Veterinarians are licensed medical professionals dedicated to maintaining and promoting the health and well beings of animals. Veterinarians diagnose and treat sick and injured animals, prevent the transmission of diseases, and advise pet owners on the proper care of animals. Veterinary work is widely varied and may also include clinical practice with large and/or small animals, biomedical research, industry, zoological or exotic animal medicine, public health and food safety.

Admission to Veterinary programs is competitive and it’s recommended that students complete a bachelor’s degree and maintain a strong academic record prior to applying.

Portland State offers a strong pre-veterinary medicine program that enables students to complete their prerequisite coursework and obtain assistance in preparing for and applying to Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) schools across the country.

Pre-veterinary medicine is a professional track (not a major), but common majors for pre-veterinary students include: Science, Biology, and Chemistry. Students can choose any major while also completing their pre-veterinary coursework. You can discuss with your veterinary advisor how these two components fit together in your course plans.

Prospective students interested in PSU can meet with a pre-veterinary advisor to learn about the pre-veterinary track.

The first of its kind in the nation, our undergraduate program in Community, Urban Studies, and Planning prepares students for careers as leaders and change agents in addressing a myriad of social challenges.

The Community, Urban Studies, and Planning program empowers individuals and groups of people by giving them the skills they need to effect change within their communities. Our curriculum promotes participative democracy, sustainable development, rights, economic opportunity, equality and social justice. We want to see the changes that you make.

As a multi-disciplinary, social science program, students can customize their focus of study, drawing from the multitude of academic disciplines and departments within PSU’s College of Urban and Public Affairs. In addition to coursework, the Community, Urban Studies, and Planning program takes a hands-on approach, incorporating significant field research in which students work with agencies and organizations throughout the Portland metropolitan area.

PSU Fariborz Maseeh Department of Mathematics and Statistics

Give yourself a competitive edge in today's job market with a graduate certificate in applied statistics from PSU. You'll hone your statistical, data analysis, and modeling skills to become a more effective problem-solver, whether you pursue a career in business, health, science, government, or technology. Our applied statistics certificate prepares you to perform sophisticated statistical analysis and modeling for problems within your discipline.

Gaining your graduate certificate is a great way to specialize your learning; all mathematics certificates can be added on to your undergraduate or graduate learning. Most of our students pair this certificate with their graduate studies in a variety of fields that benefit from the application of statistical methods, including psychology, civil and environmental engineering, economics, electrical and computer engineering, computer science, engineering and technology management, environmental science and management, mechanical engineering, political sciences, sociology, urban studies, and systems science. In a relatively short amount of time, your graduate certificate in applied statistics can burst ahead of other applicants in a competitive job market.

For program-specific information about degree details or admission requirements, please visit the department. 

About the Fariborz Maseeh Department of Mathematics and Statistics

The Fariborz Maseeh Department of Mathematics and Statistics is dedicated to excellence in research and teaching in mathematics, statistics, and mathematics education. Guided by the mission of Portland State University and by the principles of disciplinary excellence and cross-disciplinary engagement, we are particularly committed to building expertise and providing leadership in such areas as applied and computational mathematics and statistics and mathematics education.

PSU’s master’s degree in speech-language pathology prepares you for a high-demand, satisfying career helping children and adults improve their lives with better communication. Join our community of caring professionals and launch your career as a speech-language pathologist.

In our two-year, 8-term program, you will learn how to prevent, assess and treat speech, language and swallowing disorders. Along with your graduate degree, you will gain the 400 hours of direct clinical experience you need for licensing and certification.

You will emerge from our graduate program prepared to make a difference for people with autism, brain injuries, stuttering, developmental disorders and neurologic conditions. Our job placement rate is nearly 100 percent, because employers know our graduates are ready for professional practice.

Starting in your first term, you will gain practical experience in a variety of settings, from our on-campus clinic and research labs to community placements in schools, hospitals and community clinics throughout the Portland area.

