.
Alumni Across the World
Last year, PSU granted nearly 5,800 degrees, and in previous years has had the largest graduation numbers in Oregon. Portland State has 171,000 alumni throughout the world, and most of them—more than 100,000—live in the Portland metropolitan area.
ADMISSIONS
ADMISSIONS FALL 2016
6,373 Total Applicants
5,699 Total Admissions
1,797 Total Freshmen Enrollment
Selectivity
89.42% of applicants admitted
Admissions Deadlines for 2017-18 Admission
Rolling admission? Yes
Priority date: Jun 1
Admissions Factors
Very Important
Rigor of secondary school record
Academic GPA
Considered
Standardized test scores
Freshmen Profile Fall 2016
| 25th Percentile | 75th Percentile | |
| SAT Critical Reading | 470 | 590 |
| SAT Math | 460 | 570 |
| SAT Writing | ||
| SAT Essay | ||
| ACT Composite | 19 | 25 |
| ACT Math | 17 | 25 |
| ACT English | 18 | 26 |
| ACT Writing |
TUITION AND COSTS
TUITION AND COSTS BEFORE FINANCIAL AID 2016-2017
| Expenses | In-State | Out-of-State |
| Tuition | $5,616 | $18,828 |
| Fees | $1,317 | $1,317 |
| Total | $6,933 | $20,145 |
| Room and Board (on campus) | $12,822 | $12,822 |
| Room Only | $9,204 | $9,204 |
| Board Only | $3,618 | $3,618 |
| Estimated Total On Campus | $19,755 | $32,967 |
FINANCIAL AID
Average Financial Aid Packages 2015-2016 FINAL
$9,943 First year students
$5,798 All undergrads
Financial Aid Breakdown 2015-2016 FINAL
52% on average, the percentage of need that was met
40% of financial need students that had need fully met
$5,798 Average need-based scholarship or grant award
$4,188 Average need-based loan