All applicants who graduated from an Oregon high school in 1997 or later must demonstrate proficiency in a second language to be admitted to Portland State. Students who have been admitted to PSU but have not met the Second Language Admission Requirement will be notified by email in their @pdx.edu email account. Oregon residents who earn a GED are not held to the second language requirement. There is no language requirement for high school graduates outside of Oregon.
Students must provide official transcripts or official test scores to the Admissions Office to indicate the Second Language Admission Requirement has been met.
There are many options for meeting the admission requirement, most are listed below. However, if you speak, read and write in a language other than English but cannot find an option below for demonstrating proficiency in that language, contact the Department of World Languages and Literatures to see if other options might be available.
Native speakers (defined as students whose formal secondary education was completed in any language other than English) may demonstrate proficiency by filling out the Second Language Requirement Verification Request form—include the appropriate documents (diploma/transcript from home country with notarized translation)—and send to world@pdx.edu. Native speakers cannot receive Credit for Prior Learning or Credit by Exam in their native language.