Our small classes and tight cohorts of 20 students each will ensure you have the support you need to succeed.

Human health and the health of the planet are intertwined. Our MPH in Environmental Systems and Human Health prepares you to improve both.

The MPH in Environmental Systems and Human Health equips you to advance public health by working toward sustainable environments, both natural and built. You will work at the intersection of occupational, environmental, and planetary health, acquiring broad skills for assessing risks and designing responses that protect the public’s health.

The Environmental Systems and Human Health MPH reflect the track record of leadership and reform for which the OHSU-PSU School of Public Health (SPH) is well known. For example, OHSU-PSU SPH researchers have broken new ground in promoting worker health via innovative programs related to diet, work-family balance, peer support, flexible scheduling, post-military support, and other issues.

Our MPH in Environmental Systems and Human Health enables you to:

• Examine public health questions from an interdisciplinary perspective that integrates environmental science, medicine, biostatistics, chemistry, biology, behavioral science, and other fields
• Gain extensive field experience, working directly with community stakeholders and professionals in public health, environmental regulation, and occupational health
• Build a framework that lets you analyze environmental issues at any level, from local to global
• Learn from outstanding researchers who actively influence public opinion, policy debates, and community responses
• Build strong relationships with faculty who are attentive, supportive, and proactive advocates for your academic success and professional growth
• Draw on the resources and expertise of OHSU’s research faculty and facilities, and PSU’s strengths in public affairs, governance, environmental sciences, and business
• Personalize the curriculum by choosing electives, field experiences, and other flexible components to fit your educational and career goals

Master of Public Health in Environmental Systems and Human Health

The MPH in Environmental Systems and Human Health qualifies you for a wide range of careers. You will be prepared for advanced positions in environmental regulation, industrial hygiene, occupational health, environmental remediation, food safety, nonprofit advocacy, and related fields.

In addition, our Environmental Systems and Human Health MPH positions you for next-generation industries that are emerging in response to the global climate crisis and other matters of planetary health. You may find ground-floor opportunities to apply public health principles in sectors such as renewable energy, biodiversity preservation, carbon sequestration, and more.

Our Biostatistics graduate programs equip you with statistical knowledge and skills to apply to biomedical research and public health.

The OHSU-PSU School of Public Health’s graduate programs in Biostatistics provide statistical training using real-world data from health-related fields.

With a unique structure that combines the resources of two pioneering research universities, the OHSU-PSU School of Public Health (SPH) has helped Oregon gain national recognition for creative public health solutions. We are deeply engaged in collaborative research and have a strong commitment to interdisciplinary partnerships. You will enjoy rich opportunities to collaborate with clinical researchers, scientific investigators, educators, and public health professionals. Our biostatistics faculty have a wide range of expertise and research interests such as Bayesian statistics, big and high dimensional data, electronic health records data, machine learning, statistical computing, statistical genetics, bioinformatics, observational studies, clinical trials, and community intervention trials, with extensive applications to biomedical and public health research.

The OHSU-PSU School of Public Health’s graduate programs in Biostatistics enable you to learn Biostatistics skills in a highly collaborative environment. They prepare you for a career in biomedical and public health research, industry, or doctoral programs, with skills directly applicable to practice.

We offer three Biostatistics graduate programs ― a Master of Science in Biostatistics, Master of Public Health in Biostatistics, and Graduate Certificate in Biostatistics ― to fit the needs of students with different educational goals.

Choose one of our Biostatistics graduate programs if you seek:

• Broad application of Biostatistics to biomedical research, public health, bioinformatics, pharmaceuticals, and related subjects
• Renowned faculty with diverse expertise, research interests, and collaborative experience
• Personal attention from faculty and professional collaborators
• Didactic sessions and hands-on experience focusing on both statistical methods and the interpretation and communication of results.
• Internship opportunities from two Biostatistics shared resources: the Biostatistics & Design Program, one of the OHSU shared resource cores, and Knight Cancer Institute Biostatistics Shared Resources
• Exceptional rates of job placement and graduate-school admissions
• Opportunities to make an impact at the societal level

Master of Science in Biostatistics

The MS in Biostatistics equips you with knowledge in applied statistical methods and theory of biostatistics, as well as skills in traditional statistical methods and computational biology, statistical learning, data science programming, and computation for big data. The program prepares you to pursue a career as an intermediate-level biostatistician or for doctoral programs in Biostatistics. Our students come from very diverse backgrounds such as mathematics and statistics, chemistry, biology, medicine, economics, and psychology.

