Portland State University (PSU) was granted university status in 1969 after starting out in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for veterans of the Second World War.

With its Latin motto translating to mean “Let knowledge serve the city”, it is the only public research university in the state of Oregon.

It student body numbers around 30,000 students, with the majority being undergraduates.

Students hail from all 50 states in the US and from over 84 countries. The top states represented at the university are Washington, California and Hawaii, while the top countries are Saudi Arabia, China and India.

The university campus is located in 49-acres of downtown Portland known as the University District.

It is made up 50 university buildings and 10 residential student housing properties. It is also home to the Branford Price Millar Library, the main university library, which houses around 1.5 million books.

Through its seven academic schools and colleges, it offers over 200 degree programmes. Students can choose from 88 bachelors, 86 masters and 37 doctoral programmes.

According to the university, its top undergraduate majors are in management, psychology, health studies, biology, and accounting. Its top graduate majors are in social work, education, and education leadership and policy.

PSU has an expenditure of roughly $531 million and spends around $62.5 million on research. Through its charitable PSU Foundation, it makes around $2.5 million available for student scholarships.

The university an alumni network of over 165,000, with over half of those continuing to live in the Portland area.

PSU students and faculty are encouraged to ‘take the classroom to the community’ by working with local organisations to tackle civic, community and environmental challenges.

The university also prides itself on having a sustainable approach to its curricula, campus and community partnerships, as part of a wider commitment to address issues of climate change and poverty.