Portland State University

Portland, OR · Public · 13,182 undergrads (medium, city) · website ↗

Test-optional
$60 application fee

What you'll actually pay

Average net price per year — tuition, fees, room & board minus grant and scholarship aid — for in-state students by household income.

Household income	Avg net price / year
Under $30,000	$7,655
$30,000 – $48,000	$7,752
$48,000 – $75,000	$8,981
$75,000 – $110,000	$12,993
Over $110,000	$19,112
All incomes (average)	$9,552

Sticker tuition and fees: $11,679 in-state, $31,074 out-of-state — before aid, from the same earlier College Scorecard release as the net prices above.

These are averages. For an estimate for your family, use Portland State University's own net price calculator — every college that takes federal student aid must publish one.

Net price calculator ↗

Other costs of attendance, 2025–26

The college's own estimate for a full-time undergraduate for the year, before aid, from the October 2026 College Scorecard. It is a newer year than the tuition and net prices above, so don't add the two together.

Housing and meals, on campus	$15,783
Housing and meals, off campus (not with family)	$15,783
Books and supplies	$750
Other expenses, on campus	$2,580
Other expenses, off campus	$3,870

Grants and loans for first-year students, 2022–23

What the college reported for its full-time, first-time students (1,519 of them) in 2022–23; 88% got some kind of aid, loans included. Each average is over the students who received that kind of aid, not over everyone. It is an older year than the 2025–26 costs above.

Type of aid	Students awarded	Average amount
Any grant or scholarshipFederal, state, local and the college's own	84%	$8,827
Federal Pell GrantNeed-based, from the federal government	58%	$5,148
The college's own grants and scholarshipsNeed- or merit-based, funded by the college	55%	$4,105
Federal student loansBorrowed by the student; repaid with interest. No Parent PLUS or private loans	33%	$4,735

IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education, Student Financial Aid 2022–23 (SFA2223, provisional release); full-time, first-time degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates; public domain.

Admissions & outcomes

Acceptance rate: 91%
Average SAT: —
Median ACT: 21
Students with Pell grants: 42%
Graduation rate (6yr): 53%
Freshman retention: 76%
Median earnings @ 10yr: $57,906
Median debt at graduation: $20,500
International undergrads: 456 (2.9%)

For comparison, the median across all 1,596 four-year colleges on this site: graduation rate 56%, earnings ten years after entering $54,869, debt at graduation $23,250.

Admission policy, test scores and teaching

SAT/ACT policy: Test-optional
Application fee: $60
Students per faculty member: 17 to 1
Faculty who are full-time: 57%
Open admission: No

What the college considers in admission decisions, fall 2023

How the college said it used each item when deciding on first-time, degree- or certificate-seeking applicants for fall 2023. For SAT and ACT scores, see the fall 2024 policy above.

High school GPA	Required
High school class rank	Not considered
High school record	Required
Completion of a college-preparatory program	Required
Recommendations	Not considered
Formal demonstration of competencies (e.g. portfolio)	Not considered
English proficiency test (for applicable students)	Required
Other test (Wonderlic, WISC-III, etc.)	Not considered
Work experience	Not considered
Personal statement or essay	Not considered
Legacy status	Not considered

First-time applicants: 8,877
Admitted: 8,070
Enrolled: 1,580

Counts of first-time, degree- or certificate-seeking students, including early decision and early action. The acceptance rate higher up this page comes from a different College Scorecard release, so it may not match these counts.

IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education, Admissions 2023–24 (ADM2023, provisional release), fall 2023; open admission from IPEDS Institutional Characteristics 2023–24 (revised); public domain.

Most popular fields of study

Share of bachelor's degrees awarded.

Business18%

Social Sciences11%

Psychology9%

Health & Nursing7%

Visual & Performing Arts7%

Computer Science6%

Engineering6%

Biology & Life Sciences4%

Criminal Justice3%

English & Literature3%

Earnings and debt by field of study

Median annual earnings of graduates who received federal student aid and were working, not studying: one year after completing (graduates of 2020–21 and 2021–22) and four years after (2017–18 and 2018–19), measured in 2022 and 2023 and shown in 2024 dollars. Median debt is federal Direct and Grad PLUS loans borrowed at this college by 2022–23 and 2023–24 graduates; it leaves out Parent PLUS and private loans. “National” is the median for the same field and credential across all US colleges.

