MBA - Portland State University

It makes perfect sense that one of the country's leading sustainability MBA programs is located in Portland, Oregon — one of the country's most sustainable cities. From the #1 Beyond Grey Pinstripes MBA ranking to accolades from U.S. News & World Report and the Princeton Review, the Portland State MBA program is continually recognized for its ability to produce future business leaders with an innovative spirit and a commitment to social, economic, and environmental stewardship.

Leadership, Innovation and Sustainability

Portland State's unique MBA curriculum combines a solid, traditional MBA core with an intense focus on three key ideas:  

• Leadership: No other MBA program in the Northwest offers the focus and integration of Portland State's multi-phase leadership component. The leadership program, directed by PSU instructor and Impact Entrepreneurs founder and Executive Director Carolyn McKnight, begins with a 360-degree evaluation to help MBA students define their core strengths and weaknesses. This assessment is integrated into two courses on leadership and the one-on-one counsel students receive from their designated MBA coach. The leadership component culminates in our two-day Leadership Immersion, a two-day business simulation workshop designed to assess students' technical and leadership skills. Many MBA alumni point to the Immersion as one of the most transformational and empowering experiences of the MBA program. 

• Innovation: MBA students learn how to manage innovation from new idea to new product, and how to incorporate innovation into even the most traditional business practices. Through the Pioneering Innovation course, students gain an understanding of the innovation process and how it can be sustained in the global economy. Students often take their ideas from this course to the real world by launching a start-up or pitching their idea at one of many entrepreneurship competitions held annually in Portland. 

• Sustainability: MBA students explore the core ideas of corporate responsibility, ethics and stewardship, and living systems. Students are also able to deepen their applied skills and knowledge through Sustainability courses such as Social Innovation, Product Design and Stewardship, and Metrics of Sustainability

Emphasis on Practical, Real-World Skills and Access to Valuable Career Resources

• Top Faculty: MBA students engage with professors who conduct research and publish in the top academic journals in their field, exploring important global business issues such as sustainability, business ethics, supply chain management, applied psychology, organizational psychology and quantitative analysis.

• Flexibility: Students have the option of earning their MBA degree as part of a full time, part time or online MBA cohort.

• Career Management Resources: Portland State offers comprehensive Career Management Resources and  works  to facilitate direct connections between our students and the regional business community's leaders and innovators. In fact, The Princeton Review has recognized the Portland State MBA program for its "deep connections to the business community."

• Specializations: MBA students are given freedom to develop specialized expertise as leaders in finance, entrepreneurship, international business, sustainability, and marketing and logistics management through the depth of MBA electives offered.

• Study Abroad: MBA students also have the option of studying abroad in the Middle East, China, France, Mexico, Nicaragua or India.

• Sustainability Resources: Whether enrolled in the full time, part time or online MBA program, students have access to Portland State's impressive sustainability resources and events — including the Center for Global Leadership in Sustainability and its annual International Sustainability Conference — and an active, on-campus Net Impact chapter, which helps organize the annual Portland Net Impact Conference. Impact Entrepreneurs' Social Innovation Incubator also provides resources to help students develop and launch their own innovative sustainable businesses and connect with like-minded social entrepreneurs.

• Hands-on Consulting Experience: Full time, part time and online MBA students gain valuable, hands-on business experience through their Capstone Consulting Project. This part of the program offers area businesses and organizations the opportunity to “hire” PSU students who are in the final stages of their graduate-level degree program. This provides a great opportunity for students to get an inside perspective on a company of interest and gain relevant job skills.

• Networking Events and Programs: MBA students are invited to attend and participate in a number of key networking opportunities such as the Business Briefings Event Series, guest lectures by regional business executives, the Executive in Residence program, Connect to Community alumni events and the CareerForward Mentor Program.