# Portland State University

Public college in Portland, OR. IPEDS ID 209807.
Source page: https://educationguide.com/colleges/portland-state-university · Data: https://educationguide.com/data/colleges/portland-state-university.json · Method: https://educationguide.com/how-we-score

## Key numbers
- Acceptance rate: 91% (Fall 2024, College Scorecard)
- Average net price after grants: $9,552 per year (AcadYr 2023-24, reported in IPEDS DCY2024-25)
- Graduation rate (6 years): 53%; beats 28% of OR colleges and 47% nationwide
- Median earnings 10 years after starting: $57,906; beats 45% of OR colleges and 64% nationwide
- Median debt at graduation: $15,457

## Net price by family income (per year, after grants)
| Family income | Net price |
|---|---|
| 0-30k | $7,655 |
| 30-48k | $7,752 |
| 48-75k | $8,981 |
| 75-110k | $12,993 |
| 110k+ | $19,112 |

Average after grants for first-time, full-time students receiving federal aid, in-state. Negative values mean grants exceed cost.

## Cost to finish and years to pay back (EducationGuide calculation)
Graduates took 4.42 years on average (35% finished in 4 years; Fall 2017 entrants, IPEDS). Earnings gain = $57,906 (median earnings of former students 10 years after starting college (College Scorecard)) minus $36,549 for high school graduates ages 25-34 in OR (Census ACS 2020-2024).

| Family income | Net price / yr | Cost to finish | Years to pay back |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | $7,655 | $33,835 | 1.6 years |
| 30-48k | $7,752 | $34,264 | 1.6 years |
| 48-75k | $8,981 | $39,696 | 1.9 years |
| 75-110k | $12,993 | $57,429 | 2.7 years |
| 110k+ | $19,112 | $84,475 | 4.0 years |

Method: https://educationguide.com/how-we-score#value

## Sticker price
- Cost of attendance: $21,590 in-state; about $40,985 out-of-state
- Tuition and fees: $11,679 in-state, $31,074 out-of-state
- Housing and meals: $13,728; books: $798

## Admissions
- SAT reading & writing: not reported; SAT math: not reported; ACT: not reported (25th–75th percentile, Fall 2024)
- Fall 2023: 8,877 applicants, 8,070 admitted, 1,580 enrolled; test scores considered but not required
- Fall 2024: acceptance 91%, ACT not reported (College Scorecard)
- Fall 2023: acceptance 91%, ACT not reported (IPEDS Admissions)