Our Biostatistics MS degree qualifies you for jobs in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. Our graduates have been employed by local, state, and federal public health agencies, health and medical centers, pharmaceutical companies, device manufacturers, and research institutions. If you choose to continue to doctoral studies, our Biostatistics Masters degree provides you with first-rate preparation and a highly competitive CV.

Master of Public Health in Biostatistics

The MPH in Biostatistics program equips you with applied biostatistical skills to collect and analyze data in support of public health research, program assessment, and policy analysis, all in the context of public health foundational knowledge. The program also prepares you to be proficient in statistical programming commonly used in public health research and practice, population-based study design, and epidemiological methods. The practice experience required by the program enables you to get involved in the community and to work on a project addressing public health challenges in an applied setting.

The MPH in Biostatistics program suits students who are mainly interested in applied statistical methods. Graduates of our Biostatistics MPH program have a high rate of employment with health care systems, nonprofit organizations, government health agencies, research institutions, device companies, and other employers.

Graduate Certificate in Biostatistics

The OHSU-PSU School of Public Health’s Biostatistics Graduate Certificate prepares you with the basic and intermediate graduate-level biostatistics skills needed to perform data analysis and interpretation for various research projects. It suits researchers, students in other academic programs, and working professionals who seek to acquire additional skills in applied biostatistics methods to complement their primary field of expertise. Working professionals can complete the Graduate Certificate in Biostatistics part-time while maintaining a full-time work schedule. The program also prepares you for additional biostatistics training in the MS or MPH in Biostatistics programs.

The water resources minor offers broad training in spatial perspectives of sociopolitical and biophysical dimensions of water resources at local, regional, national, and international scales. As climate changes and the population grows in many parts of the world, water resource sustainability becomes an increasingly urgent issue for our sustainable future. This minor is designed to broaden and deepen your knowledge and experience in complex water resource issues.

Gain the expertise, experience, and connections to race ahead in the athletic and outdoor industry.

Portland is one of the athletic and outdoor industry’s most dynamic hubs—and Portland State University ranks among the industry’s most dynamic sources of talent.

Our Athletic and Outdoor Industry Graduate Certificate puts you on the fast track to a career in this exciting sector. Designed and led by seasoned pros from Nike, Columbia Sportswear, Yakima, Gerber Gear, and other Portland-based companies, the program has a 100% job-placement rate.

This flexible program can be accessed remotely, attracting participants from across the United States and around the world. Whether you’re just entering the workforce, changing careers, or looking for a specialized edge that equips you to advance into leadership roles, you can’t get better professional training than PSU offers in the Athletic and Outdoor Industry certificate program.

Challenge the limits of what you understand about computational intelligence and be a part of the conversation about machine learning with this graduate certificate. PSU's graduate certificate in computational intelligence introduces you to the ways in which computers may learn and adapt based on data to solve complex problems when mathematical or traditional modeling fails.

Our Epidemiology graduate programs equip you to advance the health of entire populations.

As a partnership between two high-level research universities with commitments to health-promoting social change, the OHSU-PSU School of Public Health (SPH) provides a uniquely comprehensive setting for pursuing training in one of our graduate degrees in Epidemiology. You will learn from and collaborate with epidemiologists, biostatisticians, policy professionals, behavioral/social scientists, and other nationally prominent experts in medicine and other clinical professions, environmental science, health administration, and other fields. Your Epidemiology degree will cover the full spectrum of design and analytic methods used to conduct epidemiologic studies in public health settings. You will gain first-hand experience in analyzing, interpreting, and reporting epidemiologic data to a variety of public health professionals.

