Portland State University Portland State University ( PSU ) is a public state urban research university located in downtown Portland , Oregon , United States . Founded in 1946 , it has the largest overall undergraduate and graduate enrollment of any university in the state of Oregon , and is also the only public university in the state that is located in a major metropolitan city . Portland State offers Bachelor ' s and Master ' s degrees , as well as doctorate s in seventeen fields . Portland State is part of the Oregon University System ( OUS ) . The athletic teams are known as the Portland State Vikings with school colors of green and white . Teams compete at the NCAA Division I Level , primarily in the Big Sky Conference . Schools at Portland State include the School of Business Administration , Graduate School of Education , College the Arts , School of Social Work , College of Urban and Public Affairs , Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science , and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences . The university has been nationally noted for its programs in MBA ( Master ' s of Business Administration ) and urban planning . History . Portland State University was established as the Vanport Extension Center in June 1946 to satisfy the demand for higher education in Portland for returning World War II veterans , taking advantage of the G . I . Bill . The G . I . Bill was passed in 1944 to provide college , high school or vocational education for returning World War II veterans , as well as one year of unemployment compensation . Classes were held in the Vanport Junior High School . This first summer session had 221 students , and tuition and fees were $ 50 . Over 1 , 410 students registered for the 1946 fall term , which was delayed until October 7 , 1946 due to a lack of space . Since the population in Vanport City , Oregon was decreasing after World War II , the extension center was able to use buildings created for other purposes : two childcare centers , a recreation building with three classrooms , and a shopping center , which required substantial modification to house a library , offices , and six classrooms . In addition to Vanport Junior High School , Lincoln and Jefferson high schools were used after school hours , as well as the University of Oregon ' s dental and medical schools , located in Portland . Following the May 30 Vanport Flood of 1948 , the college became known as " the college that wouldn ' t die " for refusing to close after the flood . The term was coined by Lois Hennessy , a student who wrote about the college and the flood in the " Christian Science Monitor " , though students nicknamed the school " The college without a future . " ( Hennessy was the mother of poet Gary Snyder . ) The school occupied Grant High School in the summer of 1948 , then to hastily converted buildings at the Oregon Shipyard , known as the Oregon Ship . In 1953 , the school moved to downtown Portland and occupied the vacated buildings of Lincoln High School on SW Broadway street , including Lincoln Hall , then known as " Old Main . " The school changed its name to the Portland State Extension Center between December 1951 and February 1952 , and in 1955 , the Center changed its name to Portland State College to mark its maturation into a four - year degree - granting institution . It was also called " The U by the Slough " . By 1956 , the veterans had subsided , and baby food was no longer stocked in the bookstore . Portland State ' s entry in the 1965 General Electric College Bowl Team won the nationally televised quiz show that pitted teams of college students from across the country against each other . The team knocked off its competitors for five consecutive weeks , retiring as champions , and setting a new record for total points scored . The University ' s Smith Memorial Student Union building was named after team member Michael J . Smith , who competed in the tournament while suffering from cystic fibrosis and died in 1968 . Portland State University ' s growth for the next couple of decades was restricted under the Oregon University System ' s 1929 ruling that no public university or college in Oregon could duplicate the programs offered by another , with grandfathered exclusions for the University of Oregon and Oregon State University . Nevertheless , graduate programs were added in 1961 and doctoral programs were added in 1968 . The institution was granted university status by the Oregon State Board of Higher Education in 1969 , becoming Portland State University . In 1994 PSU did away with the traditional undergraduate distribution system and adopted a new interdisciplinary general education program known as University Studies . This program has been controversial both on and off campus due to some evidence that University Studies does not produce students who are adept at writing at the college level , but it is one of the programs at Portland State that has garnered national attention for its learning communities , service - learning , senior capstones , and successful retention of first - year students . " U . S . News & World Report " has on multiple occasions listed University Studies as a " Program to Look For " . In 2003 Portland State was approved to award degrees in Black Studies . That same year the university opened a center housed in a new building to support Native American students . In 2004 Dr . Fariborz Maseeh donated , through The Massiah Foundation , $ 8 million to the College of Engineering and Computer Science . The college was renamed the Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science . This was the largest single donation to the University at the time and this gift along with others led to , in May 2006 , the opening of a new engineering building , the " Northwest Center for Engineering , Science and Technology " which houses much of the College . The LEED gold - certified engineering building reflects the university ' s increased emphasis on engineering , science and technology . The facility