We've Got Great References

A Princeton Review book, Colleges with a Conscience: 81 Great Schools with Outstanding Community Involvement, listed Portland State for its excellent service-learning programs and blending academics with community work.

The New England Board of Higher Education recognized Portland State as one of 25 universities considered "Saviors of Our Cities" for contributions to community revitalization and cultural renewal, driving the local economy, and community service and urban development advocacy.

Portland State University earned a place on the first President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll. The University is one of only 141 colleges, universities, and professional schools from across the nation recognized for distinguished community service.

Salmon-Safe, a nonprofit devoted to restoring agricultural and urban watersheds so that salmon can spawn and thrive, certified Portland State as the nation's first "Salmon-Safe" university for landscaping and storm water management.

A report released by the Association of American Colleges and Universities, "College Learning for the New Global Century," recognizes Portland State as a leader in the area of fostering civic, intercultural, and ethical learning. The report highlighted the University Studies program, which "helps students become more aware of their own biases and prejudices and deepens students' understanding of sociopolitical issues."

2007 Edition America's Best Colleges

For the fifth year in a row, Portland State University ranked among the nation's best colleges in five categories that lead to student success, according to U.S. News & World Report in its "America's Best Colleges 2007" edition.

The categories were identified with the help of education experts, including staff members of the Association of American Colleges and Universities. College presidents, chief academic officers, and deans of students were invited to nominate institutions with stellar programs in each category, and those that received the most nominations were named by U.S. News.

First-Year Experiences

Many schools build into the curriculum first-year seminars or other programs that bring small groups of students together with faculty or staff.

Amherst College
Arizona State University
Dartmouth College
Duke University
Evergreen State College
Grinnell College
Ohio State University
Portland State University
Princeton University
Stanford University
University of California-Los Angeles
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
University of Notre Dame
University of Washington
Yale University
Partial list of 53 institutions

Service Learning

In service learning programs, volunteering in the community is an instructional strategy--and a requirement of a student's coursework. The service relates to what happens in class and vice versa.

Brown University
Duke University
Georgetown University
Portland State University
Stanford University
University of California-Berkeley
University of Colorado-Boulder
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
University of Notre Dame
University of Pennsylvania
University of Wisconsin
Vanderbilt University
Partial list of 42 institutions

Internships/Co-ops

Schools voted into this category require or encourage students to apply learning outside the classroom.

Antioch College
Berea College
Cornell University
Drexel University
Georgia Institute of Technology
Harvey Mudd College
Northeastern University
Portland State University
Rhodes College
Virginia Tech
Partial list of 25 institutions

Learning Communities

Students typically take two or more linked courses as a group and get to know one another and their professors especially well. The idea is to keep the discussion going after class ends.

Appalachian State University
Colorado College
Evergreen State College
Indiana University-Bloomington
Portland State University
Santa Clara University
Stanford University
Temple University
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Yale University
Partial list of 35 institutions

Senior Capstone

These culminating experiences ask students nearing the end of their college years to create a project that integrates and synthesizes what they've learned.

Brown University
Columbia University
Davidson College
Duke University
Harvard University
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Portland State University
Princeton University
Reed College
Stanford University
Swarthmore College
University of California-Los Angeles
University of Virginia
Yale University
Partial list of 29 institutions