Portland State University, located around a greenbelt strip in the downtown area called the Park Blocks, started out as a four-year college in 1946. It began offering master's degrees in 1864 and awarded its first doctoral degrees in 1972. Because of its proximity to businesses in the metropolitan area, Portland State is perceived as a business school, but it offers degrees in 213 fields. It has eight colleges and schools. Besides business administration, they are urban and public affairs, education, social work, liberal arts and sciences, extended studies, fine and performing arts, and engineering and computer science. Part of the Oregon public university system, Portland State serves more than 29,000 undergraduate and graduate students annually.
Portland State University
PO Box 751
Portland, OR 97207-0751
503-725-3000
pdx.edu
Reed College is a small, liberal arts college located in Portland's Woodstock district. It was named after Simeon and Amanda Reed, Oregon pioneers who directed in their wills that money be set aside for benevolent projects, such as education. The college was founded in 1908 and admitted its first students in 1911.
Reed is strong on liberal arts and stresses a rigorous educational course that requires all students to write theses their senior year. The independent college attracts 1,400 students annually. Reed grants degrees in 22 major fields as well as a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies. The school does not have football or baseball teams but it does have rugby, soccer and Frisbee teams, which compete locally.
Reed College
3202 Southeast Woodstock Boulevard
Portland, OR 97202
503-771-1112
reed.edu
Lewis & Clark College got its start in 1867 as a school in Albany, Oregon, 60 miles south of Portland, where it was affiliated with the Presbyterian church and was known as the Albany Collegiate Institute. The college opened a satellite campus in Portland in 1905. The branch proved so popular, the entire college moved to Portland in 1938 where it became known as Lewis & Clark College. In 1966, it dropped its affiliation with the Presbyterian church.
Today, Lewis & Clark is home to 1,900 students who earn degrees in 28 majors. The college also offers degrees in law through its Northwestern School of Law.
Lewis & Clark College
0615 Southwest Palatine Hill Road
Portland, OR 97219
503-768-7000
lclark.edu