Bachelor's degrees (57)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Psychology, General	391	$40,195	$49,063national $50,706	$19,000
Social Sciences, General	277	$43,546	$52,562national $53,366	$19,166
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities	230	$39,765	$50,949national $53,072	$19,634
Business Administration, Management and Operations	223	$60,449	$71,621national $68,257	$16,866
Marketing	164	$47,931	$61,499national $69,303	$15,278
Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other	145	$38,318	$57,438national $55,693	$17,500
Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, General	128	$42,900	$59,961national $61,296	$18,572
Computer Science	127	$83,156	$113,889national $107,009	$20,955
Criminal Justice and Corrections	124	$49,260	$58,109national $55,378	$18,485
Accounting and Related Services	123	$63,873	$77,226national $76,194	$16,668
Biology, General	116	$39,784	$54,934national $57,214	$18,833
Public Health	99	$49,137	$58,860national $58,808	$19,500
Biological and Physical Sciences	96	$38,339	$57,303national $58,891	$20,500
Social Work	84	$43,124	$63,456national $51,790	$20,175
Political Science and Government	79	$44,448	$59,185national $63,293	$17,917
Finance and Financial Management Services	78	$60,668	$79,727national $83,343	$18,300
Mechanical Engineering	75	$78,377	$94,223national $92,135	$22,416
English Language and Literature, General	74	$35,494	$43,342national $48,590	$15,971
Human Resources Management and Services	74	$59,188	$68,274national $68,069	$19,743
Computer and Information Sciences, General	69	—	—national $92,374	$18,000
Design and Applied Arts	68	$43,283	$56,158national $51,490	$19,500
Natural Resources Conservation and Research	58	$41,645	$58,961national $55,012	$21,417
Communication and Media Studies	57	$46,427	$59,232national $56,359	$17,750
Fine and Studio Arts	55	$30,133	$40,731national $41,367	$19,122
Civil Engineering	48	$74,330	$86,084national $86,517	$19,400
Sociology	45	$42,662	$53,753national $52,657	$18,384
Film/Video and Photographic Arts	45	$30,071	$41,639national $43,765	$21,277
Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services, Other	43	$37,245	$70,765national $69,830	$20,678
Architecture	39	$47,559	$62,349national $66,914	$22,458
Mathematics	39	$53,452	$68,280national $69,562	$20,333
Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services	37	$46,606	$50,427national $48,568	$18,023
History	36	$33,981	$54,131national $50,680	$15,294
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering	33	$84,652	$101,905national $100,647	$19,250
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services	33	$31,178	$59,563national $58,928	$18,000
Economics	31	$56,793	$75,482national $82,686	$16,999
Urban Studies/Affairs	27	$48,714	—national $62,532	$17,298
Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	25	$38,076	$50,241national $55,000	—
Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies	25	—	—national $48,471	$20,000
Audiovisual Communications Technologies/Technicians	21	$34,345	—national $44,889	$15,250
Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies	20	$37,725	—national $51,710	$20,000
International/Globalization Studies	20	$32,163	—national $59,972	—
Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology	19	$49,763	$75,765national $65,466	—
Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services	18	$33,611	$51,925national $49,984	$21,361
Music	18	—	$34,160national $42,892	—
Visual and Performing Arts, Other	17	—	$51,248national $47,629	$25,000
Philosophy	16	—	$50,191national $54,455	$15,144
Computer Engineering	15	$96,791	—national $109,015	—
Physics	14	$58,579	$87,488national $76,786	—
Anthropology	14	$34,061	$41,759national $46,676	$21,994
Geography and Cartography	14	$59,400	$54,310national $57,853	—
Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences	13	—	$57,932national $60,190	$18,291
International Relations and National Security Studies	12	—	$56,436national $66,596	—
Chemistry	11	—	$70,948national $65,120	—
Community Organization and Advocacy	10	$44,203	$51,066national $51,936	—
Special Education and Teaching	9	$50,574	—national $50,499	—
East Asian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	9	$40,597	$39,563national $51,642	—
Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft	7	—	$45,692national $39,775	—

Master's degrees (27)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Social Work	275	$66,965	$77,091national $65,123	$56,750
Education, General	127	$56,448	$61,014national $65,824	$35,756
Electrical and Computer Engineering	117	$112,888	—	—
Computer Science	112	$112,908	$145,715national $145,571	$39,144
Business Administration, Management and Operations	94	$96,412	$123,281national $103,485	$41,000
Special Education and Teaching	65	$60,533	$67,504national $64,397	$41,000
Student Counseling and Personnel Services	41	$57,448	$63,034national $60,111	$61,500
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services	40	$65,188	$76,980national $67,030	$50,053
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods	39	$54,653	$62,874national $59,916	$35,500
Applied Mathematics	38	$83,395	—national $116,060	—
Educational Administration and Supervision	37	$58,602	$63,168national $71,685	$36,799
City/Urban, Community, and Regional Planning	34	$68,508	$80,453national $79,665	$38,000
Curriculum and Instruction	29	$68,696	$76,554national $63,399	$21,068
Public Administration	26	$86,609	$99,801national $81,408	$37,936
Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods	25	—	—national $124,807	$20,500
Publishing	22	$39,953	$58,153national $63,992	$38,707
Architecture	15	—	$71,002national $74,139	$41,000
Materials Engineering	15	$125,486	—national $112,282	—
Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies	15	—	$43,137national $55,035	—
Taxation	15	$76,595	$81,454national $114,810	—
Mechanical Engineering	14	$117,066	$107,077national $115,974	—
Civil Engineering	13	$95,050	$93,150national $98,323	—
Teaching English or French as a Second or Foreign Language	12	—	$43,242national $65,767	—
Real Estate	11	$90,275	$117,821national $135,104	—
Public Policy Analysis	9	—	$73,504national $93,020	—
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering	0	—	$139,274national $133,654	—
Finance and Financial Management Services	0	—	$113,459national $110,694	—

Graduate certificates (1)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services	18	$71,622	—national $60,191	—

Post-baccalaureate certificates (1)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Accounting and Related Services	—	—	$79,598national $86,165	—

A dash means the Department of Education suppressed the figure because too few graduates were measured — not zero. 192 more programmes at this college have every figure suppressed and are not listed.

Contact and accreditation

Address: 724 SW Harrison St., Portland, OR 97201
Phone: (503) 725-3000
Institutional accreditor: Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities

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Sources: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts) and IPEDS Fall Enrolment for international student counts. College Scorecard, October 2026 release: net price calculator link, mission flags and religious affiliation (2025–26), enrolment shares, test policy, SAT/ACT ranges and student-to-faculty ratio (fall 2024), cost-of-attendance components (2025–26), and earnings and debt by field of study. IPEDS Institutional Characteristics 2023–24 for the application fee and the IPEDS 2024 directory for the phone number. IPEDS Admissions 2023–24 (ADM2023, provisional release) for admission requirements and first-time applicants, admits and enrolments (fall 2023). IPEDS Student Financial Aid 2022–23 (SFA2223, provisional release) for grants and loans to full-time, first-time students. All are U.S. Department of Education data in the public domain. Verify current costs and requirements with the school.

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