includes classrooms , offices and 41 research and teaching labs . In May 2004 , Portland State announced a joint offering with Oregon Health & Science University ( OHSU ) to establish the nation ' s first biomedical informatics program . In 2006 , Portland State was declared to be the nation ' s first Salmon Safe University by the nonprofit organization Salmon Safe . The award was given to recognize campus - wide efforts toward environmental sustainability by treating storm water runoff before it reaches the local watershed . On June 3 , 2008 , The Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Partner Foundation announced Portland State as the recipient of The Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Partnership Award for Campus - Community Collaboration for their Watershed Stewardship Program . The program has led over 27 , 000 community volunteers donating a quarter million hours to install 80 , 000 plants and restore of watershed along of river . Individual projects have been led and supported by 700 students working as part of class projects , resulting in two master ' s theses and three research articles . In September 2008 the James F . and Marion L . Miller Foundation awarded Portland State University a $ 25 million challenge grant . The $ 25 million Miller grant and the funds raised to match it must be used exclusively for sustainability programs . Today , Portland State ' s sustainability research and education , led by Jennifer Allen , director of the Portland State Institute for Sustainable Solutions , is focused on four primary areas of inquiry : creating sustainable urban communities , the integration of human societies and the natural environment , implementing sustainability and mechanisms of change and measuring sustainability . Since 1998 , the Miller Foundation has also contributed more than $ 5 . 3 million to Portland State . Academics . Portland State is the largest and fastest growing school in the Oregon University System . The university has a dual enrollment agreement with Portland Community College that allows students of the two schools to take courses at either school . According to the " U . S . News & World Report " , as of 2012 , Portland State has an overall acceptance rate of 70 % , which is considered to be selective for a state university . In recent years , Portland State has increasingly added more doctoral programs as it has grown from its original mission as a liberal arts undergraduate college into a more broad - based research university . Recently added doctorates are Mathematics , Biology , Chemistry , Applied Physics , Computer Science , Applied Psychology , Engineering & Technology Management , Mechanical Engineering , and Sociology . Portland State awarded a total of 5 , 784 degrees for the 2010 - 11 academic year , including 3 , 945 bachelor degrees , 1 , 783 master degrees and 56 doctoral degrees . Rankings . " U . S . News & World Report " currently ranks Portland State as a second tier research university in their 2013 report . The university is ranked among " The Best 376 Colleges " in its 2012 edition , " Best in the West " , and as a " College With a Conscience " by " The Princeton Review " . Portland State ' s MBA ( Master ' s of Business Administration ) was ranked in the top 100 by " The Princeton Review " , who also named Portland State as one of the best institutions in the country for undergraduate education . Portland State University ' s School of Business Administration ranks 14th on a list of the Global Top 100 Schools in the 2011 – 2012 edition of Beyond Grey Pinstripes , a biennial ranking of business schools conducted by the Aspen Institute Center for Business Education . The School of Business Administration is also ranked in other surveys , such as " The Princeton Review " ' s " Best 294 Business Schools " . " U . S . News & World Report " currently ranks Portland State University ' s graduate Urban & Regional Planning Program as the 14th best in the Nation . Planetizen currently ranks the University ' s graduate Urban & Regional Planning Program , at the Nohad A . Toulan School of Urban Studies and Planning , within the top 25 best urban planning programs in the nation . Other top programs / colleges at Portland State University include its graduate College of Urban and Public Affairs which is ranked 46th in the nation , its Rehabilitation Counseling and Social Work graduate degrees ranked 23rd and 33rd respectively , its Speech - Language Pathology program is ranked 62nd , as well as its Graduate School of Education is ranked as being among the " Best " by " U . S . News & World Report " . It is also listed by " U . S . News & World Report " as having one of The Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs . The university is also ranked by " Washington Monthly " as 7th for Community Service , the Carnegie Foundation ranked PSU as a Top School in Curricular Engagement , Outreach , and Partnerships , and it is ranked as the 9th Best Neighbor Universities . It is also listed by " U . S . News & World Report " as having one of The Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs . Aside from academics , Portland State University is world renowned for its sustainability and green initiatives . PSU has a Gold STARS Rating for Sustainability , is ranked among the Nation ' s Top Green Schools and has a Top Green Business School ranking by " The Princeton Review " , it is also home to no less that 7 LEED certified schools . Lincoln Hall in snow 20081214 - Portland State University - Portland Oregon . jpg Colleges and schools . Portland State University ' s academic programs are organized into seven major academic units : In addition , Portland State University , through the School of Extended Studies , offers continuing education and special learning activities , including credit courses , degree - completion programs , distance - learning courses , noncredit community programs , re - licensure , certifications , high school courses , summer programs , and online study . Student