With millions of students nationwide receiving special education services, there is a demand for highly educated teachers who can work with students at all skill levels.  Portland State’s innovative special education program offers a flexible option to complete a master’s degree independently or in conjunction with a teacher licensure program.

Most of our students obtain their master’s degrees by completing one of the following licensure programs:

• Special Education K-12 Licensure
• Visually Impaired Learner
• Orientation and Mobility for Children, Youth and Adults
• Early Intervention Special Education

In these programs, you will develop the skills to help students with a wide range of learning, mental, emotional, and physical disabilities. Further develop your skills adapting general education, and teaching reading, writing, and math to students across a continuum from those with mild and moderate disabilities to those with complex needs. 

The Bachelor of Science in Quantitative Economics (QTEC), a STEM-designated major, provides intensive training for jobs that require both quantitative and qualitative skills. The major should be selected by students wishing to pursue employment in fields such as data analytics, as well as graduate studies in economics.

Make your literary mark with PSU’s master’s in Creative Writing. Our two-year, flexible program offers both full-time and part-time options for earning your MFA. You will graduate with a manuscript, your thesis, in your genre (fiction, poetry, or nonfiction).

We will also guide you into your literary life by teaching you the critical reading and analytical skills you will need as a teacher, editor, publisher, literary agent, journalist, or arts administrator, and the list goes on.

The MFA is a terminal degree in the field of creative writing, which qualifies our graduates to apply for tenure-track teaching jobs at the university level. The program's strengths include distinguished faculty who bring their real-life experience and expertise as published authors into the classroom, faculty mentorship, a thesis project experience, and small class sizes with a supportive community of peers that extends beyond the classroom.

Our creative writing program also hosts an annual reading series that brings writers of national and international reputation to campus and gives students the opportunity to edit, design, and market the literary journal Portland Review.

Product managers translate technology fundamentals into solutions customers want. At the intersection of engineering and business know-how, they understand customers, define product vision, lead cross-functional teams, and help companies succeed with cutting-edge products, processes, and technology services. Students learn how to build on their technical acumen to create market-driven solutions. Courses cover the management of new product development and software projects, technology marketing, market foresight, and market validation. 

How can institutions better protect and prepare citizens for geographical hazards like climate change, fires, floods, and water scarcity? PSU’s master’s degree in Geography digs into difficult, complex problems and prepares students to engage, confront, and resolve contemporary geographical issues using geographical skills and knowledge.

PSU’s Geography Department offers several advanced degrees: the Master’s programs discussed below; a Ph.D. in Earth, Environment, and Society delivered through the Geography Department’s partnership in the School of the Environment; and a Graduate Certificate in Geographic Information Systems. Students may pursue either the Master of Arts (M.A.) or the Master of Science (M.S.) to prepare for careers in the private or public sector, or as a step to a Ph.D. program.

The program requirements are flexible, and students work closely with their advisors to design a course of study tailored to their interests. Many incoming graduate students enter the program with a degree in a field other than geography; we welcome applications from students regardless of major. Faculty research and teaching interests encompass a wide range of subjects, approaches, and regions, including climate change, water resources, forest and fire ecology, community resilience, spatial cognition, geovisualization, and GIS to name a few.

Our small, tightly-knit cohorts are mostly fully funded and receive stipend and tuition remission as well as a faculty advisor who weighs in on their academic path. We are committed to making sure our graduate students are prepared to enter the field and their work as research assistants or teaching assistants is a key part of preparing them professionally. In addition to tuition remission and a stipend, we are also proud to offer our graduate students, several merit-based fellowships, grants, and scholarships.

Our students choose a diverse range of research topics as the basis for their master’s degrees. We teach and conduct research across a broad range of subjects, with particular strengths in the study of water, climate, the urban-rural interface, mountains, environment-society studies, and Geographic Information Science.

Prospective students are encouraged to contact individual faculty to discuss their interests and research opportunities in the process of identifying a prospective advisor.

The Master of Urban and Regional Planning (MURP) educates planning professionals, able to make plans and also to become leaders in the field. Our students engage in practice from the moment they join us, and we use the real planning issues and processes of our region, state, and bioregion as the basis for much of our teaching and research. Experiential learning is an integral component of the program, which requires an internship and a workshop project that is client‐focused, community‐based, and culminates in a professional product to serves as a capstone to the program.

The MURP is a two‐year, 72 credit professional degree program designed for those interested in working as professional planners. Our core curriculum focuses on the history and theory of planning as a field, plan implementation, analytical methods, and the dynamics of metropolitan development. MURP students have the opportunity to customize their education to meet particular scholastic and professional objectives. Each student also chooses a pathway that allows them to specialize in fields such as Community Development, Economic Development, Environment, Land Use, and Transportation.

PSU Fariborz Maseeh Department of Mathematics and Statistics

Take the next step and advance your career by becoming a more effective math teacher with a master's degree in Mathematics for Teachers from Portland State.

Our master's degree provides advanced training for math teachers who already hold an initial teaching license as well as those who are interested in teaching dual-credit courses to high schoolers, teaching at community colleges, or pursuing a doctorate in mathematics education.

We'll help you strengthen your understanding of mathematics through coursework in geometry, algebra, analysis and calculus, history of mathematics, probability, statistics, discrete mathematics, and the use of technology in the classroom. You'll learn how to enrich your teaching — and your students' learning — and graduate ready to burst into the teaching field.

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 Fariborz Maseeh Department of Mathematics and Statistics

Dig into your interest in mathematics while enhancing your research skills and job preparedness. PSU's master's degree in Mathematics prepares you for a career in community college teaching, industrial work in mathematics, or continued doctoral studies.

You'll deepen your knowledge of mathematics, both pure and applied, and explore its use in real-world applications through rigorous coursework and research projects.

Our alumni are accepted to Ph.D. programs in mathematics, applied mathematics, and other fields, and are in high demand for a range of jobs, including instructors at high schools and community colleges, software engineers, operations research analysts, financial planners, and investment analysts.

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.

A major in International Development Studies prepares students to understand the challenges that developing nations face in achieving improved living conditions for their inhabitants. In our courses, we emphasize how development is shaped by the intersections of politics, economy, social and political power, and culture at global, national, and regional levels. Our majors acquire a critical understanding of environmental vulnerabilities and socio-economic inequalities in the developing world, grounded in an appreciation of global history. The International Development Studies majors are well-prepared for further graduate education and to work in NGOs and state agencies alike.

PSU Fariborz Maseeh Department of Mathematics and Statistics

Every industry needs trained statisticians. With a master's degree in statistics from Portland State, you'll have the knowledge and skills you need to advance your career in almost any field, including education, science, technology, health care, government, or business.

In our program, you will explore real-world applications as you equip yourself with the quantitative tools needed to analyze and interpret complex data. You'll gain skills that are highly sought-after in government, industry and academia.

Our master's in statistics prepares you to teach at colleges and universities or work as statisticians in a variety of settings, from hospital systems and banks to utility companies and planning organizations. You can also use the degree as a starting point for doctoral programs in statistics, biostatistics, economics, marketing, finance, bioinformatics, and data science.

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.