Faculty in the OHSU-PSU SPH’s pioneering Epidemiology programs study exposures such as genetic and molecular factors; diet, physical activity, and sleep; worksite, school, and healthcare system characteristics; structural racism and other social determinants of health; environmental pollutants, community design, and social and economic policy. Our faculty study the prevention, management, and treatment of a wide range of health outcomes, including infectious disease, pregnancy outcomes, early childhood development, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, injury and violence, and dementia.

We offer an MPH in Epidemiology, a Ph.D. in Epidemiology, and a dual MD/MPH in Epidemiology. All three Epidemiology graduate programs reflect the unique strengths of the OHSU-PSU School of Public Health, including:

• Small, intimate graduate programs that foster strong relationships between faculty and students, and a sense of community among graduate students
• A spirit of community engagement that encourages you to get involved and make an impact in real-world public health issues
• Groundbreaking epidemiology research exploring obesity, infectious disease, perinatal outcomes, injury/violence, aging, racial segregation, quantitative methods, and factors related to the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease
• Robust partnerships and collaborations that connect you with neighborhood groups, nonprofits, government programs, healthcare systems, and other organizations that are actively involved in public health
• Close collaboration with OHSU’s healthcare practitioners and scientific researchers, as well as with PSU’s faculty experts in urban affairs, social work, environmental science, community engagement, and other fields
• A commitment to health equity and social justice
• Access to an expansive inventory of data sets, due in part to our broad partnerships with state and county health departments

MPH in Epidemiology

The MPH in Epidemiology offers first-rate preparation for careers in government, the nonprofit sector, research institutes, health plans, and other healthcare-related businesses, and academia. The OHSU-PSU SPH has a long history of high-achieving alumni. Employers seeking Epidemiology graduates regard us as a leading source of new talent and actively recruit our graduates.

In addition, the OHSU-PSU SPH’s unique institutional structure encourages you to synthesize perspectives across multiple disciplines. With access to the full resources of two universities, our MPH in Epidemiology equips you to design epidemiologic studies, apply appropriate statistical methods to the analysis of epidemiologic data, and interpret and report results in publications or other venues. You will be able to integrate expertise from basic science, clinical treatment, community health, biostatistics, public policy, and many other disciplines all at the core of public health.

Ph.D. in Epidemiology

The OHSU-PSU SPH’s Epidemiology Ph.D. program offers exceptional opportunities to engage in research and teaching activities necessary for leadership roles. Through the doctoral dissertation process, you will gain research competency by leading a body of independent epidemiologic research from initial design through submission for publication. Our current and recent Epidemiology Ph.D. candidates have pursued investigations related to economic policy, maternal and child health, obesity prevention and treatment, infectious disease modeling, hearing loss among military veterans, antibiotic stewardship, health impacts of insurance policies, and economic segregation, among other pressing and timely issues. To develop your skills as an educator, you will serve at least one term as a teaching assistant for a core Epidemiology course under the guidance of a faculty member.

Graduates of our Epidemiology Ph.D. program have an exemplary record of job placement. You will be highly qualified for university faculty positions and scientific leadership roles in government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and private-sector health systems.

Dual MD/MPH in Epidemiology

In the five-year MD/MPH dual degree program, you will take foundational MPH coursework during the first two years of medical school. In the third year, you will focus full-time on the MPH in Epidemiology, with most of the year devoted to field experience, research, and community engagement. After completing the Epidemiology MPH, you will return to medical school with a broadened public health lens to complete the final two years of the MD program and plan for your career at the intersection of these two important fields.

By pairing the MPH in Epidemiology with an MD, you will be prepared to engage in population-based clinical practice, conduct epidemiological research as a medical practitioner, and take leadership roles in public health policy, research, and advocacy.