life . Portland State differs from the other universities in Oregon partially because , as an urban institution , it attracts a student body older than rural universities . In the 2010 – 2011 school year , it was reported that the average age of an attending undergraduate student was 25 years . A significant percentage of Portland State ' s classes are offered at night and Saturdays . Some programs only offer night classes . PSU also delayed the development of its campus for decades after its founding . The institution sold land in a neighboring block soon after its move to downtown Portland , and delayed the construction of student housing until the early 1970s . While the mean age of students is 27 , increasing traditional enrollment is lowering the average student age . Mixed - use building projects ( commercial , educational , residential ) by the university preserve downtown shops and businesses while transforming the university from a " commuter campus " to a mix between a commuter and a traditional residential campus . Recently completed residences include the Stephen Epler Hall and The Broadway . Further steps toward increasing housing capacity — and university control over its own housing — are being taken with plans for further construction , and with PSU taking over management of the residence halls it currently owns . Optional residential and social opportunities exist with a small but active Greek system , which includes Alpha Chi Omega , Alpha Epsilon Pi , Alpha Phi Alpha , Kappa Sigma , Phi Delta Theta , Phi Sigma Sigma , Alpha Kappa Psi and Phi Gamma Nu . In March 2007 , Portland State University took over the managing of the on - campus housing at Portland State University . College Housing Northwest , which has previously managed the on - campus housing buildings ( including The Broadway , Stephen Epler Hall , West Hall , King Albert , St . Helens , Montgomery Court , and Ondine ) for over 30 years , will still maintain its off - campus housing ( including Goose Hollow , The Palidian , The Cambrian , and Clay ) . The student government is the Associated Students of Portland State University ( ASPSU ) . In addition to a student body President and Vice President , there is a Student Fee Committee , a 25 - member Student Senate chaired by the Vice President , and a Judicial Board which rules on ASPSU constitutional questions . There are also a number of university committees that have student members appointed by the ASPSU President . Portland State also participates in the Oregon Student Association , the statewide student lobbying non - profit . The fully student - run newspaper at Portland State is the " Daily Vanguard " , established in 1946 . Student - run broadcasters run radio station KPSU , and television station PSU TV . " The Portland Review " is a literary magazine of poetry , fiction , and art published by PSU ' s Student Publications Board since 1956 . Additional student newspaper s at PSU are " The Rearguard " , an alternative - monthly newspaper , and " The Spectator " . The 1 . 3 million volume Millar Library is located in the center of campus , and offers an open microcomputer lab . The Millar Library is a repository for federal documents . The building ' s unique concave shape is due in part to student activism to save a large elm which was slated for removal . Portland State University has mass transit by MAX Green Line , MAX Yellow Line , Portland Streetcar , Trimet buses , and by Oregon Health & Science University and Portland Community College shuttles on SW Harrison Street at SW Broadway . In 2010 , the University opened a Gold LEED Certified Student Rec Center that houses an aquatics center , climbing wall , basketball / volleyball / badminton courts , an indoor soccer court , a large fitness area , and an outdoor program . The University has 30 student managed club sports on campus including the PSU Rugby Club , the PSU Ice Hockey Club and the PSU Lacrosse Club . In addition , the Student Activities and Leadership Program sponsors 120 student clubs including the Tango , Fencing , Medieval and Brewers clubs . Athletics . Portland State is a member of the Big Sky Conference since 1996 , Pac - 12 Conference in wrestling , and the Pacific Coast Softball Conference . PSU competes at the NCAA Division I level in basketball , women ' s volleyball , golf , soccer , wrestling , tennis , softball , indoor and outdoor track and field , and cross country . Football competes at the Division I AA ( or Football Championship Subdivision ) level . Prior to joining Division I , the school won NCAA National Division II championships in women ' s volleyball and wrestling . The school has also placed second twice nationally in football and once in women ' s basketball at the Division II level . Portland State ' s colors are green and white , and its mascot is the Viking personified as " Victor E . Viking " . Among the two more notable former Portland State athletes are Freeman Williams and Neil Lomax . Freeman Williams was the NCAA Division I national men ' s basketball individual scoring leader in 1977 and 1978 . Neil Lomax was a record setting quarterback who went on to star for the St . Louis Cardinals in the NFL in the mid - 1980s . Football ' s " Run & Shoot " offense was first implemented at the college level at PSU by coach Darryl " Mouse " Davis . An assistant coach at Portland State , Davis took over as Head Coach in 1975 following the departure of Ron Stratten . Behind his revolutionary new " Run - and - Shoot " offense ( developed in the late 1960s at Hillsboro ( OR ) HS ) and a strong - armed quarterback named June Jones , Davis led the Viking program to new heights - an 8 - 3 record , including a perfect 5 - 0 home mark . Davis ' quarterback protégés were Lomax and Jones . Home games for football are held off - campus at Jeld - Wen Field , and home games for basketball are held on - campus at the Peter Stott Center . In 2008 , the men ' s basketball team earned their first ever bid into the NCAA Men ' s Division I Basketball Championship .