Portland State University

Portland, OR · Public

Official website

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Admission rate

Portland State University admitted 90.9% of applicants university-wide (8,248 of 9,077).

CohortAdmit rateAdmittedApplicants
University-wide90.9%8,2489,077
Men89.7%2,9583,296
Women91.5%5,1155,591

Of 8,248 admitted students, 1,502 enrolled (18.2% yield).

Portland State University U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard · Sections C1–C2 · 2023Published cohort admit rates — context, not an applicant-specific probability.

Test scores and GPA of admitted students

SAT (mid-50%)
1100–1290
ACT (mid-50%)
19–25
GPA (mid-50%, 4.0 scale)
3.003.74

Testing policy: Test-blind (scores not considered)

Portland State University U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard · Sections C9–C12 · 2023Published admit stats reflect the entire incoming class unless explicitly labeled international-only.

Cost and financial aid

Published cost of attendance: $50,034/yr.

Out-of-state tuition$31,074
Fees, housing, food, books & other$18,960
Sticker cost of attendance$50,034/yr

Average net price by family income (US, federal aid data)

Under $30k$7,655
$30k–48k$7,752
$48k–75k$8,981
$75k–110k$12,993
Over $110k$19,112

U.S. Dept. of Education · College Scorecard — average net price by family income (Title IV, from IPEDS) · 2023

US applicants

Need- and merit-based aid available.

  • Presidential Scholarship$10,000 per year (Presidential)
  • Dean's Scholarship$6,000 per year (Merit)
  • University Scholarship$3,000 per year (Merit)
  • Non-Resident Tuition Reduction ScholarshipReduces non-resident tuition to near resident rate (Merit)
  • Portland State GrantVaries (Need Based)

International applicants

No need-based aid reported for internationals.

  • International Achievement ScholarshipUp to $10,000 per year (International Aid)
  • International Cultural Service Program (ICSP)$3,250 per term in fee remission (International Aid)

Portland State University U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard · Sections G–H · 2023

Application requirements

US applicants

  • Official High School Transcript
  • SAT or ACT Scores (optional)
  • Application fee

International applicants

  • Official High School Transcript
  • SAT or ACT Scores (optional)
  • Application fee
  • English proficiency (IELTS/TOEFL)
  • GPA credential conversion
  • Predicted Class XII marksheet
  • Financial documentation (I-20)

Portland State University · Application requirements (official admissions pages) · 2025

Essay prompts

Draft these in the free Essay Coach

Prompts from the Common App member feed · verified Jul 4, 2026

Graduate outcomes

Median earnings
$57,906
Median earnings · 10 years after entry
Graduation rate
52.7%
Within 150% of normal time
First-year retention
74.7%
Return for year two · CDS Section B
Median debt
$20,500
At graduation

Portland State University · U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (2023 release) · 2023Earnings and debt figures are federal data for aid-receiving graduates — cohort outcomes, not a guarantee for any individual student.

Published rankings

  • U.S. News National: #222
  • WSJ: #308
  • Forbes: #252
  • Niche: #369
  • QS: #1201

Academics and campus

Largest degree fields: Business & marketing (18%), Social sciences (11%), Psychology (9%).

Student–faculty ratio: 16:1 · 47% of class sections have under 20 students.

Portland State University U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard · Sections E, F, I · 2023Published institutional figures for the reporting year — descriptive of the current student body, not a prediction about your experience.

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