## Majors (72 bachelor's majors)
| Major | Earnings 1 yr | Earnings 4 yrs | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|
| Computer Science | $78,669 | $113,889 | $31,000 |
| Electrical Engineering | $82,853 | $101,905 | $29,593 |
| Mechanical Engineering | $73,079 | $94,223 | $29,113 |
| Physics | $62,749 | $87,488 | $29,070 |
| Civil Engineering | $67,509 | $86,084 | $31,000 |
| Finance | $52,859 | $79,727 | $20,570 |
| Accounting | $58,069 | $77,226 | $31,000 |
| Biochemistry | $40,230 | $75,765 | $25,000 |
| Economics | $47,865 | $75,482 | $24,949 |
| Business Administration | $51,358 | $71,621 | $25,000 |
| Chemistry | $35,395 | $70,948 | $24,773 |
| Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services, Other | $37,585 | $70,765 | $20,250 |
| Mathematics | $37,427 | $68,280 | $26,480 |
| Human Resources | $49,696 | $68,274 | $25,460 |
| Social Work | $41,594 | $63,456 | $25,624 |
| Architecture | $32,678 | $62,349 | $25,000 |
| Marketing | $41,395 | $61,499 | $19,500 |
| Health Sciences | $37,709 | $59,961 | $19,750 |
| Speech-Language Pathology / Communication Disorders | $35,615 | $59,563 | $23,907 |
| Communications | $35,143 | $59,232 | $24,582 |
| Political Science | $35,173 | $59,185 | $23,818 |
| Environmental Science / Conservation | $31,512 | $58,961 | $29,250 |
| Public Health | $36,762 | $58,860 | $27,000 |
| Criminal Justice | $45,401 | $58,109 | $26,641 |
| Geology / Earth Science | $37,831 | $57,932 | $24,125 |
| Multi / Interdisciplinary Studies, Other | $31,571 | $57,438 | $16,500 |
| Biological and Physical Sciences | $37,419 | $57,303 | $27,500 |
| International Relations | $30,253 | $56,436 | $24,250 |
| Graphic / Interior / Fashion Design | $35,304 | $56,158 | $26,995 |
| Biology | $29,468 | $54,934 | $25,750 |
| Geography | $35,330 | $54,310 | $26,500 |
| History | $24,612 | $54,131 | $31,000 |
| Sociology | $28,708 | $53,753 | $25,000 |
| Social Sciences | $35,093 | $52,562 | $31,000 |
| Linguistics | not reported | $51,925 | $29,671 |
| Visual and Performing Arts, Other | not reported | $51,248 | not reported |
| Community Organization and Advocacy | $34,020 | $51,066 | $22,250 |
| Liberal Arts / General Studies | $23,253 | $50,949 | $30,250 |
| Human Development and Family Studies | $32,481 | $50,427 | $23,334 |
| Spanish / French / Romance Languages | $27,500 | $50,241 | $19,416 |
| Philosophy | $24,124 | $50,191 | $24,072 |
| Psychology | $33,179 | $49,063 | $24,499 |
| Theatre | $25,352 | $45,692 | $39,773 |
| English | $27,819 | $43,342 | $24,546 |
| Anthropology | $34,862 | $41,759 | $23,500 |
| Film and Photography | $27,028 | $41,639 | $25,000 |
| Studio Art | $20,866 | $40,731 | $35,125 |
| East Asian Languages (Chinese / Japanese / Korean) | $25,262 | $39,563 | $25,500 |
| Music | $17,638 | $34,160 | $27,846 |
| Area Studies | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Ethnic / Gender Studies | $32,441 | not reported | $26,500 |
| Audiovisual Communications Technologies / Technicians | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Computer and Information Sciences | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Special Education | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Education (Subject Teaching) | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Teaching English or French as a Second or Foreign Language | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Computer Engineering | $87,259 | not reported | $35,166 |
| Environmental Engineering | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Slavic, Baltic and Albanian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| German | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Middle / Near Eastern and Semitic Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Writing | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| International / Global Studies | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Data Science | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Religious Studies | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Urban Studies / Affairs | $45,870 | not reported | $36,850 |
| Dance | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Health Administration | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Management Information Systems | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Real Estate | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| General Sales, Merchandising and Related Marketing Operations | not reported | not reported | not reported |

## Major to career
- Business Administration → Management analyst: median wage $103,470 (Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA), $101,840 (OR), $101,860 (U.S.)
- Public Health → Health education specialist: median wage $75,500 (Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA), $75,500 (OR), $64,070 (U.S.)

## Sources and years
- Net price: AcadYr 2023-24, reported in IPEDS DCY2024-25; cost of attendance: AcadYr 2023-24, reported in IPEDS DCY2024-25; tuition: AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2024-25
- Graduation: Fall 2018 or AcadYr 2018-19 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2024-25; earnings: Treasury AY2009-10, AY2010-11 pooled cohort measured in CY2020, CY2021, inflation adjusted to 2022 dollars; debt: NSLDS FY2020, FY2021 pooled cohorts
- Major earnings (4 yr): Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars

Free to reuse with attribution: cite "EducationGuide.com" with a link to the page URL. Most figures are U.S. government data (public domain); loan default rates and athletics come from the Urban Institute Education Data Portal (ODC-By 1.0, attribution required) and founding years from Wikidata (CC0).